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That one critique about my sourdough crumb that finally clicked
My aunt Peggy, who's been baking since the 70s, told me my sourdough was 'gummy' and that I needed to push the bulk ferment longer. I had been doing a 4 hour ferment at 75 degrees, but she said wait until the dough doubles and gets jiggly like jelly. After I pushed it to 6.5 hours, the crumb opened up completely and got that light texture I was chasing. Has anyone else had a family member give feedback that turned out to be exactly right?
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felix_williams711mo ago
Oh man, that "jiggly like jelly" thing finally clicked for me too after years of dense loaves. I was stubbornly sticking to a timer instead of actually feeling the dough, and my crumb was always so tight and gummy. Then I started doing the poke test and watching for that real wobble when I shook the bowl. I pushed my bulk ferment to almost 7 hours one day (my kitchen runs cool, around 68 degrees) and the difference was night and day. It's wild how such a simple tactile thing our grandmas and aunts knew all along can completely change your baking game.
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Did your aunt Peggy ever explain what she meant by 'jiggly like jelly'? I had a buddy who kept underproofing his loaves for months until his grandma grabbed the dough and said 'feel this, it should wobble like your cousin's jello salad at Thanksgiving' and it finally made sense to him.
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