The water and other wet ingredients are absorbed into the flour. Then the dough is less likely to stick to them. Use a 65% water content and you should be able to handle the dough and shape it with little to no problem at all. To achieve a 75% hydration I will attempt again with the following: 390g of flour mix to 282g of water, adding on 90g of starter (at 100% hydration as I always to a 1:1 flour water ratio feed). Cut one loaf of sourdough bread into 1" cubes. I think it's quite common to get some stickiness if you are slicing fairly soon after the end of bake. It will look like cloudy water. So you __may__ need a longer bake, which will mean a lower temp. There are plenty of methods for developing gluten, so its up to you to try out different variations and figure out which is best for you. If you see anything inappropriate on the site or have any questions, contact me at floydm at thefreshloaf dot com. No matter how long you leave it to ferment, the yeast and bacteria won't actually grow or change. Remove the pot from the oven using pot holders (please be very careful ). Once you get it all set to go try this delicious Sourdough Focaccia recipe yum! The Fresh Loaf is not responsible for community member content. 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. I wouldn't reduce temperature, but rather increase baking time. It really depends on where you are in the sourdough process. Bake the Bread. 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 you are new to sourdough bread baking, I recommend reducing the hydration (ie. This makes it easier to handle. This can result in your dough feeling wetter and stickier than normal. In other cases, the issue is the recipe. Your email address will not be published. SOLUTION - Lack of oven spring can be a complex problem. 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. Well, sourdough is a stickier, wetter dough than regular yeasted bread. Overproofed bread will also have a pale crust because the yeast has used all the sugars and therefore there are none left to caramelise the crust. After fermenting for too long, the gluten in the dough begins to break down, which leaves you with a thick, gloopy mass of flour and water with no way to make good sourdough. If your dough is dry, it is because you added too much flour. Place the sourdough into the pot using the silicone sling or parchment paper as a handle. Add the flour and mix well with the dough whisk or your hands until you have a shaggy, slightly sticky dough. 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. Dusting with flour is useful for some parts of the baking process for preventing sourdough from sticking, but it is not the best method for every application; other methods for preventing sourdough from sticking is to wet your hands with water, oiling the work surfaces and using parchment paper for baking. Damaged starch absorbs water during mixing as opposed to undamaged starch where the water merely coats the outer surface. Most loaves are soggy at the bottom because they've not had the heat but you can simulate that at home by using a hot stone. Second, most bakers wait more than 1 hour before cutting into the bread. We should fold once every hour of bulk fermentation. Its very important to avoid tearing the gluten as this causes it to become sticky again. Here are some options for working with wet, sticky over fermented sourdough. If you only want decorative scoring, you will need to push your bulk fermentation to the limit. Ensure gluten development and fermentation are correctly executed. You want to be quick when moving or shaping the dough to prevent sticking. Jack Sturgess. The bread is heavy, hasn't puffed up in the oven and has a moist, dense texture inside. This is mainly because sourdough is higher hydration, meaning it contains more water. Same with the salt %, it is computed on total flour. When using the autolyse method which call for the initial incorporation of only flour and water without salt, we may sometimes forget to include salt in the final mixing phase. Allowing your sourdough starter to mature (it needs AT LEAST 14 days to be viable and often several months before it's mature). Acetaldehyde is a known stomach irritant and causes watery diarrhea. Both of you mentioned a point in common on the hydration where I made a huge mistake on as I did not account for the hydration of the starter added. If you are doing decorative scoring, it's still advisable to have one "utility" score and then your more shallow, decorative scoring. Make sure that you do your best to avoid this mistake by learning about sourdough fermentation timing and knowing when its ready to move onto the next step. This is the dry mixture. And then mix in the other ingredients and forge ahead. This will ensure that the bread is cooked all the way through. This is the preferred method used by professional artisan bakers. Dont try traditional kneading techniques like punch and turn with moist sourdough. PROBLEM - Pale crust hasn't browned. You can try to prevent the problem by being more careful when proofing the yeast. PROBLEM - Sourdough