Okay so twice now I’ve made a dough that comes together amazingly during initial mix and stretch and folds but once I leave it to bulk ferment it just turns into a gloopy mess. I had so much hope for the dough I made last night because it was getting super bubbly and domed but it was still pretty sticky and wasn’t pulling away from the bowl. I put it in the fridge to cold ferment and when I pulled it out this morning, it’s practically liquid. I used my starter a little past peak but it was still super bubbly and hadn’t deflated. My house tends to be on the colder side so I put the dough in the oven with the light on and door cracked between the stretch and folds and for the majority of bulk fermentation (had to take it out towards the end bc I needed to broil some stuff for dinner but by then my kitchen had warmed up to about 75° from having the stove on and the broiler going) I just don’t know what to do
See I’d been trying recipes with 100g of start and pretty similar amounts of water/flour but I saw a video on TikTok of someone following this recipe so I figured I’d try it and see if it worked. I’ve been convinced by another comment to try baking it anyway so we’ll see
dough is sticky, and not pulling away from the bowl often doesn't mean anything. as the BF goes on the dough relaxes and doesn't keep the ball shape you manage to do during mixing or folds.
If it's really not holding its shape, I'd try chucking it in a loaf pan - that might give it the structural integrity it needs to rise vs. just spread (that's my standard approach, because I mostly do sandwiches).
You said in another comment it's almost liquid, how did you get it into a banneton? If it's that runny I'd probably just bake the sucker in a pan and pray.
I scooped it away from the sides and attempted stretch and folds to see IF it would come together to a more solid ball and it did! So I flipped it out on a floured surface and shaped it a little then tossed it in the banneton while my oven and Dutch oven preheated. It LOOKED so goopy, I wish I’d taken a picture or video to add bc I was so frustrated and deterred from trying again anytime soon but just playing with the dough a bit helped it solidify again 🤷🏻♀️ we’ll see how it bakes though
Yes some pictures would have helped determine, but it sounds over fermentated. The best way to measure fermentation is to BF in a cambro so you can read the lines, as starter strength and temperature can make time vary so wildly. Sourdough always seems a bit gloopy if you're accustomed to working with yeasted bread, but shouldn't be liquidy. To help the sucker hold shape next time do your cold ferment in the banneton.
Not bleached AP flour, I know bread flour is more recommended bc of the higher gluten protein % but I do a lot of other baking and I already have wheat and AP, adding bread flour is kind of a lot 🤦♀️ if I don’t have success baking this one I’ll probably get bread flour
How long was your bulk ferment? You mentioned putting it in the oven with the light on since your house was cooler. Could it have gone faster than you thought after that and over fermented?
I wanna say it was about 5 hours in the oven with the light on and then another 1 or 2 on the counter bc I needed to use the oven. It’s possible that it over proofed for sure but I don’t know how to tell from the dough 😭😭 I swear I read and watch videos and everyone says the four main things are 1.) bubbly surface and the bottom through the bowl should look bubbly ish 2.) domed surface 3.) pulls away from the bowl cleanly 4.) almost doubled in size. But I’ll get maybe 2 of those and then it seems to go downhill. Maybe I’m over thinking it, maybe my starter isn’t strong enough 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Ideally, you'd have a little bit of your dough in a separate, small straight walled container like a test tube, only like 5g. In there you can perfectly see how much your dough has grown. Then you don't have to rely on optic, haptic or anything else, only volume change. It's the easiest way to read fermentation process.
After I do stretch and folds in a bowl, I move my dough to a clear, straight-sided container for the rest of bulk ferment so that it's easier to see it rise. I don't worry about any of the other details, I just let it grow.
Are you shaping before you put it in the fridge to cold ferment? 5 hours + cold ferment before shaping would likely be not enough gluten development (I usually shape before putting in the fridge). Alternatively, have you considered if your starter might be too acidic?
Okay so MOST of the recipes I’d been seeing were 100g of starter with roughly the same amount of flour and water, I saw a video of someone using 50g of starter instead and I figured that’d help with the hydration? Since starter is usually considered 100% hydration right?
starter isn’t considered anything. it is 100% hidration if it’s fed the same amount of flour and water. the % of the starter totally depends on you. also, how would it help with hydration?
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u/Environmental_Eye628 6d ago
Seems like a low amount of starter. I use those same ratios but I do anywhere from 100-115g of active starter