Bread crust separated from interior
I'm an amateur baker, been making bread weekly for about 9 months now, working out of Ken Forkish's "Flour Water Salt Yeast" cookbook mostly. I had something happen to my bread this week that I would like to understand.
I was making a recipe in the book called "Overnight White Bread" which takes a very small amount of yeast and then rises for 12-14 hours. As a variant suggested in the book, after shaping the loaf in the morning I placed the proofing basket in the refrigerator and then, after work, set it on the counter while pre-heating my oven (I bake in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven). This let it work with my work schedule.
The bread came out pretty good, with an excellent taste. It has great big holes, which this recipe does usually, but I notice that the bread itself sort of separated -- there were extremely big holes near the top of the loaf, but it was relatively dense near the bottom. Basically, it looked as if the bread collapsed some on the interior, but after the crust had already risen and solidified enough to hold itself up. As a side-effect, with just a few gluten filaments beneath it, the top of the loaf couldn't conduct heat away and so blackened more than I would like..
It's not a huge deal, but I'd rather have a more evenly-distributed loaf if possible. Why does this happen, and can I do anything to prevent it?
Best Answer
That sounds like you allowed the bread to dry while it was rising. And also that you allowed it to rise too long. The latter will produce large air pockets, and the former will make them form just under the crust. Cover your rising bread with a damp towel, don't let it get more than twice as large as it started, and you should be fine.
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Quick Answer about "Bread crust separated from interior"
You need to make sure that you do not leave air pockets in the dough. These air pockets can be a result of a bread that is too loose and can end up close to the surface of the bread. The baking process will expand and push out of the crust wherever they are, causing a burst or split in your crust.What does over proofed bread look like?
What to look for in an over proofed loaf. Similar to the signs of over proofed dough, an over proofed loaf will be very flat, without much rise or retention of shaping. Over proofing destroys the structural integrity of the bread, so loaves that have gone over are unable to hold their shape in the oven.What causes a flying crust?
This looks like "flying crust". See http://artisanbreadbaking.com/problems/. The cause is usually that your loaf was allowed to rise for too long in too dry an environment. Make sure that you proof the loaf in a humid environment.How do you keep dough from separating?
When dough tears, it's most commonly caused by a lack of gluten development or dry dough. Make sure that you're kneading your dough enough to pass the windowpane test and you're using enough water to keep the flour well hydrated. Avoiding adding too much more flour to your dough when you're kneading.What causes bread to be hollow in the middle?
Excess yeast causes extra air bubbles to form, creating holes in the baked bread. You prepared the recipe correctly. The interaction of the various ingredients and the preparation method used for French bread and sourdough bread are intended to create a bread which has a coarse texture and uneven holes.More answers regarding bread crust separated from interior
Answer 2
This happend to me as an young bread baker. You should always consider slashing the top of your loaves with a very sharp knife or razor blade to relieve pressure inside the loaf and prevent this separation. You may have also over risen your loaves. Check them periodically by pressing a wet finger into one. When the dough does not spring back very fast, its bake time.
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