On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 07:47:27 GMT, Mac > wrote:

>I am having a mild problem with my sourdough blobbing out instead of
>rising. This is a 100% WHOLE WHEAT sourdough recipe more or less of my own
>devising. The starter is likewise fed constantly on whole wheat. It was
>originally Gold Rush San Francisco starter which I bought at the
>supermarket.
>
>Anyway, I put a little bit of starter (about 0.25 cup) in a jar with 0.5
>cups flour and 0.5 cups water. When this is showing signs of strong
>activity and has increased noticeably in size (about 3 hours), I dump the
>mix into a bowl and add 0.75 cups flour and 0.75 cups water. I let this
>sit for about 3 hours, then I add 1.5 cups water and about 6 or 7 cups
>flour and 1 tablespoon of salt.
>
>I knead this by hand for 10 minutes. Then I shape the dough into a ball,
>cover it with a little bit of olive oil, and put it in a large bowl. I
>cover the bowl with plastic or aluminum foil. I let it sit like this in
>the oven with the light on for about 3 hours.
>
>Then I take it out and cut the dough into two pieces, knead each piece
>again for about a minute or so, and then shape the pieces into balls. I
>put these balls on a buttered cookie sheet and let them sit for about
>three hours. I have tried this with the loaves uncovered (the
>surface dries out a lot) covered with plastic, and covered with
>towels. Plastic seems to work best.
>
>During these three hours, the dough increases in volume, but it is hard to
>say by how much, since the dough flattens as it expands.
>
>I preheat the oven (with convection fan) to 375 F, then put the cookie
>sheet in the oven. The bread rises a lot in the oven, probably almost
>doubling. After 10 minutes, I turn the oven down to 325 or 300, depending
>on how brown the bottom looks.
>
>Overall, the result is reasonable. I use the bread for sandwiches and
>toast and just eat it plain. My wife likes it also, mostly for toast.
>
>But if there was something I could do to make the loaves rise higher
>instead of spreading out, that would be a good thing, and I would love to
>hear suggestions.
>
>Thanks!
>
>--Mac

Hi Mac,

Two suggestions you might consider:

First, read my earlier post about "bannetons" as it may
apply to your situation.

Second, consider mixing the dough just until you are sure
that there are not pockets of dry flour. Then, put it in the
refrigerator for 24 hours, then continue with the other
aspects of your process.

Gluten forms from mechanical manipulation (kneading),
chemical manipulation (read some supermarket bread labels
for more information), and by hydration alone: Just cooling
the dough will slow the process sufficiently to form a
stringer gluten bond then you likely have with your present
technique.

That may be enough to prevent the "spread."

All the best,


--
Kenneth

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