January 28, 2017 - 6:42am
Very Sticky Dough
I've been following a Ken Forkish recipe for his overnight country blonde, which has 78% hydration. I've found it incredibly difficult to work with as it sticks to everything, especially the proofing basket (even with rice flour). Has anyone else had this problem or any suggestions? It seems quite soft and gloopy, not wanting to hold a shape during the final rise. Is it possible my starter isn't active enough?
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gluten development and bulk ferment, at least enough so it doesn't stick to a rice floured basket. The problem you are having ls not unusual at all. It may be the flour you are using just can't handle that amount of water or your temperatures are like his in Oregon - I know mine aren't and, even if they are, his times are still way, way off for me so watch the dough and not the clock. Eventually you will get it right but the way to start is cut the water back to 75% and watch the dough. As time goes on you might find a flour that works better too.
Happy Forkish baking
I'll try reducing the hydration. After removing the dough from the basket it seems to be quite flat, could that be due to not enough gluten development, or needs a longer bulk ferment? My temperatures are fairly cold and somewhat similar to his.
to a level you're familiar with for a fairly similar loaf so that you will have an idea of how the dough should look and feel when it's ready to bake. It's not just a matter of the hydration % but also of how much of a leap you're trying to make from what you've baked before.
I just baked the Country Blonde this morning, and it was the easiest shaping I've ever had for the Blonde. Couple of things I did:
I did three stretch and folds over the next couple of hours, then let it proof in my basement (quite cool) overnight. When I shaped it this morning I only needed a little bit of flour on the bench and it handled like a dream. It was soft but stretchy and formed a nice, tight skin. I baked it in Italian bread pans instead of rising in baskets and baking in pots, but it turned out just beautiful. I will likely up the hydration just a little bit next time, but I find the biggest improvement is to mix it a bit more intensely to develop the gluten strongly before the bulk ferment. Learning to mix wet dough more aggressively has made a huge change to both the ease of handling and the end product. Today's bread had great oven spring, and the crust is crisp. These ones are for sale, so no crumb shot, but the loaf feels relatively light (rather than heavy and dense).
I looked in the book - it opened right there - apparently I did some preliminary calculations at some point and left a sheet of paper inside. I have to tell you - with AP flour that use there's no way I'd cross 70% hydration line, and for the first attempt I'd go 65-67%.