Hello Fresh Loaf Community!
This is my 3rd sourdough attempt with a starter a friend gave me. Each time the dough turns out the same. It's way too wet and gloppy, and won't hold shape, and when I bake it, it stays pretty flat and doesn't rise.
Here's the recipe:
280g White AP flour
200g Water
120g Starter
6g Salt
The dough was turned every 30 mins for 3 hours, then I let it bulk rise on my counter for another 10 hours.
Is there anything I can do at this stage to turn it around? There isn't heat or AC in this room, so I'd say it stays in the low to mid 60s.
Thanks in advance for your help!
That’s a lot of bulk fermentation for the amount of levain. I would think for a recipe like yours another 1 or 2 hours after the folds would be sufficient for a normally vigorous starter. The 10 hours probably should have been refrigerated and it would have been fine.
This is something that comes up fairly frequently on TFL. Please see a more detailed explanation here.
-Brad
This is very helpful! It makes a lot of sense, as the dough was looking great after the turns, and only went south after the bulk fermentation.
I'm going to try this in the next round and see how it goes. Thank you so much for your response! I'm a first time baker!
A. Way too much water.
B. Your fermentation time should be cut at least in half.
Assuming 100% hydration starter, the overall hydration is 76.5%. Not all that high, really. But I agree about overfermentation.
-Brad
76-77% using APF is a ton.
You can add in any needed water a spoon at a time and control it better.
I notice you have a honey bear nearby (memories!) honey will act like water in the dough and so will any sugar so keep that in mind. If you add just a touch of sugar, subtract just a touch of water. :)
Thank you for this! The honey was for the tea, not the bread :) but very good to know for the future!
You total hydration is 77%. For mainly white flour that is very high.
If I was you I would go done to 67% to start.
That would be assuming your starter is 50/50 168 gram water.