The sourdough loaf that fought back in my kitchen at 6am
I woke up early last Tuesday to bake before my shift. Dough had proofed overnight in the fridge, looked perfect. I scored it, slid it into the Dutch oven, set the timer for 20 minutes. When I pulled the lid off, the loaf had exploded sideways. Like one side blew out and flattened the whole thing. Turned out I forgot to let it come to room temp after the cold proof, so the crust set too fast and steam tore through the weak spot. Bread was still edible, just ugly as sin. I sliced it up for toast and it actually tasted fine. Has anyone else had a cold proof blowout and figured out a better timing routine? I'm thinking 30 minutes on the counter next time but curious what works for others.