I’m testing US-milled superfine white rice flour with Thai tapioca and 2.5% psyllium gel at 64% hydration, but I’m still getting rubbery bounce rather than true chew after a 90-second boil in 1% rice syrup. Has anyone improved crumb elasticity by swapping 10–15% high-amylose corn starch or sorghum (Plains mills) for part of the tapioca, and does tapioca origin (Thai vs Brazilian) change set or retrogradation for you? Supplier tips and hydration tweaks that reduced gumminess without drying would be hugely appreciated.
I go cross‑pol macro first, then “cast first” with gray Mikrosil — very thin, wicked in with a microbrush — so it locks burrs without levering; roll the set out like painter’s tape, don’t yank. If trace is high‑priority I’ll limit the dry swab to the plug face and ward shoulders and bag it, but never inside the keyway; canned air cost me a nice ridge once.
Had a 02:10 pull where the “barely‑there rotational striations” only popped under cross‑pol around 25°, so I shoot that first, then go gray Mikrosil warmed in‑pocket so it flows without pressure. I tuck a tiny PTFE sliver at the keyway shoulder to stop the cast from grabbing and lifting micro‑burrs — when they float — and I only do a single documented dry swab first if I can see loose particulate in the warding. Minor caveat: if the door hardware’s cold, pre‑warm the plug to room temp or you’ll get drag lines; you getting enough contrast on that brass, @OP?
Swapping 12% of the tapioca for high‑amylose corn starch gave me “true chew” without the rubber bounce; Thai vs Brazilian didn’t change much for me, but a shorter 60s malt boil kept the crust from going bouncy — have you tried that tweak?