25 minute proof at room temperature. The only thing you might need to fix with your sourdough is its hydration. Once the dough doesn't tear when you stretch it between your fingers, you're ok to set it aside for bulk fermentation. SOLUTION - Depending on the cause of your spread, you can implement the following fixes: PROBLEM - Dough splits in places other than where you've scored or even splits messing up your decorative scoring. Bake for 15-30 minutes until golden brown and dry (not burned). PROBLEM - You may have baked a loaf of sourdough which appears to have large tunnels of air or just one big hole surrounded by a tighter or dense crumb. The flour will absorb water and become incorporated during the stretches and folds. If youre going from low hydration (60-65%) bread dough to a sourdough (65-80%) hydration, youre most probably not going to know how to handle it properly. The uneven crumb occurs because fermentation has not been long enough to allow the gases produced by the yeast to evenly distribute, resulting in some larger holes (generally in the middle). While the dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 230 C (450 F) and place your Dutch oven inside to preheat as well. And then mix in the other ingredients and forge ahead. The strength of your dough should build as you perform stretches and folds. CAUSE - cutting into your bread too soon! I have, however, always let my bread cool for at least 4 hours, until its at or very near room- temperature, and it continues to be sticky - even when left in the oven to steam out for a little while after baking is completed. From a gummy crumb to a lack of rise and everything in between. When water is excessively soft, the lack of minerals results in a sticky andslack dough. Well, sourdough is a stickier, wetter dough than regular yeasted bread. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'crustylabs_com-box-4','ezslot_1',121,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-crustylabs_com-box-4-0');It is completely normal for very high hydration doughs at more than 75% hydration to feel excessively slack, wet and sticky after the mixing phase. The chains of gluten give your dough strength and structure. CAUSE - Spreading can be caused by a few factors including under fermented or over fermented dough as well as poor shaping technique. It may just be that you need to leave it in the oven longer with the lid off your. Then, mix in 70 grams of active sourdough starter. First, it's helpful to have a small bowl of water nearby to dip your hands into before touching your dough. It will only improve the flavor. Final internal temp 211FSliced after cooling for 4 hours. One set of strong Stretch & Folds. In this blog we will explore what causes wet, sticky dough and how to fix the issue so you can bake amazing sourdough bread. Your dough might be too sticky because you added too much water when making the initial mix, too. Instructions. Thank you so much for the guidance! Nor should it be sticky after youve baked it. This is the dry mixture. Method. If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on. You need to make sure that you keep your kitchen at a temperature between 24C - 28C (75F-82F). Add the dry mixture. How Long Does Cookie Dough Last in the Fridge. Plastic and metal dough scrapers are useful tools and both have their own pros and cons. Gluten is the foundation for good bread, so you wont get very far if its not developed. When Im not baking sourdough, I love to hang out with my three boys on our farm, tend to my jungle of indoor plants and drink good coffee. A basic sourdough is made with only wheat flour, sometimes just white flour and sometimes a combination of whole wheat flour and white flour. This helps keep the dough from sticking. Same with the salt %, it is computed on total flour. It could be using the slap and fold, stretch and fold, rubaud kneading, or whatever youd like. How Do You Know When Your Sourdough Starter Is Ready To Bake With?. CAUSE - Logically, the cause of this is not baking your bread for long enough. 16 hour cold (38F) retard, in closed plastic bags. In a large bowl, combine 350 g of water with the sourdough starter, stir to dissolve the starter. You'll know you have sufficient gluten development by performing the window pane test on your dough. Required fields are marked *. One of the most obvious causes of wet dough is using too much water in the dough. The average total mixing time when using a spiral mixer is around 6 minutes of total mixing (includes first speed mixing time and second speed mixing time). CAUSE - Your sourdough is lacking oven spring, which means your dough is not growing in the oven as it should. The trick is to pinpoint which one is affecting your dough so you can fix it or change your formula for next time. This method involves mixing the dough so the flour is fully hydrated before performing a series of stretch and folds. Once you get comfortable, you can gradually increase the water content of your dough and see how you manage it. Within eight to 12 hours of feeding your starter, you want to see a noticeable increase in volume and it should be putting off a pretty pungent. Having a strong gluten network means that the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast will be evenly distributed. Modified: Dec 27, 2022 by The Pantry Mama This post may contain affiliate links. Levain hand-mixed, Rubaud style, for 5 minutes. Use mineral water of a known hardness or test your tap water to be sure that your water has the appropriate hardness level for bread baking. Set aside. Also, if you find the outside is brown and the inside is moist, that normally indicates you should lower the baking temp. The loaf will also feel light in your hand, rather than heavy. There are generally two causes of this (it can be a combination of both): SOLUTIONS - Depending on which of the above has caused your gumminess, you can fix by: PROBLEM - Your bread dough spreads and loses shape when you flip it out of the banneton to bake. If your kitchen is too warm, the dough can become a sloppy, wet mess. If your sourdough has a very thick base which is burnt or just very tough, there's a very simple fix for this. Wet and sticky dough not only sticks