I have done 7 bakes so far, and all of them started with very sticky dough that never go “smooth & silky” as seen in so many videos. I’ve been using set autolyse times - 30 mins, 1 hr... even 3 hrs. But when I attempt to do any sort of S&F the dough is always sticking to the table and never really never gets better.
I’m wondering if watching temperature and waiting to end the autolyse when it looks ready rather than the fixed time would help. The bread bakes with reasonable oven spring and rise, plenty of holes. Crusts are quite hard to chew...
Most of the basic steps are followed- but I have been somewhat slack using temperature to set length of time. My apartment seems to be in mid to low 70’s most of the time, so have been figuring that was close enough.
But something I’m doing is keeping the dough sticky- this seems to be the only adjustment left.
Flour type, percent water and salt, type and amount of leavening, etc. More information is needed.
The problem occurs with all receipes but here is one I've used several times:
450 gr AP Flour
310 gr water (filtered)
100 gr starter (100% hyd - white ap flour)
10 gr salt.
Ambient temp in apartment runs around 70+ degs
Process:
Mix flour water to raggedy dough
autolyse 30 mins (or 1hr or 3 hr)
add salt & starter
first S&F: dough sticky - hard to get off table
table lightly dampend
rest 2 hrs
2nd S&F
dough still very sticky - hard to control
suggested 5 or 6 folds-
but dough still sticking to damped table
not smooth and silky as seen in many vids
return to bowl - light spritz - rest 2 hrs
3rd S&F
Suggested 5 or 6 folds
Not really able to get specific fold as dough is still sticky
Pretty hard to handle - no real direction to S&Fs
back to bowl - rest 1 hr
Begin preshape
no more water on table - all lightly floured
Aim is to get smooth top - sticky inside
I can cup-and-rotate to a ball - but if I try
any folds I loose smooth "top" and sticky "bottom" becomes prevelant
general stickynes is still preventing real handling
no 'smooth & silky' appearnce
cover with towel - rest on table 1 hr
Final shape
dough on table - work gently to squareish shape
dough is still quite sticky - I keep sweeping flour under it
with bench scraper - but still can't actully do anything with dough
"Pull left over to center" - "Pull right over to center"
never happens as dough is so sticky - just becomes a blob
"pull top over itself to make tension"
"roll over til top meets bottom - pinch a seam"
Still not doable - dough is so sticky and all I can do is cup & rotate
to get something of a skin. in many vids I see at the poont the baker can
pick up the dough - it is smooth and managable - no signs of stickyness.
I have only a vauge notion of where the "bottom" is - get it into the bannaton -
no real pinched seam or ends
Into fridge - 12 hrs - bake in dutch oven at 500 for 20 mins
remove from DO - finish on stone for anther 15 mins. Looks good
on cooling rack for over an hour - internal bread temp is like ambient
reasonbale oven spring - sounds hollow on bottom thump
taste is vauge - lots of holes - tough crust - quite a moist/damp crumb
So after all this - I just can't seem to figure why i can't get the dough
to not REMAIN so sticky through out the entire p
Try starting with slightly warmer water. If that doesnt work just try a little less water.
Looking at the figures for moisture...isnt that a lot of liquid? Id be looking to more like 550g flour for that much moisture.
Well - that recipe came from King Arthur Flour. Have to look at my notes to see if I changed the hydration. Too much water would make things excessively sticky.
Aye, I highly rate KAF recipies, especially their Hokkaido bread. If you are indeed using KA AP then perhaps it is sitting at a higher natural hydration level from storage or kitchen conditions etc then when they created their recipe.
Make sure during the first combining of ingredients that both the flour and water are warm and try a plastic bowl instead of glass or metal. Its what I would do, anyway.
I have read that using too cold water dissolves the gluten and it seeps out coating everything instead if forming strands or a net. This makes it sticky.
After reading your process again I notice several dampening on the worktops. It would seem logical in this situation to completely avoid damp worksurfaces as this could be where this extra unwanted moisture is coming from. Do they mention what their worksurface is made of in their documentation?
Interesting! Why plastic vs glass? As it were - I WAS using a 4qt Pyrex bowl. - hummm - does the glass/metal sink heat from the dough faster? That would make sense...
Indeed! Depends on kitchen conditions also.
Apartment kitchen hovers in 70's but can slip down to 68 at night - but only do stuff in the day.
So if the dough in the glass bowl cooled off during autolyse it would mean it would need more time? Seems so! :-) I think I need to learn how to take the dough in hand and get a 'feel' for it rather than watch the clock.
I do think my hydration is the place to look as it would seem some form of excess water would be needed to promote the stickiness so long.
If the water cools before all the water has been sucked up fully and gluten forms, it may seep.
Placing a towel on top of the bowl helps to hold heat inside.