Sourdough question
 

I've been working with my starter, one I started myself, for about 6
years now, and it is very active and very healthy. I have been making
great loaves of bread, which form a peak and crack open beautifully.
All of a sudden recently, my loaves have stopped peaking..they are
flat. The bread still tastes great, but the loaves are a good 1 to 2
inches shorter. When I tried letting them rise longer, they just kind
of oozed over the edges and stuck later when baked. It's been a very
moist/rainy fall, I'm wondering if I should try reducing the water in
my recipe....alas! I was feeling so on top of my game, my loaves were
getting to be very dependable. Also, I've read about slashing the top
of loaves before breaking, but I always knew mine would crack on their
own in baking. Is there a preference amongst the rest of you?

Sourdough question
 

On Sep 9, 6:37*am, cynthdj > wrote:
> I've been working with my starter, one I started myself, for about 6
> years now, and it is very active and very healthy. *I have been making
> great loaves of bread, which form a peak and crack open beautifully.
> All of a sudden recently, my loaves have stopped peaking..they are
> flat. * The bread still tastes great, but the loaves are a good 1 to 2
> inches shorter. *When I tried letting them rise longer, they just kind
> of oozed over the edges and stuck later when baked. *It's been a very
> moist/rainy fall, I'm wondering if I should try reducing the water in
> my recipe....alas! *I was feeling so on top of my game, my loaves were
> getting to be very dependable. *Also, I've read about slashing the top
> of loaves before breaking, but I always knew mine would crack on their
> own in baking. *Is there a preference amongst the rest of you?

Lol, I meant to say slashing the tops of the loaves before baking....

Sourdough question
 

On Thu, 9 Sep 2010 07:39:42 -0700 (PDT), cynthdj
> wrote:

>On Sep 9, 6:37*am, cynthdj > wrote:
>> I've been working with my starter, one I started myself, for about 6
>> years now, and it is very active and very healthy. *I have been making
>> great loaves of bread, which form a peak and crack open beautifully.
>> All of a sudden recently, my loaves have stopped peaking..they are
>> flat. * The bread still tastes great, but the loaves are a good 1 to 2
>> inches shorter. *When I tried letting them rise longer, they just kind
>> of oozed over the edges and stuck later when baked. *It's been a very
>> moist/rainy fall, I'm wondering if I should try reducing the water in
>> my recipe....alas! *I was feeling so on top of my game, my loaves were
>> getting to be very dependable. *Also, I've read about slashing the top
>> of loaves before breaking, but I always knew mine would crack on their
>> own in baking. *Is there a preference amongst the rest of you?
>
>Lol, I meant to say slashing the tops of the loaves before baking....
I make cuts across the top of the bread with sharp scissors,
BEFORE the rise. I find it's too fragile after the rise.
Never experienced a cracked loaf, after I started doing that.
And you can make sexy patterns on your bread if you have an artistic
touch. :)
I find that if you stick to a recipe, the variable becomes the
flour. Try other brands, you might have bought a bad batch. Or maybe
they raised the amount of chlorine in your water ?
[]'s