The most recent recipe I used for a standard sourdough boule was a winner, winner, chicken dinner. So why was my bread not coming out how I wanted it to? Don't get me wrong, it was delicious. It was crispy. It had that sour tang and chewy middle. But the bottom was gummy, the patterns I'd score didn't show up, and why why why was I getting a weird bottom blowout and no opening across the top?

I shared a few photos with the lovely community at The Fresh Loaf (go check out the thread if you want to see my "flying saucer bread") and they had some great suggestions on how to get closer to the perfect loaf.

1. My bread was underproved

Strange, right? I had some big air bubbles in the bread which would suggest that my bread was lovely and airy and puffy before baking. Wrong! It was the absence of tiny bubbles that showed that my bread wasn't as risen as it should be. It wouldn't even have occured to me that that's why my bread was rising funny in the oven. I thought it wasn't opening up in the oven due to the way I was scoring it. But it just didn't quite have enough oven spring to really jump up with the heat.

Solution: I increased my rise time to 8 hours (it's cold in Norway, yo) and I rested the dough bowls on smaller bowls filled with warm water to give it a nice gentle steam. That added heat and humidity, as well as the longer proving time, meant that my dough became a huge pillow of sourdough goodness.

2. My oven didn't have enough steam

For those that bake in Dutch ovens or in upturned Pyrex dishes, y'all are golden and don't need to worry about this. Baking under a cover already creates that steamy environment for your bread to really expand. I don't have one, and they're expensive for a nice one here in Norway. I baked on a sheet, with another deeper sheet underneath - once preheated, I'd pour water into the deep tray and it would create a big puff of steam and I'd quickly shut the oven and run away and hope for the best. Still, it wasn't enough, because my bread crust would harden too quickly before the bread could really open up, and then it did a weird side/bottom rise instead.

3. The underside of my bread was gummy

Top crust was deliciously crispy - yay! But when it got to the underside... ehh. A little chewy, nothing special. I needed to get a blast of heat to the bottom but the pan was in the way. So what now?

Solution for steam and gummy bottom: I switched up my oven set-up! Talk about two birds with one stone... On the forum, I was given a suggestion to see how different arrangements affected the bread. I decided to try baking it with the bread sheet pan on the bottom, and the deep steam pan on the top. And wow - wha a difference it made. The heat was able to hit the underside of the bread - which was insanely crispy afterwards - and the top steam pan also blocked too much heat hitting the top of the bread and solidifying the crust before it was ready. After 20 minutes, I removed the steam pan, so the top of the bread could brown. I spent the day running around and cooing at my beautiful, open, crispy bread. Just goes to show that small changes can hugely affect your bread!



And so - here's my adapted recipe!

Ingredients:

460g flour
I use about 425g white and 35g wholewheat for a white loaf, or a mix of various flours for variation
290g warm water
More if you're making it with wholewheat or rye flour
10g salt
50g mature starter at 1:1 ratio

Baker's schedule:

Day 1: create the pre-mix in the afternoon/evening
Day 2: stretch and fold day!
Day 3+: bake

Method:

You can refer to my original inspiration post for the recipe - it has a video that shows you the methods of mixing and stretching the dough - click here!

1. Create the pre-mix: mix together the flour, salt, and water into a shaggy dough and knead lightly to make a smooth ball. Using a dough scraper will really help you here! You should end up with a smooth, but probably fairly sticky, ball after you've kneaded it a while. No need to go crazy, you're just incorporating the ingredients, not trying to build up the gluten. If you're using wholewheat flours or others that soak up more water, you'll need to increase your water content. For a mix of wholewheat, white, and rye flours at approximately equal quantities, I tend to use about 250g of water. Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap to stop it going all dry, and put in the fridge for a few hours. Take it out before you go to sleep, and leave on the counter to autolyse overnight. The cooling down will stop it developing too quickly (but don't worry if you don't refrigerate it, I've forgotten to cool it, and I've also accidentally left it in the fridge overnight and it's turned out fine both way).

2. The next morning, your autolysed dough should be smoother and more elastic than the rough dough from the night before. Add in 50g of your mature starter (it should float in water!) and gentle use a pinch and fold technique to mix it in. It's not as complicated as it sounds, just use gentle movements and folds and squishes to get that gooey starter mixed in. I do this over a half hour period, letting the dough relax for 5-10 minutes so it's nice and soft still.

3. Once your starter is mixed in, you need to let the dough rise. The original recipe calls for 6 hours, but it's cold in Norway so I give it 8 hours. Over this time, give the dough a series of stretch and folds - usually every two hours. This builds up the gluten and you end up with a soft and silky, fluffy dough.

4. Time to preshape! After the last stretch and fold, turn your dough out and gentle shape into a boule. Refer to the video for tips! Let this rest on the counter for 30-60 minutes.

5. Shape into a boule, and place into a well floured banneton or well floured cloth lined bowl.

6. Refrigerate overnight (or longer if you need) for the final rise and to develop the flavour.

7. Preheat the oven to 250c, with a deep tray on the top shelf - turn out your bread onto a lined baking sheet and score the top to allow the bread to open up in the oven. Place the bread on the bottom shelf of the oven, and pour water into the hot tray on top (watch out, steam burns hurt!) and shut the oven door, then turn down the temperature to 230c. After 20-25 minutes, take out the steam tray and move the bread pan up one notch. Bake for a further 15-25 minutes, until well browned and a tap on the underside of the bread sounds hollow.

8. Let the bread rest for at least 3 hours to set the crumb and prevent the inside from going gummy. Then slice and enjoy! We like it toasted the next day.



Easy to follow recipe: ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫
There was a video! Step by step instructions plus helpful visuals
Energy required: ⚫⚫◯◯◯
A little elbow grease to make the pre-mix for autolyse, but after that just stretch-and-fold
Dough difficulty: ⚫⚫◯◯◯
A stiffer dough that's easy to work with, but you have to be gentle not to knock out the air
Taste: ⚫⚫⚫⚫◯
It has that signature sourdough tang, and the amount of salt is perfect
Airiness: ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫
Not as much of an open crumb as a high hydration dough, but much lighter after a proper bulk proof.
Crust: ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫
Soooooo crispy, especially on the bottom
Adaptability: ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫
Easy to change for other flours, or add in things like nuts and olives in the stretch and folds!