Loading…
20
The judge at the county fair in Modesto told me my sourdough was overproofed and I almost argued with her
I brought two loaves to the Stanislaus County fair back in July and figured I had it in the bag after placing second a year before. The judge cut into my bread, looked at the crumb for maybe 5 seconds, and told me it was overproofed and the gluten had gone slack. I wanted to tell her she was wrong but she pointed at the flat spots near the bottom crust and I shut up real quick. Turns out I had been letting my bulk go an extra 45 minutes because my kitchen runs cold and I never adjusted for it. Now I poke the dough every 20 minutes past the 3 hour mark and pull it as soon as it springs back slow. My loaves have been way more consistent since then and I actually got a blue ribbon at the next show. How do you all judge proofing when your house temp swings 10 degrees between seasons?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
ruby_reed485d ago
Reminds me of my uncle who swore by the "looks about right" method until his kitchen got drafty one winter and every loaf came out like a brick. Now he tapes a cheap thermometer to the counter and checks it like a hawk.
5