bread dough deflates (like a balloon)when removed from the banneton and scored. Make sure that you're not using too much flour when shaping your dough. Some Student Reviews: by Pam H - Outstanding. Sliced through the bread in an hour and it left sticky residue on the knife and the insides was tacky. After fermenting for too long, the gluten in the dough begins to break down, which leaves you with a thick, gloopy mass of flour and water with no way to make good sourdough. CAUSE - the dough has been over fermented and/or over proofed and has too much air trapped in the shaped dough. This is really only an issue once you've done bulk fermentation and you are trying to shape your dough. PROBLEM - Base of my sourdough bread is thick and chewy. How Long Does Cookie Dough Last in the Fridge. I've written about 6 things you can do to ensure you get good sourdough oven spring (and leave the hockey pucks behind) here. It has more energy than it should have left when it hits the oven - meaning you might get a great oven spring - but it destroys your scoring (and will more than likely be gummy inside). Put the lid on and place into the hot oven. Step 1: feed the sourdough starter About 12 hours before you plan to mix the dough, to a clean jar add; 10 grams unfed starter 25 grams water 25 grams flour Cover the jar loosely and allow it to rest and room temperature. Another tactic is chilling the dough for a while. The yeast has too much energy when it hits the oven and this excess energy causes a "rush" when your dough hits the oven. If you simply cant handle sourdough with medium-to-high hydration, its better for you to either gradually knead in more flour or start off with less water in the first place. Learn how to make bread and pizza with this awesome book. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 150g bread flour, 150g all-purpose, 90g whole wheat flour with 350g water (slightly warmer than room temperature by the touch), with 90g of starter and 9g of salt. But we are utterly puzzled by the outcome again. Thank you so much for the guidance! 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. In the first few minutes of the bake, the surface of the bread must be kept moist and pliable. Home Why Is My Sourdough Too Sticky? Mix everything together. Heres What To Do, how to stop sourdough sticking to everything, Good Food Good Mood Sign Free Printable. 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. This helps keep the dough from sticking. To make the levain, combine the sourdough starter, water and flour (see image 2) in a medium bowl and mix until well combined.Cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm, draught-free place (approx. Rest 50 minutes. What has gone wrong to cause this issue? *This article may contain affiliate links. Second sign: The dough has become loose and slack, and doesn't seem to hold any kind of shape. You can still bake it and eat it, but it will be a solid mass, not the light, airy sourdough you were expecting. It's not until all of this steam has escaped that your bread actually finishes cooking. Your guide to solving sourdough bread problems. Without these it will be sloppy and hard to handle. Stretching and folding the dough is a common method of gluten development in sourdough bread making. Pinpointing the cause of your wet and sticky dough will depend where in the sourdough process you are. You might want to leave the bread in the oven for 10 minutes with the oven off and door ajar to help wick away some of the extra moisture. Place on a peel, slip into the oven, and watch. 480F is not as hot as you could bake. As the gluten develops, the dough becomes less sticky and more manageable. If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on. Always ensure that youre using the right techniques for your sourdough to build the most gluten. This is when you let the dough rest after it is mixed but before you start to knead it. One set of strong Stretch & Folds. Get a piece of baking paper cut to about the size of your dough ball and plop the dough, seam side down, onto the baking paper. When mixing, hold back a portion of the intended total water quantity called for in the formulation. Excess flour at shaping can mean that your dough does not seal back onto itself, causing tunnels of air to form when baking. - longer waiting period before cutting --> this to me seems where you should start. A strong, mature sourdough starter will reward you with amazing sourdough at your next bake. Send your bread making problems to breadsos@bakewithjack.co.ukInclude your name, your location, a method or recipe if possible and the temperature of your kitchen if you know it and we'll get to the bottom of your most common problems right here. Let the integrated flour-and-water mass sit for up to an hour. Water was 350 plus 45 in the starter for 395. If you do have a watery starter, you'll need to adjust the amount of water in your dough or set about finding a solution to thicken it up. Work on your shaping techniques. Hot water strengthens the gluten in the flour. Once one side is stretched and dusted, you should shape the dough and put it into your banneton. Hi, I'm Kate! Sometimes removing the bread out of the Dutch oven and baking it on the shelf for the last few minutes has a positive effect. SOLUTION - Allow your bread to cool for AT LEAST 90 minutes (much longer for rye bread). 