Question QUESTION: My sourdough bread always seems to fall apart when I slice it. Any suggestions?
Thank you
ANSWER: barb,hard for me to guess the problem without knowing what you are doing step by step,send me some details and let's see whats going on. bob connolly,www.millsbakery.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Ok. Here's the recipe: 2 cups starter, 2 cups unbleached white bread flour, 1 tsp. salt, 2 T. maple syrup, 2 T. softened butter.
I put the flour in a bowl first and then add the starter and remaining ingredients. I mix that up with a wooden spoon and then I knead in about another cup of flour. I try to knead until the dough isn't sticky anymore. Then I put it in a greased loaf pan, lightly oil the top and cover it with plastic wrap and let rise in my oven on the Bread Proofing cycle for about 2 hours or until it is about doubled.
I then bake it at 375 for 20 minutes or until it sounds hollow.
Something that struck me when reading some other questions and answers was that you should make sure the oven temperature is heated all the way before you put your loaf into the oven. I don't usually do that. I take it out of the oven after rising and remove the plastic wrap. Then I turn the convect bake on 375 and go ahead and put the bread in the oven before it reaches 375.
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Barb
Answer barb,good work! you figured one thing out all by yourself! always bake in a pre-heated oven,if you are using a stone especially,it needs to be as hot as the oven temp.now the next suspision i have is you are using "all purpose flour" there is no such thing,and since you took the trouble of seeking the advise of a pro we are bumping you up to the pre-pro level as a baker and we will share some inside info with you to help you along.get your hands on some high gluten flour,it's available lots of places,you can ask your local bakery to sell you some,they will usually help,the protein level is higher and will provide the elasticity you are missing and make a world of difference,remember,you are now embarking on a higher level of baking,not the betty crocker stuff anymore!get back to me if you have any other issues,you can replace the butter with vegetable oil also,i don't like the butter thing too much,it has no place in real sour dough bread,just weigh the oil so it equals the weight of the butter,add more flour to absorb the liquid oil,i like my sour dough a bit stiffer than what you probably have,try different consistancies till you get what you want.we have lots of tricks to share when you are ready.good luck to you,and don't be intimidated,you can do this and do it well! bob
