The sourdough ear is pretty much an essential feature of a sourdough bread. Think of it as a real ear for bread, requiring perfect precision to be considered edible. Although you don't have to feel depressed if you didn't manage to achieve a beautiful ear, because you can still bake the tastiest breads with small ears! If you're wondering what sourdough ears are and how to get them, then stay tuned for the answers!
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What is sourdough ear?
Basically, the dough ear is a part of the dough that sticks out during baking. This part of the dough becomes fresh during baking, indicating a good oven spring.
The ear is formed when the dough is pushed up and peeled back as the dough bakes in a hot, steamy environment, otherwise known as a Dutch oven. This raised and crusty part of the sourdough bread is the result of precise scoring, ensuring expansion with the help of a razor blade.
You can learn how note sourdough bread before your next bake!
Why are ears so popular in sourdough baking?
Ears are very popular in sourdough bread baking for one of two reasons. And these are:
- aesthetic: A sour ear basically decorates your loaves, making them extremely attractive to serve and eat.
- Maximum growth: A proper scoring technique determines the rise of the dough. The pattern of dots plays a big role in all breads, especially sourdough. The angle of the cut will result in the crust rolling over to form a beautiful ear.
How does a sour ear form?
Dripping your dough forces your bread to rise the way you want it to. It means you control the direction it rises and how much it rises.
A few techniques can encourage your dough to produce the best dough. And these include:
- Creating good surface tension through planned shaping.
- Correct note
- Well, fermented dough to produce a good oven spring.
- Steam the dough, eg, baking bread in a Dutch oven.
Tips for achieving a long ear of sourdough
Although the process of making a sourdough loaf may seem simple, there are additional factors that must be considered in order to produce a wonderful loaf, with a crisp crust and perfect ear.
Here are some tips to help achieve a beautiful sourdough ear.
Make sure your dough has enough strength and gluten development
If your dough lacks sufficient dough strength and gluten developmentthen chances are your sour ear will not develop during baking.
A flatter dough cannot rise during the oven spring and this is essential to help separate the cuts in the dough, as this is the only way a long ear can develop.
When a weak dough is noted, shearing separates the essential strands of gluten in the dough. Gluten fibers provide strength, and with their disappearance, the dough collapses, unable to support its weight.
Perfect dough strength can be developed in many ways. Mixing the dough helps develop the gluten strands, the acidity from the bulk fermentation tightens the gluten structure, and folding the dough during the bulk fermentation helps develop a good gluten structure.
Dough hydration levels play an important role in scoring. For example, if you are working with sourdough that is less than 75% hydrated, a score depth of ¼ to ½ inch deep should not satisfy your dough. However, if it flattens your dough, you can improve the strength of the dough by increasing the mixing time and the number of folds.
On the other hand, doughs that are more than 75% hydrated will collapse if marked.
Don't over-proof your sourdough
The spring of the oven is essential, as the dough expands and rises, bursting the cuts in the dough, hardening and developing into a long, gorgeous ear.
Oven spring refers to the rapid expansion of the dough during the first 10 minutes of baking. As the dough is heated in the oven, gases trapped within the dough expand due to the rising temperatures.
The sole purpose of proofing or final fermentation is to allow the dough to reach 90% of its rise before being placed in the oven, where fermentation can continue to produce sufficient oven source.
If the dough has over-tested that is, close to 100% of its growth, this means that the yeast and bacteria have used their leftover food for fermentation and gas production, which will inevitably cause the dough to flatten.
Create enough steam for sufficient oven springs
Steam plays an important role in baking sourdough. Your dough should be baked in a perfectly steamed environment so that the dough can fully expand during the spring of the oven. This process will then encourage the crust to harden and spread into a long, long ear.
Steam lowers the surface temperature of your dough. Without steam, the surface temperature can rise extremely quickly, causing the crust to harden too early. This hardened crust will then prevent further expansion, which is why some home bakers have experienced sliced bread that doesn't expand.
If too much steam is produced, then the surface temperature of the dough will remain extremely low, allowing the oven spring to set too quickly. gradually increasing temperatures ensure a perfect crust, but with the spring of the oven rushed and the lack of crust to hold the dough in shape, it will inevitably collapse.
It is important to remove the steam from the bread after the dough has browned enough to finish baking in a dry environment.
Ensure adequate skin tension during shaping
Forming your dough is extremely important, as it ensures that the dough has developed enough skin tension. This skin tension applies a pulling motion to the surface of the dough, which will enable the cuts to separate once the dough is scored.
When there is little or no skin tension, the incisions refuse to open. We form the dough on a hardened surface to help develop perfect skin tension, and this is a product of friction. The stickiness of the pressed dough on the hardened work surface keeps one side of the dough stiff while your hands pull and push the dough on the other side.
The less flour you apply to your work surface, the better. We need all the friction we can get!
Marking with a razor sharp razor
The best tool to use when cutting your dough should be a razor blade, as it has the thinnest and sharpest edge, enabling you to cut through the dough in one swift motion. If you use a knife to score the dough, the thick, sharp blade may freeze and stick as you try to cut deeper into the dough. This defeats the whole purpose of cutting and scoring your dough in a single cut.
Before scoring, make sure you are using an extremely sharp knife or blade to avoid any mistakes. You can test the sharpness of your blade by holding up a piece of paper and slicing it in a quick downward motion. If the blade is sharp enough, it should cut through paper effortlessly.
However, if the blade is open, it will stop mid-cut and pull the paper as it cuts.
Dip the knife in the water
If the blade sticks to the dough while scoring, stop all scoring and soak the blade in a little water. The dampened blade and moisture droplets prevent dough from sticking to it, meaning less resistance when scoring and flawless cuts.
Use the scissors
Wetter doughs are often stickier and your blade will definitely get stuck in the dough, even if you soak the blade in water beforehand. If your razor stubbornly sticks to the dough when you score, use a pair of scissors instead. Cut the dough at a shallow angle and make many small cuts in the dough so that they stick together and form a high shape during baking.
Why is steam so important to sourdough ears?
Steam is essential for sourdough because it keeps the dough soft as it bakes, ensuring it continues to expand comfortably, resulting in the perfect oven spring.
Without steam, the crust will form faster than it should and the dough won't rise as much, resulting in a flatter loaf.
The steam ensures that the bread continues to expand until the bread is uncovered and exposed to the direct heat of the oven. Steam will also help your loaves have a nicely caramelized crust. Always make sure you've created a sufficiently steamy environment for your dough, whether that's through a Dutch ovencast iron pan, or a simple glass of water in the oven.
Ears of yeast
Don't worry if you haven't managed to produce the best sourdough ear. These things take time and practice, and with every loaf you bake, there's a perfect ear waiting for you!
Meanwhile, you can explore the best bread knife for sourdough bread to produce the perfect slice.
Frequently asked questions
How to put an ear to sourdough bread?
Basically, an ear of dough is formed through precise techniques of scoring your dough before placing it in the oven. The scored area creates a weak spot in the dough, allowing it to collapse and open when in a hot oven. But this will only happen if your dough has a good oven spring.
How do you make dough ears bigger?
The best way to form larger cones of dough is by placing it at an angle that pushes up so that the dough peels back. Use a sharp or dull razor to do this.
Why do people mark sourdough?
Scoring controls the expansion of the dough after it is placed in the oven. Bakers mark their loaves to help prevent them from cracking.
How do you make handmade bread ears?
First, create good surface tension through deliberate shaping. Next, you will need to score with confidence and accuracy. Good fermentation ensures perfect oven spring. Don't forget to steam your dough!
