February 27, 2024 - 5:35am
Uneven air pockets in my ciabatta.
Hi!
My ciabatta recipe is 80% hydration.
I knead in stand mixer for 4 minutes the stretch and fold 3 sets. every 30 minutes
then spray Water and bake it with tray of steam.
250 deg C for 3 minutes.
then 200 deg for next twenty minutes by turning it.
may problem is ciabatta has huge air pockets on top and smaller ones at the bottom.
what could be the problem?
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The dough is very underfermented, that is the cause of the lack of aeration and the huge tunnels under the crust. The dough needs a lot more time to ferment to allow the yeast to do their thing.
Benny
Yes the huge tunnel is my concern.. could it be the stretch and fold if I ferment it more the tunnel would grow more?more time as in bulk ferment or final proofing after shaping?
Large tunnels near the top are not uncommon with high-hydration breads like ciabatta and glass bread. Pop or pat down large bubbles as you can. Turning the loaf upside down during final proof, then back right side up for baking, will help a lot. The extra handling is tricky at first but can be gotten used to.
I don't see much time for a bulk ferment in your schedule, but I also don't see if the dough is yeasted or made with a starter. I also don't see a final shaping and proof. Maybe because of these things, the crumb looks very underfermented.
TomP
Idea of turning looks good. Will try to practice it. I Bulk ferment for 1 hour. After the stand mixer kneading.
‘dough made with good active starter. 3 sets of stretch and folds t 1/2 hour gaps. Then final fold and drop by gravity on paper for final proofing of 1 hour Steam baking. I use vey less flour. Oil mostly
my starter is very active.
‘my proportion:
400 Gms of 100% starter.300 flour.200 Water and tiny pinch of instant yeast Salt 2%
all I need is for the tunnel to go away!☹️
Take a look at this video on making "glass bread". It's like making ciabatta but even more so. See it it gives you any ideas -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sOEHrawhX0
Tnks will surely look into it