I have been making Sourdough loaves every week for the last 6 months with my own starter . Having just come back from Italy, and having sought the advice of a couple of Bakers over there, I'm letting my dough prove for 12 hours. It rises beautifully. I then shape the dough and put into a banneton. On this second rise, even after 3 or 4 hours,it just doesn't rise much. I then put it into a very hot oven with ice cubes into a tray beneath, and it does rise a bit when I hits the heat, but by the time it's cooked , it's gone pretty flat. The loaf is always pretty tasty, and the crust is lovely, but I don't get that lovely big holey irregular crumb. It seems a tad dense and doughy. I'm certain it's not underdone, because I do it for 250c for 15 mins and 200c for another 35 mins. I admit that seems high, but our oven is pretty old and I don't thinking it gets to temperature.
Any ideas on what I can do to get that soft big hole crumb? Thank you.
July 16, 2015 at 5:08pm