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. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The answer to this really depends on what is causing your dough to be so sticky and wet. 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. It might be that your sourdough is too sticky because there is insufficient gluten development. It may be that you just need to cut back on the water. Steaming is one of the most crucial steps when baking bread. It affects pretty much every part of the process. (Top Reasons). Thanks guys!!! Third, cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes. If you're using all purpose flour, it can be a good idea to add some vital wheat gluten to the mix. 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. Below, Ive listed the main reasons your sourdough is sticky, so have a look through and see how they might be affecting your dough. Soft water has <50ppm, medium 50-100ppm (best for bread baking), hard >200ppm. 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. sourdough before baking. It is often easier to make. They are purposed for cakes, slices, muffins, and other cooking. If you've just completed autolyse and you feel that your dough is too wet, it is possible to add some more flour at that that stage. MAKE THE DOUGH Mix the sourdough starter and water together in a large mixing bowl - I use my dough whisk for this. It may just be that you need to leave it in the oven longer with the lid off your. 2. 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. Baking the Sourdough: Preheat your oven to 450F (225C) and a baking pan. This is particular difficult if you're working in humid conditions. It is possible to make 100% hydration (or even higher) so there's really no such thing as too wet. How to handle sticky, wet . Once you get comfortable, you can gradually increase the water content of your dough and see how you manage it. 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. At first, the dough will be very sticky, but the gluten will develop more and more after each stretch and fold. It is generally healthier and easier to digest. The solution here is to either use the exact same flour the recipe requires or adjusting hydration levels, watching the dough instead of ingredient ratios. Loaf In a small mixing bowl, mix the flour and salt together thoroughly. If you are working with regular dough, ready How to Fix Super Sticky Dough. 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. You should aim to handle your dough more like that as you get more practice. Bake with Jack 199K subscribers Overfermentation Video Number 116: https://youtu.be/XdYkdI_vgxQ Send your bread making problems to breadsos@bakewithjack.co.ukInclude your name, your location, a. CAUSE - This most likely caused by under fermentation, but can sometimes be a shaping issue too. Okay, so maybe sourdough is never going to be extremely easy to handle, especially when it has very high hydration, but you can get to a point where youre very comfortable with handling sticky sourdough. The recipe technically calls to bake the bread in a preheated dutch oven (I use a casserole dish because I don't own a dutch oven), but the dough is so sticky that if I preheat the dish and transfer the dough to it once it's preheated, I find that the dough deflates and I get a flat loaf. Once mixed, the dough enters the bulk fermentaiton phase where folding also takes place which helps significantly to develop more gluten network as well as to incorporate more water into the dough making it feel less wet and sticky. Its like an extension to your hand and can be used to improve your technique with the dough. It can be caused by over fermenting or under fermenting your dough, but also by other things like shaping issues. When you have to stretch and fold or pick up your dough, you can do it with ease if youve got a layer of moisture on your hands. Youre right, the actual hydration is around 77%, and I understood that from the start. Add a little flour and knead it a few times to make it more manageable. Then the dough cannot stick to the surface. If your sourdough has a very thick base which is burnt or just very tough, there's a very simple fix for this. Similarly, if your sourdough starter is too runny you may also end up with a super wet dough. Thanks for the suggestions about leaving the bread to cool longer. First, good effort, but where did you get the recipe from? Boil the kettle too. I find that I need to bake the moisture out before the top crust gets too hard and seals in the moisture, and if that happens then you just end up over-baking the crust while it's still gummy inside. So I added 390 flour, plus 45 more from the starter ( assuming your starter is 100% hydration) to get 435 flour. An under fermented sourdough loaf will have a shiny, pale crust that lacks crunch. Place