Spelt Sourdough troubleshooting

amother

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 5:42 pm

I’ve been making spelt sourdough for about 9 months now. I used to just bake them uncovered in a Pyrex pie dish and they always rose beautifully. The shape wasn’t gorgeous though, and it browned unevenly, and cracked in weird ways and was kind of dryish and dried out easily once cut so I finally invested in a cast iron Dutch oven on Black Friday. Ever since my loaves are coming out much flatter. I preheat the oven along with the Dutch oven for a very long time, like 45 minutes after it says it reached 500 degrees. My recipe is
500 grams white spelt flour
100 grams refreshed starter
12 grams salt
340-360 grams warm water (I’ve experimented with more and less moisture to see if that would help with rising, it hasn’t made a difference).

Anyone has any insight on why this would be happening ?

mha3484

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 6:29 pm

I baked with spelt for years. I could never get the same hight as with wheat flour. I think it has to do with how the gluten develops.

amother

IndianRed

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 6:59 pm

I do only 300 grams of water. What helped me was the way I prepared it. I mix the dough roughly wait 10 min. Smack it a few times for it to mix better. Wait half hour laminate wait an hour and laminate. Leave outside for about 6 hours. Then I shape and put into fridge overnight.

amother

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 7:01 pm

mha3484 wrote:

I baked with spelt for years. I could never get the same hight as with wheat flour. I think it has to do with how the gluten develops.

People say this a lot but what’s weird is that baking them uncovered in a Pyrex I got super high loaves literally from my first try. I actually used to think that they were rising too much because the shape got so distorted and they had these huge ‘stretch marks”. It’s only now since switching to a covered Dutch oven that I’m getting them only slightly domed. Same exact flour, same ratios.

amother

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 7:01 pm

amother IndianRed wrote:

I’ll try less water. Are the rest of your ratios the same as mine? Is laminate the same as stretch and fold?

amother

Aqua

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 7:38 pm

Baking in a Dutch oven keeps the crust softer for longer because it traps the steam from the dough. It could be that's why it spreads more than when baked open.

I don't bake with spelt- can you do more stretch and folds to build more strength into the dough? Or is spelt gluten free?

amother

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 7:55 pm

amother Aqua wrote:

Its not gluten free but yes less gluten and weaker bonds in the proteins, which is why everything I read said the least possible work with the dough, so as not to break those bonds.

I’ve thought about the Dutch oven keeping the crust softer for longer, so what’s the solution? Do I need a smaller Dutch oven to force it upward? But then it’ll have a weird shape.

amother

Aqua

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 8:03 pm

amother OP wrote:

Oh ok that makes sense. Do you do an overnight cold ferment? Can you use a different shaped bowl to encourage a taller shape?

amother

Sun, Jan 08 2023, 8:06 pm

amother Aqua wrote:

Oh ok that makes sense. Do you do an overnight cold [slow person]? Can you use a different shaped bowl to encourage a taller shape?

I do a 12-16 hour cold ferment after about 6-8 hours on the counter starting from when I make the dough. The bannetons are a good shape and size, but when I score them they always spread. They don’t hold their shape even after the cold ferment. This happened before the Dutch oven as well, but they still rose dramatically in the oven. Now they spread and don’t puff back up as dramatically.

amother

IndianRed

Mon, Jan 09 2023, 12:02 am

amother OP wrote:

I’ll try less water. Are the rest of your ratios the same as mine? Is laminate the same as stretch and fold?

To laminate it’s to stretch out the dough on the counter to the thinnest possible without tearing it, then folding it up. This worked for me. But lately I’m having starter issues and my bread is not good again.

sbil

Mon, Jan 09 2023, 12:54 am

amother OP wrote:

I take it out of the fridge to score right b4 putting it in the oven, to prevent the dough from running. Sometimes I cover it back up with the bowl to hold its shape.

amother

Mon, Jan 09 2023, 8:47 am

sbil wrote:

I take it out of the fridge to score right b4 putting it in the oven, to prevent the dough from running. Sometimes I cover it back up with the bowl to hold its shape.

I do this already. Literally time it all including when I remove the Dutch oven from the oven so there’s the least amount of time between scoring and putting it in the oven to bake.

amother

Mon, Jan 09 2023, 8:47 am

amother IndianRed wrote:

I wonder if this is a good idea for spelt. Sounds like not.

mommy4five

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 8:13 pm

I out a few tablespoons of water under the baking paper into the dutch oven before covering it gives extra steam for an extra rise and only bake on 450-475 spelt doesnt need the 500

amother

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 8:52 pm

mommy4five wrote:

I out a few tablespoons of water under the baking paper into the dutch oven before covering it gives extra steam for an extra rise and only bake on 450-475 spelt doesnt need the 500

I feel like extra steam and lower temps will give it even more time to flatten out no?

What are your ratios for the dough?

amother

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 10:36 am

amother IndianRed wrote:

Just wanted to come back and report that I cut my water down to 300 grams and it did the trick! I guess the dough was just way too wet, and the Dutch oven trapped all the steam in there as opposed to the uncovered baking where it rapidly evaporated. They look gorgeous and well risen I just hope it doesn’t taste dry when we cut it.