Total beginner here.
i was following a recipe for simple sourdough and my flour must have been extra dry because I don’t think I added enough water during autolyse. As a result, I believe there are dry lumps in my dough. I went ahead with the stretching and folding and forming, and they are currently in their baskets in the fridge. Can anyone tell me what I could have done differently, other than adding more water from the start? Or perhaps I should have kept trying to mix and eventually all the flour would have gotten wet? What can I expect from these first loaves as a result?
thanks!!
There could be multiple reasons, but in most cases it's either insufficient mixing time, too low hydration or just the flour. Not every wheat flour absorbs equal amounts of water. Sifting the flour also helps with the lumps. Maybe it also just dried out a little during autolyse.
Next time just mix it long enough until everything is clearly hydrated and cover properly. If your hydration is correct, the resulting loaves should turn out fine, a few pockets of flour in the beginning won't harm it.
Thanks for the response and guidance. My loaves ended up turning out just fine so I guess no harm. I’ll definitely spend more time mixing next time!