Fool's Crumb
Big holes in an underfermented loaf with dense crumb between.
A crumb with big, irregular holes that looks open at first glance, but the bread around those holes is dense, tight, or gummy. It usually comes from underfermented dough: a few large pockets of gas form while the rest of the dough never got enough fermentation to open up. Bakers sometimes mistake it for a great open crumb.
By Henry Hunter · Updated
Henry's notes from the bench
- An even, open crumb has bubbles of many sizes all through it, with a shiny, almost lacy look. If the holes look like caves in a brick, give fermentation more time.
Diagnose and fix
Large holes with tight, dense crumb between them
Let bulk fermentation go longer. Judge it by volume increase, a domed and jiggly dough, and bubbles on the sides, not by the clock.
Fermentation is slow every time
Check your dough temperature and your starter. A cool kitchen or a starter used before it peaks can stretch fermentation well past what the recipe says.
Big tunnel just under the top crust
That's often underfermentation too, sometimes with loose shaping. Ferment fully and shape with enough tension.