Any tips on fixing this up? I bake at around 220 and a 700g loaf take around 50-60 mins until it sounds hollow, its just the crust is like a rock by then
You have 'inside undercooked' in your title but you don't mention it in your text. So I wonder exactly what that means.
I would think that 50-60 minutes at 220C (assuming that you do use the Celsius scale) should be more than enough to bake a 700g loaf through but in the process it would make for a harder, thicker crust (a combination of temperature and time).
I bake a 1kg batard for 40 minutes and with a 'falling oven' temperature regime. That is, I heat the oven to 270C then when the loaf goes in I reduce the setpoint to 250 and then at 5 minute intervals reduce the setpoint by 10C so that by the end of the bake the temperature is about 180C. This is intended to simulate what happens in a wood-fired oven after the fire is raked out. However, if you don't want to be fussed by the fiddling about then that is OK too as you can also bake fine bread at a fixed oven temperature.
So you could try using a lower temperature or a shorter time and don't be too fussed about the tap test which can be a bit deceptive. Another option would be to add steam to the oven in the first one third of the bake which delays the setting of the crust and will give you a thinner, crisper crust.
Above all, don't be afraid to experiment. While some of the results might not be beautiful, they will always be edible.
I'm going to try a fixed temp at first but I may proceed to a staggered temp as you have outlined above
I think I may have figured out something. The base of my loaves are always doughier/softer than the top. I think my stone was not getting hot enough to transfer enough heat to the dough when I first put it in. This is despite heating the oven for over an hour
Instead, this morning I preheated the stone as close to the top grill element as I could for around 20 minutes, and then moved it to a lower shelf. So I effectively grilled the stone as if I was trying to melt cheese
The result has been a much better heat transfer, better spring and an overall lighter, loaf. Its still not perfect but I'm going to keep messing around with this technique as other heating methods don't seem to be working for me
Good to hear you are making progress. But an hour pre-heating for your stone should be heaps.
Have you checked your oven temperature? Controller settings can be out and an oven thermometer isn't all that expensive or maybe a friend has one that you can borrow.
Replies
Hello jatz13,
You have 'inside undercooked' in your title but you don't mention it in your text. So I wonder exactly what that means.
I would think that 50-60 minutes at 220C (assuming that you do use the Celsius scale) should be more than enough to bake a 700g loaf through but in the process it would make for a harder, thicker crust (a combination of temperature and time).
I bake a 1kg batard for 40 minutes and with a 'falling oven' temperature regime. That is, I heat the oven to 270C then when the loaf goes in I reduce the setpoint to 250 and then at 5 minute intervals reduce the setpoint by 10C so that by the end of the bake the temperature is about 180C. This is intended to simulate what happens in a wood-fired oven after the fire is raked out. However, if you don't want to be fussed by the fiddling about then that is OK too as you can also bake fine bread at a fixed oven temperature.
So you could try using a lower temperature or a shorter time and don't be too fussed about the tap test which can be a bit deceptive. Another option would be to add steam to the oven in the first one third of the bake which delays the setting of the crust and will give you a thinner, crisper crust.
Above all, don't be afraid to experiment. While some of the results might not be beautiful, they will always be edible.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
Thanks again farinam
I'm going to try a fixed temp at first but I may proceed to a staggered temp as you have outlined above
I think I may have figured out something. The base of my loaves are always doughier/softer than the top. I think my stone was not getting hot enough to transfer enough heat to the dough when I first put it in. This is despite heating the oven for over an hour
Instead, this morning I preheated the stone as close to the top grill element as I could for around 20 minutes, and then moved it to a lower shelf. So I effectively grilled the stone as if I was trying to melt cheese
The result has been a much better heat transfer, better spring and an overall lighter, loaf. Its still not perfect but I'm going to keep messing around with this technique as other heating methods don't seem to be working for me
Hello jatz13,
Good to hear you are making progress. But an hour pre-heating for your stone should be heaps.
Have you checked your oven temperature? Controller settings can be out and an oven thermometer isn't all that expensive or maybe a friend has one that you can borrow.
Keep us informed.
Farinam