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. 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. Temperature is one of the most important factors when making sourdough. Just know that it will be sticky early in this process. Flour issues. Oiling works just as well as dusting to create a non-stick surface which prevents your sticky dough from sticking and tearing. CAUSE - cutting into your bread too soon! It will be sticky. You should also wet your hands with cold water before folding the dough. Jack Sturgess. 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. Start by swapping out 12-15% of the white flour for whole grain flours; then increase to 25% (and so on) if you are happy with the results. For the most recent of these, I used the following recipe/process:66.67% 600g King Arthur Bread Flour33.33% 300g Whole-Grain Einkorn (locally grown and milled by River Valley Community Grains, in NJ)20% 180g Liquid levain (King Arthur AP Flour)2.1% 19g Kosher Salt75% 675g Water, Levain built and matured for 3 hours @85F . Cutting it too soon stops your sourdough from completing the cooking process and results in a gummy, wet texture when you cut it. Cut one loaf of sourdough bread into 1" cubes. Add the dry mixture. sourdough after baking. . This excess water is not retained inside the dough but rather coats the doughs surface causing it to be wet and sticky. It affects pretty much every part of the process. What to do: This is a heavily over proofed dough. Different types of mixers uses different mixing arm which develops the dough at different rates. Many thanks for this. Ensure that your dough is well fermented prior to shaping. For example, the problem may be a recipe that calls for more hydration than the flour youre using requires. 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. Sticky and wet crumb means the crumb is too wet; there is too much water in the finished product. A tough crust can also be caused by a lower hydration recipe. What is a Pate Fermentee? Place a long piece of parchment paper over the bowl with the dough. Generally, flat loaves will still taste ok, they just lack that beautiful airiness we want to see in our sourdough. Content posted by community members is their own. 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. 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. strengthening and maturing your sourdough starter. Ensure that you have scored enough - you need one good score to ensure that your dough expands. Then, mix in 70 grams of active sourdough starter. Dont forget about your dough or leave it in a warm area for too long or youll end up regretting it. Your dough might be too sticky because you added too much water when making the initial mix, too. If you see anything inappropriate on the site or have any questions, contact me at floydm at thefreshloaf dot com. When it comes to building the gluten, everyone has a different preference in how to do it. Concentrate on shaping evenly and with plenty of tension to ensure your dough rises evenly and doesn't split other than where you've scored. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'crustylabs_com-leader-1','ezslot_6',124,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-crustylabs_com-leader-1-0');The table below is extracted from Jeffrey Hammelmans Bread Book that shows the relative mixing time between different mixers and hand mixing to develop the same dough to the same strength. It can be leathery rather than crispy. 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. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 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. We know that flour is essential, but you need to make sure that youre using it correctly for the best results. You can try to prevent the problem by being more careful when proofing the yeast. Once the dough doesn't tear when you stretch it between your fingers, you're ok to set it aside for bulk fermentation. Also, if you find the outside is brown and the inside is moist, that normally indicates you should lower the baking temp. A mistake that nearly sourdough bakers have made is simply leaving the dough for too long. Though my guess is, that if you are getting the internal final temp to 211 F (even 210 F is usually good enough even for a mostly whole grain loaf)and it's still gummy, then your hydration was too high to start with. PROBLEM - My sourdough never puffs up in the oven. First, in the evening, prepare the soaker by pouring hot water over the mixture of seeds and grains. 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. 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! 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. SOLUTION - Tunnels can have a few solutions: PROBLEM - My sourdough isn't cooked all the way through. 30g flour (in this case I'm using 15g organic rye flour and 15g organic white flour) 30g water (preferably filtered and room temperature - not straight from the tap) Weigh the flour and water, and combine them in the container. 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. Is Cake Flour The Same As Self-Rising Flour? Use a 65% water content and you should be able to handle the dough and shape it with little to no problem at all. Hi @Semolina, we waited only an hour before cutting into it, hasty on our part! As the flour is better hydrated, more water is absorbed by the dough, and less water is coating the doughs surface which makes the dough feels less wet and sticky. So if you're over-shooting the original formula's hydration due to miscalculattion, that would be the first thing to correct. How to handle sticky, wet . 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. The good news is, there's always a way to fix your sourdough bread problems for your next bake! Make the dough. Yeast and bacteria prefer warmer temperatures. Thanks for the suggestions about leaving the bread to cool longer. The majority of the time, I see this because the dough needed less water or more kneading upfront (or stretch and folds during bulk fermentation ). It may be that you just need to cut back on the water. Young sourdough starter lacks the established yeast colonies necessary to raise bread. Bake in preheated, covered DO at 475F for 20 minutes, then uncovered at 450F for 20 minutes. Rest uncovered for 25 minutes. PROBLEM - Base of my sourdough bread is thick and chewy. SOLUTION - Lack of oven spring can be a complex problem. In the first few minutes of the bake, the surface of the bread must be kept moist and pliable. In a separate smaller bowl, add 220 grams of warm water. American flour has a damaged starch percentage of roughly 8-9% while European flour has a lower damaged starch percentage at about 7%. It is normal when working with dough of very high hydration for it to feel quite wet and sticky after it has finished mixing. In this article we will look at all the factors that makes your sourdough excessively wet and sticky, as well as various ways we can reduce the wetness and stickiness of sourdough without changing its hydration level. Maybe try leaving it a bit longer? 