in bannetons. Youll find that the dough sticks much less and youll have a better time shaping it. Ingredients: 300g water 100g sourdough leaven* (made with your starter) 100g of stoneground organic wholemeal flour 400g organic strong white flour 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. It could be using the slap and fold, stretch and fold, rubaud kneading, or whatever youd like. The hardness of water measureshow much calcium and magnesium ion is present (expressed as ppm). Cutting it too soon stops your sourdough from completing the cooking process and results in a gummy, wet texture when you cut it. Always shape your loaf on a piece of non-stick, silicone paper, then when it's proved, stick it straight onto the hot stone and reduce the temperature of the oven down to around 180-200C. The good news is, there's always a way to fix your sourdough bread problems for your next bake! Youll notice that you can stretch the dough further and less will cling to your hands by the time youre done. Will be back to update! We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site. Signs of over-proofing are: A huge puffy ball of dough after the end of the rising time. If it sticks at this stage, youll have a much more difficult time and it could throw of the results of your bread. 150g bread flour, 150g all-purpose, 90g whole wheat flour with 350g water (slightly warmer than room temperature by the touch), with 90g of starter and 9g of salt. Matching my work schedule. Breadopedia.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Lightly Flour One Side Of The Dough During Shaping. I went here and checked the recipe -https://www.abeautifulplate.com/artisan-sourdough-bread-recipe/ it called for 350 BF and 90 WW, for a total of 440, plus 45 from the starter ( which was 100% hydration) for a total of 485. Modified: Sep 13, 2022 by The Pantry Mama This post may contain affiliate links. It will be sticky. Your sourdough starter is not ready to bake with yet and needs some time to mature or you need to take steps to strengthen it. I understand in the beginning you want to see the inside but do yourself a favor and wait at least 3 ours. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'crustylabs_com-box-3','ezslot_2',120,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-crustylabs_com-box-3-0');There are other reasons besides having very high hydration levels that can cause your sourdough to be wet and sticky. Next, add 8g fine sea salt. First, it's helpful to have a small bowl of water nearby to dip your hands into before touching your dough. Cover with cling film and let rest in the fridge for 12-15 hours. Simply combine your flour and water before any of the other ingredients, fully incorporating the flour. We preheated the oven (which was constrained at 480F) for an hour, and baked Charlie for 40 mins (tried 25 mins for Betty) in the cast iron, and 20 mins on the rack. Semolina (used for dusting pizza dough) however is much coarser in texture and it really comes down to your personal preference; if you like the coarse texture by all means go for it. Similarly, the reason we use baking parchment paper when baking is to minimize the use of additional flour in the baking process. If you're using a young sourdough starter, there's always a chance that it's just not quite ready to bake with and will cause your dough to be too wet and sticky. When working with high hydration level dough, the dough gets very close to the point of 100% saturation from the high quantity of water, and it is difficult to get any more water to be incorporated into the dough. It has a more uniform appearance than a quick bread, and it cant leave you with a nasty chemical aftertaste. If the bread dough feels correct but is the baked loaf is fragile and sticky inside, it is under-cooked. Oiling our proofing basket will cause the oil to be absorbed and be ineffective in preventing the dough from sticking. Dough that splits in this way is almost always under fermented. However, it shouldnt be so sticky that it is hard to knead. It'll just take about 30 minutes in the fridge for the dough to firm until it's ready to roll. This excess water is not retained inside the dough but rather coats the doughs surface causing it to be wet and sticky. These need to be done without hesitation. I am constantly baking hockey pucks! Even though our dough doubled in size at the end of four hours with visible strength around the rounded sides, there weren't bubbles on the surface of the dough. All original site content copyright 2023 The Fresh Loaf unless stated otherwise. Be sure you open with an autolyse, a step far easier than it sounds. Sticky and unmanagable sourdough. This happens because it is more difficult for gluten network to be developed in a wetter dough, which makes it more difficult for water to be retained into the dough, and the dough tends to stay wet and sticky throughout mixing. Remove the potion from the refrigerator before chopping and boiling it. bread sticky after baking. