This can result in your dough feeling wetter and stickier than normal. Same with the salt %, it is computed on total flour. MAKE THE DOUGH Mix the sourdough starter and water together in a large mixing bowl - I use my dough whisk for this. It's not until all of this steam has escaped that your bread actually finishes cooking. This allows them to get an understanding of how to handle basic dough before moving onto something more tricky. Mix dry ingredients together. Is rye flour good for . Using too much water for the amount of flour you're using will result in a wet dough that's really hard to handle. If your kitchen is too warm, the dough can become a sloppy, wet mess. How to handle sticky, wet . I've written a full guide to why sourdough deflates after scoring here. Thank you in advance! Mix with the paddle on low speed until it forms a thick batter. It is generally healthier and easier to digest. Nothing smells better than the wheaty aroma of freshly baked goods; I enjoy it so much that I decided to quit my day job as a management consultant to teach others about the delicate art of baking! Once you get the hang of the sourdough process and the various phases, then start introducing whole grain flours into the mix. I wouldn't reduce temperature, but rather increase baking time. 480F is not as hot as you could bake. Lightly Flour One Side Of The Dough During Shaping. This arguably makes the dough easier to work with. By using the tips below, youll be able to learn how to handle your dough without it sticking to you, so you can actually manage it and make great sourdough bread. Final internal temp 211F Sliced after cooling for 4 hours. Bread a little moist inside - Sourdough The crumb is open and definitely "finished" - the bread can be compressed and springs right back. This is particular difficult if you're working in humid conditions. Then the dough cant stick to them. We retarded the dough for 16 hours. Youll find that the dough sticks much less and youll have a better time shaping it. A. Add the all purpose/bread flour and whole wheat/spelt flour. This also provides its sour flavour and. This is because of the moisture that remains in your sourdough. Sometimes the issue is the kneading technique. Thanks for the tip! I hope this guide helps you to troubleshoot your sourdough bread problems and ultimately bake a better loaf! A lack of oven spring could be due to a shaping issue, under fermentation or poor gluten development - but more often than not it's a combination of a few things. When the oven floor is clean, but before the equalizing soak, the temperature is ideal for pita bread, which cook in a minute or two. Insufficient gluten development is what makes the dough so sticky, so if youre using a low protein flour (protein in flour creates gluten), it wont be able to create as much gluten in the dough and it will, therefore, be stickier. It will give you a better understanding of what you can do when it comes to handling your dough at different stages. Instructions. You just get more un-fermented dough that wont stand up. CAUSE - cutting into your bread too soon! Learn how to make bread and pizza with this awesome book. In the first few minutes of the bake, the surface of the bread must be kept moist and pliable. So you __may__ need a longer bake, which will mean a lower temp. Try placing your dough in warmer area of your kitchen (75F-80F is ideal) - monitoring your final dough temperature to keep it as consistent as possible - or consider investing in a bread proofing box . You should aim to handle your dough more like that as you get more practice. Day 1 - The Start. The Fresh Loaf is not responsible for community member content. Your email address will not be published. This is when you let the dough rest after it is mixed but before you start to knead it. A strong, mature sourdough starter will reward you with amazing sourdough at your next bake. Placing a baking tray underneath your Dutch Oven should do the trick. If the recipe is overly generous with the sourdough starter fermentation time, you end up adding too much-trapped air to the recipe and get a sticker dough. Instead of kneading your dough manually for 8-10 minutes, youd be better off using a series of stretch and folds to develop gluten. Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. A tough crust can also be caused by a lower hydration recipe. We all know that drier dough is easier to handle since it sticks less, so use this to your advantage and make a basic low-to-medium hydration sourdough before you try the more difficult higher hydration ones. Sometimes removing the bread out of the Dutch oven and baking it on the shelf for the last few minutes has a positive effect. Second sign: The dough has become loose and slack, and doesn't seem to hold any kind of shape. Mix by hand until all the dry flour is incorporated. Remove the potion from the refrigerator before chopping and boiling it. strengthening and maturing your sourdough starter. Preheat the oven to 230C fan/456F/gas mark 8 with a baking stone on the middle shelf and a deep tray on the bottom. Stretch dough into rough 10"x17" rectangle, laminate and move to clean vessel for bulk. Ensure that you have scored enough - you need one good score to ensure that your dough expands. Troubleshooting Sourdough Bread - Baked It will stay very wet and sticky, rather than strengthen with each stretch and fold. Make the dough. Bake the Bread. This is the sourdough baking course you need if you are just starting out in sourdough bread baking. Avoid using cake or pastry flour for dusting as it contains a higher starch content and tends to lump up more than bread, rice or semolina flour. At the same time, we should dust the work surface lightly during shaping as we need some level of stickiness and friction between the dough and the work surface to create sufficient skin tension. 