13 hours ago, Anna N said:if anyone wants to chime in and offer some solutions for my new problem or at least my worsening problem of tunneling I will be happy to follow your suggestions when I’m over my sabbatical from this bread.
First of all, congrats, if it wasn't for the tunnel you nailed it at the second try!
The tunnel forms because the dough is not attached to the inner spiral. The dough in the outher spiral grows bigger during proofing time, so it tends to detach from the inner spiral. If the dough is just laid over the smear without being "glued" then you will have this trouble. Usually spreads/smears are soft and wet, this way they are easy to spread and act as "glue" between each spiral. Judging by the photos (I don't have the recipe) the smear for this recipe looks to be on the dry side, this prevents the spiral to be "glued" together. It's not a problem for the inner ones, since they find an outer spiral that keeps them in place.
Since you prepare an egg wash for the final surface, then you can use it as "glue" when you roll the bread. Just brush some egg wash over the smear and the raisins, then roll the bread the tighter you can. You need to avoid air bubbles, act a little torsion to the roll while you form it making it tighter, pressing on the lower dough sheet while you roll. This way all spirals will get "glued".
This kind of breads are much easier to make in a professional kitchen, a sheeter is a HUGE help, so if you see a professional loaf with a perfect spiral, well, it wasn't the baker, it was the sheeter that did the job.
Teo