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes to get a brown crust. The only solution for this is to toss your dough and put your time into strengthening and maturing your sourdough starter. 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! We can prevent wet sourdough from sticking by oiling our work surfaces, using wet hands to handle the dough and dusting the proofing containers. Turn the mixer on 1-2 (never higher than 2 or medium-low) and let the mixer knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Dough made with a young sourdough starter just won't develop. I ran your numbers, and unless my math is wrong, your are above 90% hydration, which is extremely high. Begin mixing the flour in with a spoon or fork, then continue mixing with your hand, until all the flour is incorporated and you have a shaggy dough. It's best to choose a higher protein flour, such as a bread flour. The chains of gluten give your dough strength and structure. 8 oz active sourdough starter, 12 oz warm water, 5 oz rye flour, 12 oz bread flour. Pale crust after baked. Lets look at some of the common problems with sourdough bread and how to deal with them. Autolyse for an hour before adding the starter (rest 30m) and salt (rest 15m) all by hand using the folding and pinching method. 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! Rest for 30 minutes @76F. Step 3 - Total amount of flour is 80 grams + 600 grams = 680 grams. Large mixing bowl Measuring cups and spoons Bread thermometer ( fancy or a budget one) Scoring lame Extra (nice to have): Kitchen scale Dough scraper and bowl scraper (yes, they are different) Cooling rack Baking stone (you don't need a dutch oven if you use this) Learn how to make bread and pizza with this awesome book. Sourdough differs from most bread in that it contains no baker's yeast, relying instead on a fermented "starter" of water and flour to provide lift. Sourdough does not stop cooking when you take it out of the oven. It's a good thing for bread dough, but it also means that it makes the mess you're attempting to clean up extra sticky and impossible to clean up . Placing a baking tray underneath your Dutch Oven should do the trick. Sourdough can take up to 24 hours to fully cool and come to room temperature. Place a lidded pot (Dutch Oven) in the oven to preheat. Bread flour. Shape into batards. Place in bannetons. A tough crust can also be caused by a lower hydration recipe. If youre struggling with high hydration dough, then you should absolutely lower the hydration and see if you get better results. Just dont freeze it. A starter is a collection of yeast and bacteria that feed on flour. Nor should it be sticky after youve baked it. You can find resources on shaping. Think about how professional bakers look when handling their dough. Making good sourdough bread is something that takes plenty of practice, but you can learn how to handle it fairly quickly. Under mixing and over mixing results in insufficient gluten strands to trap water inside the dough, causing the dough to be wet and sticky. 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. A new bake this morning. During this time, the flour has the chance to fully hydrate and gluten network is able to develop in spite of the lack of mechanical mixing. The solution is to give it a few more folds after you add the dash of flour so that the flour mixes in fully and makes it more manageable. 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). stickiness is usually not cooking off enough moisture. 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%. We should aim to minimize the use of dusting flour in the baking process as the introduction of additional flour into our mix can significantly change the hydration level of the dough, resulting in a crumb that is drier and denser. Take the bowl off the scales and mix well, it will look rough and lumpy, but never fear it will soon start to look like bread dough! Hi, I'm Kate! You/we need a hydration % of the levain too, to figure out how much flour and how much water is in the levain. This will result in a more. @halfbakedharvest.com Cheaters No Knead Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread. Add of the water and dissolve or break up the sourdough with your hands. Some doughs are sticker than others because of the type of flour. 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}. Id recommend keeping a bowl of water next to your dough at all times so its always there when you need it. The usual choice of flour for dusting includes bread flour, rice flour, semolina; all these flour works just as well for preventing sourdough from sticking. The bacteria produce both lactic acid and acetic acid. no one but me would notice or care). This part is extremely important as its what determines whether you end up with a well-shaped sourdough or a mess. When it comes to building the gluten, everyone has a different preference in how to do it. 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. 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. What Basic Methods Are Used To Make Quick Breads? First, in the evening, prepare the soaker by pouring hot water over the mixture of seeds and grains.
