Help with baking bread?!
Answers: I've been baking bread with natural sourdough rye starter and 1/2 white 1/2 whole wheat for the main flour, kind of following a recipie but not exactly. After I bake it at 375 F for about half an hour, it's almost perfect with a well done crust but slightly underdone and underisen in the middle towards the bottom, so I have to slice and toast it before I eat it or it would be kind of gross. Do you think I should adjust the oven temperature higher or lower, or could it be something else like how I shape the loaves, or using to much starter- I used more than the recipie called for and less plain water, because I thought my starter might not be strong enough.
Checking the oven temperature and the stability of that temperature is very important. However, it also sounds as though you are using too small pans to bake the bread in. I assume you are using two bread pans since most bread recipes make two basic loaves.
When you set your dough out for its first rising, are you waiting until the dough has risen sufficiently? Here is a quick test to see: if you put two finger dents in the dough and the dents remain, then your bread is ready to be punched down and shaped accordingly.
If your bread is weak in the middle to the bottom, though, I would really consider putting smaller loaves in to bake. If that isn't possible, then try this trick:
when the bread comes out of the oven, turn the loaf upside down and put it back in the oven (still in their pans, of course) and continue to bake at the same temperature for ten minute increments. See if that does the trick!!
If your oven is electric, check the temperature with an oven thermometer. It may be running hotter than the digital display says, which may be causing the bread to be done on the outside before it's done on the inside.
Check your oven temperature.
When I bake bread, I bake it at a lower temp, usually 325 or 350 for a longer period of time. If you want a crispy crust, use egg white on the top before you put it in the oven. When you make whole wheat bread, or even half whole wheat, add about a teaspoon more of yeast or starter. Also make sure your water is 80-90 degrees. Any hotter and the yeast will die.
If the center is heavy and undercooked, the bread may have not risen enough. Try leaving it rise for a longer time. The dough might have been too sticky and had too much moisture.
I doubt oven temperature will have much effect except to cause burning on the outside.
30 minutes does not sound like enough time to bake sourdough bread. Pull the pan out of the oven when you think it is done and thump it on the top . It should have a hollowness to the sound , not a thud. Rye starter also requires a longer time for rising. When you punch down the first rising, be sure you have gotten all the air out when you knead it for the second rising.
You can try the recipe at www.secrets-of-the-butchers-wife.com for French bread- use all whole wheat and 1 cup gluten flour as you prefer healthier bread. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. This recipe works well for many of us at a high altitude. I'd also try a smaller loaf. If you washed your oven thermometer in the dishwasher it might have stopped working. I just had to buy a new thermometer thanks to my very helpful kids.