to the work surfaces but also to our hands, increasing the risk of tearing and making it very difficult to work with. Throughout the shaping, the dough felt aerated and light and bouncy and it was easy to handle after dipping our hands in water. It should be room temperature. Content posted by community members is their own. If the sourdough is unworkable at the very start, this obviously isnt because the oven temperature isnt set right for your elevation. While sourdough is a wetter, stickier dough than what you may be used to, it should still be able to be stretched, folded and shaped without too many issues. Without these it will be sloppy and hard to handle. We actually followed this recipe twice, the first time was in the exact proportion mentioned with a hydration of 81% and "Betty" turned out tacky and moist. A well developed gluten network has the strength to hold the gases and produce an even crumb. Add the sourdough starter to a large mixing bowl. I've been making breads recently which, while they're delicious, seemingly well-baked, and with an open crumb, are a bit tacky/sticky to the touch and during slicing. Step 1 - My starter is at 125% hydration. It is normal when working with dough of very high hydration for it to feel quite wet and sticky after it has finished mixing. Yeasted Pre-ferment (Poolish & Biga) VS Sponge VS Dough. The higher hydration the dough, the stickier its going to be. Place a lidded pot (Dutch Oven) in the oven to preheat. Turn the mixer on 1-2 (never higher than 2 or medium-low) and let the mixer knead the dough for about 5 minutes. I am constantly baking hockey pucks! You can try to prevent the problem by being more careful when proofing the yeast. 2. These need to be done without hesitation. Some people add too much water to compensate. This will result in a more. The good news is, there's always a way to fix your sourdough bread problems for your next bake! When the dough is excessively over mixed, it first becomes very strong and stiff, then when mixed further, the gluten network starts to unravel and unknits, releasing the absorbed water out into the dough environment, causing it to be wet and sticky. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.Thanks!Jeff. Then the dough cant stick to them. Rest uncovered for 25 minutes. Place a small oven-safe cooking pot (6x6-inches) with a metal lid into the oven and preheat to 450 F. Gently place dough with parchment paper into the pot. Steaming is one of the most crucial steps when baking bread. If all has gone well, the dough will be in a tight ball and ready for proofing. Gluten is impermeable, meaning it doesnt allow gas or water to pass through, when there isnt enough gluten in the dough, water molecules can easily escape out of the dough, resulting in dough mixture that is only partly incorporated with water. - lower hydration in the total dough formula (already noted above). For now, you need to know exactly whats causing your sourdough to be sticky and what you can do to help yourself with it. Bread flour. Or you need to give the sourdough starter more salt.Another root cause may be the recipe relative to your environment. Youre aiming for maximum gluten development for the dough to become easier to manage. Evenly roll out your small 2- to 4-ounce balls into small circles a scant quarter inch thick. There are lots of things that can go wrong when baking sourdough bread. However, sourdough hydration levels can be pushed past 100% with the right technique which we will discuss in the subheading below. Flour issues. The only issue with this is that the oil will mix in with the dough and alter the flavor, so dont use a type of oil you dont want to risk tasting in the end product.Some people suggest waiting for dough to rise. Cutting the bread while still warm will create a gummy interior as the crumb hasn't finished setting. Bake in a Dutch Oven. Now it is the sourdough starter or its use that is suspect. I've written a full guide to why sourdough deflates after scoring here. The gluten structure has become weak and is unable to hold up. So I suspect a miscalculation, and you might actually be doing 80% final hydration. We can prevent wet sourdough from sticking by oiling our work surfaces, using wet hands to handle the dough and dusting the proofing containers. This also provides its sour flavour and. Your email address will not be published. This is the preferred method used by professional artisan bakers. So you __may__ need a longer bake, which will mean a lower temp. Bake the sourdough bread. I understand in the beginning you want to see the inside but do yourself a favor and wait at least 3 ours. In order to have an easier time handling the dough, you need to maximize gluten development. The difference between wet dough being successful and wet dough being a big sloppy mess is dough strength. If your dough is too dry, add a little moisture and mix it, adding just a little more water if necessary. All original site content copyright 2023 The Fresh Loaf unless stated otherwise. Extend your bulk fermentation time. Thanks @Barryval and @ifs201! However, it shouldnt be so sticky that it is hard to knead. Copyright 2021 The Pantry Mama 2021 - All Rights Reserved, 5 Ways To Strengthen A Sourdough Starter: Give Your Starter A Boost, Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe with Parmesan + Rosemary, Easy Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread Recipe, Sourdough English Muffins {with a discard version too}. Steps: Autolyse for an hour before adding the starter (rest 30m) and salt (rest 15m) all by hand using the folding and pinching method. A mistake that nearly sourdough bakers have made is simply leaving the dough for too long. I think it's quite common to get some stickiness if you are slicing fairly soon after the end of bake. A starter is a collection of yeast and bacteria that feed on flour. Temperature is one of the most important factors when making sourdough. Flip the bowl over onto the countertop so that the dough is now on top of the parchment paper. But what if your dough is really wet and sticky and you just can't do anything with it? At first, the dough will be very sticky, but the gluten will develop more and more after each stretch and fold. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven. Making sure you get bulk fermentation correct - you'll find my best tips, You could also make sure that you spray plenty of water onto the outside of the dough before placing it in your Dutch Oven. Here are some of the problems that can cause wet and sticky sourdough: Many people say "just use wet hands" if your dough is super sticky or wet. Its like an extension to your hand and can be used to improve your technique with the dough. Sticky and wet crumb means the crumb is too wet; there is too much water in the finished product. However, it's much better to find out the cause of the problem so you can fix it and prevent it from happening again. This is particular difficult if you're working in humid conditions. A large mixing bowl A round cane banneton 2 clean tea towels A Dutch oven, La Cloche or bread pan A large heatproof pan, a sharp knife or 'lame' to slash the dough with. The dough was definitely NOT underproofed - I'd recently been overproofing and this particular bake was, if anything, still a little over. All Purpose flour is ok, however it generally doesn't have the protein necessary to develop a strong gluten network. You can read more about this, Take some time to strengthen your sourdough starter (particularly if it's been in the fridge for a while or it's doubling consistently). Pinpointing the cause of your wet and sticky dough will depend where in the sourdough process you are. Why Is My Sourdough Too Sticky? Autolyze reduces the wetness and stickiness of the dough and makes mixing and handling of the dough much easier. Youll find that most recipes are making sourdough with fairly high hydration, which means that the sourdough is naturally stickier, but this doesnt mean that all sourdough has to be sticky. PROBLEM - My sourdough looked great when I removed it from the oven - it was crusty! Thanks!! You can still bake it and eat it, but it will be a solid mass, not the light, airy sourdough you were expecting. Wetting your hands before handling your sticky dough is a game-changer. Ensure that your dough is well fermented prior to shaping. 2. BE CAREFUL, IT'S HOT! As you knead any bread dough, you should notice that it goes from a shaggy mess to more of a smooth mass of dough thats become less sticky. Once you get the hang of the sourdough process and the various phases, then start introducing whole grain flours into the mix. If the actual final hydration does meet your goal, or whatever formula/recipe you're working from, then the next suggestion for something to tweak would be bake temps and times. We will be trying out as what you have suggested for a 75% hydration for the next one, will be back to post our results! if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'crustylabs_com-leader-4','ezslot_20',129,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-crustylabs_com-leader-4-0');If you are proofing your dough in a non porous material such as a metal or glass container, then oiling is preferred over dusting with flour. Cheaters No Knead Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread: so EASY, only 6 ingredients, made in 1 bowl, 5 mins mixing, then just rise + bake time! Mix together the flour, sourdough starter and 250ml/9fl oz water in a bowl. 24.5- 28C) overnight (12-14 hours). Young sourdough starter lacks the established yeast colonies necessary to raise bread. This is a one of the most frustrating sourdough bread problems to have. Many start at 400 F and drop to 375 F at some point during the baking. If you're looking for troubleshooting your sourdough starter - you'll find a list of the most FAQ here. Kneading manually will most likely just make a sticky mess thats stuck all over your fingers and difficult to clean up, but with the stretch and fold, youre touching the dough very little and you wont have to worry about it sticking too much. And wait longer before slicing. BAKE TIME: 30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus 10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F. Turn out the loaf out onto a floured peel, make a cut in the top with a grignette and slide it onto the baking stone. Im the face behind The Pantry Mama and I want to help you bake delicious sourdough bread, no matter what your schedule. CAUSE - gummy sourdough can be caused by a starter that's too young or inactive and or under fermentation. And where in the process the wet, sticky dough is a problem. Your email address will not be published. Dough made with a young sourdough starter just won't develop. This method of developing gluten should prove to be much cleaner and easier, but its up to you to figure out which gluten-development method you like the most. The problem is that the crumb is very tacky to the touch and abit sticky on the knife. It can also be called Fool's Crumb where the bread appears to have an "open crumb" however the holes are large and surrounded by an uneven, tight crumb that is not desirable. If you find that your sourdough sticks to most things, take a look at my guide on how to stop sourdough sticking to everything. Content posted by community members is their own. Mix the drier dough until it has developed into the desired dough strength. MAKE THE DOUGH Mix the sourdough starter and water together in a large mixing bowl - I use my dough whisk for this. Rest for 30 minutes @76F. Without salt, the dough becomes sticky and slack in nature, making it difficult to work with. After every fold, you will notice a significant improvement in dough strength and significant reduction in the wetness and stickiness of the dough. It can be caused by over fermenting or under fermenting your dough, but also by other things like shaping issues. Approximate size of sourdough bread: Approximate cooling time: small dinner rolls: 30 minutes: small white loaf (1 lb): 4 hours: large white loaf (1.5 lb): 8 hours: small wholegrain loaf (1lb): 5 hours Add a little flour and knead it a few times to make it more manageable. The remaining water coats the outside of the dough, causing it to appear wet and sticky. Bake in preheated, covered DO at 475F for 20 minutes, then uncovered at 450F for 20 minutes. SOLUTION - Lack of oven spring can be a complex problem.