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'll just take about 30 minutes in the fridge for the dough to firm until it's ready to roll. You don't want to add extra flour as this will affect the texture of the end product (which actually won't be very good at that point). Plastic and metal dough scrapers are useful tools and both have their own pros and cons. This is when you let the dough rest after it is mixed but before you start to knead it. Please take that into account. I have done wetter doughs at similar times/temps without the gumminess but I take your point - your lower/slower suggestion makes sense to me and I may well try that on my next go-round. But what if your dough is really wet and sticky and you just can't do anything with it? 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. You want the bread to be completely cool so you'd generally want to wait at least 3-4 hours and some bakers recommend waiting 24 hours to enhance flavor. If your bread contains rye, it can take up to 24 hours! 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! This makes it easier to handle. Pour the hot water from the kettle into the tray to create steam and shut the door. Place in bannetons. This allows the gluten to start to develop on its own before any kneading. To solve this problem, try taking the bread maker out of equation by baking in an oven. 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. Sourdough does not stop cooking when you take it out of the oven. Here are some options for working with wet, sticky over fermented sourdough. The higher hydration the dough, the stickier its going to be. If you see anything inappropriate on the site or have any questions, contact me at floydm at thefreshloaf dot com. 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). If the sourdough is unworkable at the very start, this obviously isnt because the oven temperature isnt set right for your elevation. If it sticks at this stage, youll have a much more difficult time and it could throw of the results of your bread. This is mainly because sourdough is higher hydration, meaning it contains more water. You want to be quick when moving or shaping the dough to prevent sticking. Bake in preheated, covered DO at 475F for 20 minutes, then uncovered at 450F for 20 minutes. Add the sourdough starter to a large mixing bowl. 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. Use a very sharp knife to cut a cross shape into the top of the . If you are new to sourdough bread baking, I recommend reducing the hydration (ie. You might get a drier dough, but you wont get the same rise in the dough and a solid crust that you were expecting. Carefully make it round again pushing the seams underneath. It may just be that you need to leave it in the oven longer with the lid off your. All flour has a certain percentage of damaged starch particles, but when the amount of damaged starch particles exceed 10%, dough becomes wet and sticky. Add of the water and dissolve or break up the sourdough with your hands. The only solution for this is to toss your dough and put your time into strengthening and maturing your sourdough starter. This will ensure that the bread is cooked all the way through. And sometimes the issue is the recipe. It might be that your sourdough is too sticky because there is insufficient gluten development. This is a one of the most frustrating sourdough bread problems to have. The bread is heavy, hasn't puffed up in the oven and has a moist, dense texture inside. You want to be fast enough to limit any sticking, but not too fast or you might make a mess. And then mix in the other ingredients and forge ahead. A new bake this morning. Lets look at some of the common problems with sourdough bread and how to deal with them. When water is excessively hard, it tightens the gluten as well as decrease fermentation rate. Throughout the shaping, the dough felt aerated and light and bouncy and it was easy to handle after dipping our hands in water. Other ingredients, like honey, may also make your sourdough wet and sticky. This site is powered by Drupal. Next, add 8g fine sea salt. Since using dry hands can be such a big problem for the sticky dough, Id advise that you get yourself a bowl of water to dip your hands in before you handle the dough. If the dough is too sticky at this point, add a little flour and knead it in. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. water) slightly (eg. If those figures do not include your levain, then you have at least 77% final hydration assuming a levain of 100% hydration. Some recipes are simply wetter and stickier than others. Allowing your sourdough starter to mature (it needs AT LEAST 14 days to be viable and often several months before it's mature). The chains of gluten give your dough strength and structure. Bake the sourdough bread. Different types of flour all have the ability to absorb different amounts of water, so the flour youre using might be making stickier sourdough than it should. Can you just add more flour to your sourdough? The next day, preheat the oven to 500 degrees for 60 minutes. CAUSE - Spreading can be caused by a few factors including under fermented or over fermented dough as well as poor shaping technique. The dough should be a little sticky before you start kneading it. 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. This also provides its sour flavour and. STEP FOUR: Pour the starter/water mixture into the flour mixture and stir, using a fork, into a thick, sticky ball. If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on. Hi community, i am new to this forum but have been reading a lot of advice from fellow bakers here while my sister and I are trying out our very first sourdough.. We have gotten to "Charlie" (we name our sourdoughs alphabetically hoping to get it right before the alphabet "Z"), but our sourdoughs were never right.
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