Large hole in loaf!

[Jackamus]

I have been making tinned loaves of bread for a number of years and suddenly the last 4 loaves I have made have had a large hole going right through its length! What am am I doing wrong?

 

[retired baker]

what changed?
a dry dough comes to mind,

 

[Jackamus]

Do you mean under hydrated?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I have been making tinned loaves of bread for a number of years and suddenly the last 4 loaves I have made have had a large hole going right through its length! What am am I doing wrong?

Given that you are using the same recipe and the hole is the full length of the loaf, the first thing that comes to mind is trapping air inside as you shape.

If you had scattered large holes throughout the crumb, it would be more an indication of over-proofing. When dough is over-proofed it structure collapses, Small bubbles then merge into single larger bubbles. Still, I would recommend you take care in the proofing phase as merging bubbles from overproofing can contribute to the problem of trapped air during shaping.

One last thought…are you mixing or kneading by hand? When kneading, stretch and folding, or slap and folding air can get trapped when the dough is folded over on itself. I normally do stretch and fold, but a couple months ago I wanted to accelerate the gluten development process so I did slap and folds. I trapped so much air in the dough I ended up with a couple of massive long air pockets.

 

[Jackamus]

My normal method is to make a preferment, then mix ingredients in a mixer for 10min. I leave to autolyse for 10min then a short knead before shaping and putting in the tin. I have a proofing box and am able to control proofing. I suspect that for some reason or other I'm doing a bad job of the short kneading and trapping a large amount of air.