Sourdough bread bowl
Access to this sourdough bread bowl has been denied because we believe you are using automation tools to browse the website. 20 Tips to Make Sourdough Bread Less Dense and more Airy! Sourdough bakers often complain about their bread having too dense a texture.
It was certainly a problem I had when I first started to bake sourdough bread, especially when I was using whole wheat flour. But as I became more experienced I learned a few tricks here and there that gave me a lighter and fluffier result. There are several ways to manipulate sourdough bread at different stages to encourage a lighter loaf with a less dense texture, from simple adjustments, to extra steps in the baking process. Here are my top tips to a lighter, less dense sourdough bread. The higher the water level, the more open the crumb will be. The caveat to that is that a wetter dough is far more difficult to handle.
See how well you are able to handle the dough, especially at the shaping stage. If you managed it like a pro, increase the hydration a little more next time until you find your limit. You will find that the bread is softer and lighter the more water you add. Continue to do this until you find a happy balance between a hydration of dough you can handle, and the density of the bread.
2: Switch up the Type of Flour you use to give Sourdough a Softer Texture The type of flour used in your mixture will make a massive difference to the end result of your bread. Gluten strands are what hold up the bread when the yeasts produce gases in the dough. This means using flour that has strong gluten in it will give you the best possible chance of getting a good rise in your sourdough bread. It’s also the easiest flour to handle when kneading and shaping your dough due to its elasticity. Using low gluten flours such as rye will make it impossible to get a good rise in your bread. A good way to get the added flavor of other flours such as rye, is to use a mixture of strong white flour with other flours. This way, you still get a nice rise in your bread, but don’t compromise on the flavor that other flours may give.
The higher the proportion of strong white, the lighter your bread will be. 3: Use Sifted Flour to Make Sourdough Less Dense If you still choose to use whole wheat flour, try sifting some or all of the flour to get rid of part of the bran. Bran in your whole wheat flour act like tiny little sharp bits that cut through the gluten strands, stopping them from holding up the air in the dough. 4: Soak Flour Beforehand for a Lighter Sourdough Loaf Soaking whole grain flour overnight before adding it to the final dough mixture will allow the bran in the wheat to soften and become more flexible. Then, when you add it to your recipe, it won’t affect the gluten as much by cutting the developed strands and losing all the gas build up. Hence, giving you a taller loaf with bigger air pockets. How to Make a Soaker for Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread: Measure out the amount of whole wheat flour your recipe requires into a mixing bowl.
Add some, or all of the water or liquid that your recipe requires to the flour. You want to add enough liquid to be able to make sure all the flour is incorporated, ending up with at least a dry dough consistency. The amount of liquid you use should be made a note of, as the rest will be used in the recipe later. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave on the countertop overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours. Taking this additional step will mean you will end up with a loaf that is less dense and more flavorsome. Soakers can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to a week.
For more detailed information on how to an autolyse i. 5: Bake Sourdough Bread in a Dutch Oven for Better Results Steam retention during baking is extremely important when it comes to getting a good rise in sourdough bread, and the best way to keep steam in your oven, is to bake the whole loaf in a Dutch oven so as not to let any of the steam escape. The more steam there is in the oven, the longer your sourdough bread’s crust will take to form, and the longer the bread has to rise until the crust prohibits any further growth. This tip personally made the biggest difference to my bread results and now I consider it to be pretty essential to bread making. If you’re looking to buy a Dutch oven, be sure to check out my guide to buying the right one for sourdough bread.
Spraying the surface of the shaped dough generously with water just before putting in the oven will keep it the surface flexible for longer, giving it a better oven spring, and a better rise in your bread. QUICK TIP: Alternatively, you can brush an egg wash on, which will also give the bread a nice color once baked! 7: Ferment the Dough Correctly for Best Results The dough should be fermented for the correct amount of time to give the best result. Under or over fermenting your dough will both result in a denser loaf. You want to catch your dough when it has risen a significant amount yet is still on its way up.
As a rule of thumb, if using strong white flour, the bulk ferment should see it roughly double in size. It will be less for whole wheat flour, but err on the side of caution and shape earlier rather than later. Waiting until you see a deflation means you will probably end up with a denser loaf. 8: Use the Starter at its Peak To get the biggest rise in sourdough bread, use the starter when it is at its peak. This means using it when it has reached its peak height in the jar, just before it begins deflating. 9: Make your Oven Hotter for a Higher Rising Sourdough It’s very common for bakers to not have their oven temperatures high enough for the first part of the bake.
