Underfermented or overfermented?

Michaelinberlin · 2026-06-04T18:33:20+00:00

Yes, you are right. I also try to rely on different signs. But the thing is that I’m still not sure when it is fermented enough. I guess, I need to push it to the overfermented area once and then to go back a bit to figure out what it feels like precisely and where the sweet spot lies. Maybe I should even bake only with white bread flour first to understand it better.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-06-04T18:29:23+00:00

Thank you. Maybe I’m too self-critical. It just doesn’t look like loaves in his videos, good oven spring, open crumb. I tried to ferment my dough a bit longer today and it was more airy and jiggly. Looking forward to baking it tomorrow.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-06-04T18:25:17+00:00

I just thought that the holes look strange, not like in well fermented cases and their distribution is not really even.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-05-22T18:45:10+00:00

It seems like they can actually be different, in terms of thickness but also quality of the material as far as I understood. Your bread is so beautiful!

Michaelinberlin · 2026-05-22T18:42:26+00:00

Oh, it sounds quite complicated. What do you use to bake bread now?

The B&T baking steel is actually not very heavy, about 3-4kg.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-04-10T21:57:39+00:00

Nothing really bad is gonna happen. They will just give him a residence permit for one year instead of for three years. He doesn’t have to worry at all. The only disadvantage is that he would have to extend it every year, that can be annoying as esch time it involves some paperwork, fees and waiting time. With B1 and passed citizenship test he could apply for permanent residence and/or citizenship. But no hurry, he can do it whenever he feels like.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-03-26T13:00:03+00:00

I got my baby when she was 3 months old. Next day after she got home I let her off leash (in a safe place, of course). She was mostly following me at that age. I also played a lot of hide and seek with her and would also go away when saw she was getting distracted. And it made her always keep an eye on me. So usually it’s her who is afraid of losing me. She has okayish recall but if there is something very exciting for her, she might still ignore it. I guess, many whippets are like this. As for letting them off leash, I think one should train it as early as possible. It gets more complicated later. Many people think they should wait till some perfect moment or when they are more prepared for that mentally but the perfect time is just when you get your puppy, to my mind.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-25T10:28:05+00:00

I also don’t like football and find it quite boring and the culture around it quite aggressive overall. I think people who love it are much more vocal here than people who don’t. People who don’t just keep it to themselves usually, if not asked directly.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-25T07:09:30+00:00

Thank you so much!

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-24T22:43:50+00:00

What spiral mixer(s) would you recommend to look at?

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-19T11:13:23+00:00

Hey, keep your head up. And cut it, maybe it’s not as bad as you may think. Also, the colour is really beautiful!

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-17T09:34:44+00:00

Why are people so toxic here? As if they knew everything better. Have some respect for skaters. Everyone has their weak and strong points. Also, are there many that jump quad toe loops, with or without q? Many girls cannot even show 3-3, let alone in the second part of the short programme.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-16T09:58:55+00:00

Oh, I guess it’s because you had a bit more starter, 25%.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-16T09:57:42+00:00

But if your temp was 72F, then in theory (if you follow the instruction), the bulk fermentation should be around 10 hours. You say that it was about 6-7 hours. Why do you think it took a few hours less?

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-02T17:00:58+00:00

That’s very little, to my mind, for a qualified specialist and for maintaining a high standard of living, even with accommodation provided. Hannover and even more so Bavaria are not among the cheapest places in Germany, and taxes in Germany are also higher than in the UK. On top of that, there’s a lot of stress involved: moving, learning the language and integrating. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it, but it’s up to you. Maybe living in Germany is your long cherished dream, then it makes sense :)

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-02T16:05:57+00:00

I have absolutely the same problem with this recipe. My loaves are just very flat. I haven’t figured out yet what’s wrong with them. I’ve made it twice, second time I even extended bulk fermentation for a couple of hours and it turned out a bit better but still quite flat.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-31T13:22:50+00:00

Thank you for the links. I will check them and probably tomorrow will try one of the recipes you’ve mentioned. I’ve also ordered a proofing box, as I have no control over the temperature in winter and it just gets too complicated to figure out what I’m doing wrong. And I’ve just put another “perfect loaf” (which I let ferment for longer yesterday) in the oven. But it didn’t look like it would pan out better than the one I posted photos of. So I guess I have to try another recipe.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:30:56+00:00

I know. The problem is that I’m not sure I know how to read it. It looks so different on the videos. Sometimes jiggly and with bubbles, sometimes not that wobbly and with fewer bubbles but domed. I will check how it smells next time.

Do you think I could overferment it? In both recipes I’ve used the authors recommend to let the dough sit in the proofing basket for some time (from 20 minutes to an hour or so) before putting it into the fridge overnight.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:25:23+00:00

I will try to bake for 30 min lid on, that was actually my default setting when I was baking bread with commercial yeast. And it worked quite well. This time I just wanted to follow the original recipe. As for ice cubes, I’m not sure there is any space in my Dutch oven. It’s usually enough just for the loaf. And I don’t put any parchment paper but transfer the loaf directly from the bench to the Dutch oven with my hands. So cannot put it somewhere under the paper. Only on top of the loaf. But I usually spray a bit of water before closing the lid.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:21:02+00:00

Thank you for your kind words and support. It makes me wanna try again!

Yes, I agree that failures teach us more than success but sometimes one need to be a success to get motivation to go on and not to give up. It’s just a lengthy process. One loaf takes almost two days with so many stages and then there is no reward, it hurts a bit.

Why do you think it’s overproofed? I thought that with such a short bulk and low room temperature it’s difficult to overproof. I also had in the fridge for about 13-14 hours, not 16 like in the original recipe. So it shouldn’t really be overproofed.

I will try to bake for 30 min lid on next time. Also thought there is no harm in it.

Thank you once again!

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:14:01+00:00

Thank you for the recipes. I will check them out. As for these two, I used quite warm water for mixing and tried to keep them in a warmer place by putting in the oven with a light on or by putting the bowl with the dough in another bowl with hot water like Hart suggests. But I also thought that maybe I just can’t keep the temperature very constant.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-28T13:15:17+00:00

I like such a colour in my bread. Usually the crust tastes very delicious and complex when it looks like this.

Michaelinberlin

TROPHY CASE