New to sourdough, but first few tries went so splendidly I got overconfident then did everything wrong.
1) neglected starter (rye based) during a busy week.
2) was excited to find some Oland flour, which I never see, but did not research whether it would work in the same cold slow-rise "no work/no knead" Jim Sullivan recipe that I always use.
As a result, the rise was slow... very slow... nothing happening. Some spongy bubbles at the bottom of the dough rather than the top. After 48 hours I tried adding some yeast and lightly kneading in hopes of restarting the dough. Another 48 hours and still nothing much was happening. Then started to see some bubbles on the surface....but when I took it out of the bowl, it all has a weird spongy/crumbly texture; it can be shaped like play dough but doesn't have the living elasticity under the hand that good bread dough ready for the oven has.
Now, I hate to throw things out, especially when it began with nice fancy rare Oland flour. Can I somehow turn this into starter for future breads? Or it is destined for compost?
Thanks for any advice!
When you say neglected did you atleast put it in the fridge? If so, not exactly neglected but would need to be prepped and refer before using depending on how long since the last feed and when you refrigerated it.
In future either feed your starter before using and use when mature or take some off and build a levain. When not using refrigerate.
Sounds like the dough has been going for too long and it's broken down. The gluten has gone. There are bubbles though so why not throw it in a pan and bake. See what you get. Won't be nice to look at but will probably still taste good.
Find a recipe and work from that till you get the feel of sourdough. Hamleman's Vermont Sourdough is a great recipe or take a look at this one (p.s. when it talks of poolish it means a Levain, wrongly named).
https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/sourdough-pain-naturel/
That would make a big difference. And was it the same temp on all 4 days?
When you take it out of the bowl flip it so the top side is down on the work surface and pull the dough out and fold over the spongy looking surface. Do this from all north, south, east& west sides. If that didn't help it, repeat. Need to know the temperatures of the dough and more information. Smell? texture after folding? does it hold a shape after folding? taste of dough.... anything you can add or think about.
Can your give the information off the package? Interested in everything. Also the breakdown in 100g. etc.
I seem to recall Oland flour being mentioned before and I think it's like spelt.