How can I achieve large bubbles in my bread? [duplicate]
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No matter what I do, my recipe produces bread that is pretty dense, I get none of those nice huge holes in the crumb. My recipe goes like this:
- 500g flour (300g wheat, 200g rye)
- 350ml water
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- two pinches of salt
- I use 1 packet of dry active yeast (for 500g of flour) or fresh yeast (20g)
I typically use my my stand mixer w/ dough hook to mix this for about 5-10 minutes. Then let it proof for 20 minutes, flatten and let rise for another hour. Then I bake the bread starting at 260 celsius for the first ten minutes, then decreasing to 200-200 until finished. I create steam at the beginning by pouring hot water on a baking tray.
What could possible be wrong with my recipe that prevents me from getting crumb like this? Is that only achievable with sourdough starter? I experimented with that for a while and my results were a little bit better, but not quite where I want to be.
Best Answer
In order to get large bubbles like you see in a Ciabatta you want to knead your bread as little as possible. Literally I mean knead it till just smooth but no longer. You really don't want to stretch any of the gluten. The more you stretch it the stronger it gets which is not what you want when trying to create nice UN-even air pockets.
On top of this, you DO NOT want to be knocking it back at all. I tend to prove my Ciabatta style bread on what ever I intend on cooking it on. That way I don't risk over handling it.
Also you want to let it gently prove, at room temperature. No hot box or heat lamps at all.
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Quick Answer about "How can I achieve large bubbles in my bread? [duplicate]"
How do you get big air bubbles in bread?
Use any techniques that will increase oven spring. Anything that gets you a bigger loaf means more room for the bubbles to get bigger. That includes: steaming the oven, baking on a preheated stone, slashing the loaves properly right before the bake, baking on high heat (at least for the first 10 minutes or so), etc.What produces bubbles in bread dough?
Crop & Food Research The aeration or 'leavening' of bread dough is usually achieved by adding yeast, a single celled fungus that ferments sugar molecules, generating carbon dioxide and alcohol as by-products. The CO2 inflates gas bubbles causing the dough to rise.How to Get Blisters on Your Bread Crust - Bubbly Crust
More answers regarding how can I achieve large bubbles in my bread? [duplicate]
Answer 2
There are a couple of things you can try to encourage large irregular bubbles.
- Let your dough rise longer. A longer proofing period will yield larger bubbles. There is a limit to this though (about 18-24 hrs) because the yeast will eventually fizzle out.
- Handle the dough gently. Punching down the dough acts to homogenize the bubble size, so you'll want to avoid this. When shaping the final loaf, be gentle as vigorous shaping will pop those bubbles you've worked so hard to build.
- Develop a better gluten structure. The stronger the dough, the better it can hold those big bubbles without popping and allows the loaf to stand tall in the oven instead of drooping or flattening.
- Use the stretch and fold method. This is what really took my bread to the next level consistency wise. Again be gentle when stretching and folding.
My bread routine looks something like this.
- Get home from work and shaggily mix dough (65-75% hydration by weight).
- Stretch and fold every 45 minutes until the dough is well developed (usually 4-5 times).
- Stash in the fridge overnight.
- Pull out of the fridge in the morning and stash somewhere cool.
- Get home from work again and stretch and fold one or two more times until the dough is perfect then shape the loaf. Final proofing takes anywhere from 2-3 hours.
This is what my bread generally looks like when I'm feeling lazy and just punch it down a few times then shape it.
This is what my bread generally looks like when I take the time to do a long rise using the stretch and fold technique.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Diego Madrigal, Max Vakhtbovych, Antonio Prado, Pixabay