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. 475 F covered, and 450 uncovered for 20 min seems too hot to me for only a 30% whole grain loaf: 300 g einkorn / (900 g + 90 g from levain) = 300 / 990 = 30.3%. . If the dough is too sticky at this point, add a little flour and knead it in. 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. Wetting your hands before handling your sticky dough is a game-changer. Let the integrated flour-and-water mass sit for up to an hour. The reason most recipes are so high in hydration is that more water in the dough makes it easier to have a lighter, more open crumb, and a better crust, so its favored by most bakers. no one but me would notice or care). Rest 50 minutes. 24.5- 28C) overnight (12-14 hours). The strength of your dough should build as you perform stretches and folds. Place a long piece of parchment paper over the bowl with the dough. Add the dry mixture. If you've found this article on handling wet, sticky sourdough helpful, you might also enjoy these: What a great resource you've created here. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. The two main bread baking systems commonly used today are the sponge/pre-ferment system and the straight dough system. Think about how professional bakers look when handling their dough. However, it is possible to get sticky sourdough that is hard to get out of the pan or cut into pieces. It's wider on the bottom and almost pointy at the top, rather than having a rounded shape. It can be leathery rather than crispy. If your dough is too dry, add a little moisture and mix it, adding just a little more water if necessary. Bake for 15-30 minutes until golden brown and dry (not burned). The bacteria on the other hand create a sour taste and ferment the bread. 2. Pour the hot water from the kettle into the tray to create steam and shut the door. Another reason we want to minimize dusting is because the additional flour from dusting is not well hydrated and when baked can leave unsightly gray streaks on your sourdough bread that taste raw. The loaf will also feel light in your hand, rather than heavy. If youre not comfortable handling high hydration dough like sourdough, Id advise that you drop the hydration of your dough slightly and see how you handle that. They give you what is called slack dough.If the dough is very slack and it isnt because you added too much water, then autolyze. The Fresh Loaf is not responsible for community member content. We will hold back from slicing it too early the next time!! Bread SOS Episode 5: STICKY / TACKY / GUMMY Sourdough Crumb - YouTube 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. If you can see the light through the dough, youre done the kneading. 10 Pieces 5 Inch Bread Banneton Proofing Basket Round Dough Sourdough You need to make sure that you keep your kitchen at a temperature between 24C - 28C (75F-82F). You went with 150 and 150 - which is only 300, then 90 WW and 45 starter, for a total of 435. and so that drove the hydration from 81%, which is still fairly high, to over 90%. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If you're still unsure a good thing to do is to let your bread cool in your oven. SOLUTION - reduce proofing time. This will give the sourdough a chance to find new pockets of sugars and starches to consume. The problem with damaged starches comes from the over absorption of water. However, it's much better to find out the cause of the problem so you can fix it and prevent it from happening again. Gummy Bread- How did Everything Go Wrong and How to Fix It Make the Dough: Meanwhile, in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the boiling water, pumpernickel, oil, salt, molasses, instant coffee, and chocolate. Being slow or having any hesitation can lead to the dough adhering to something it shouldnt, which would make your life a lot more difficult. These need to be done without hesitation. 25 minute proof at room temperature. Add dried bread to the bowl of a food processor. You'll know you have sufficient gluten development by performing the window pane test on your dough. I am constantly baking hockey pucks! Allowing your sourdough starter to mature (it needs AT LEAST 14 days to be viable and often several months before it's mature). Cutting the bread while still warm will create a gummy interior as the crumb hasn't finished setting. This is the dry mixture. the yeast has not fermented for long enough and still has too much energy to burn when it hits the oven, the yeast lets off too much gas all at once when it hits the oven. Over time, youll learn new techniques and better ways of handling sticky dough and youll find it much easier to handle. Why Is My Sourdough Too Sticky? Here's What To Do Bread SOS Episode 5: STICKY / TACKY Sourdough Crumb. What to do: This is a heavily over proofed dough. When mixing dough of very high hydration, it can often be excessively wet and sticky and you may find it difficult for the dough to hold in all that water. It's best to choose a higher protein flour, such as a bread flour. Another tactic is chilling the dough for a while. The sticky side should only touch the dough.