What's wrong with my dough?

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dannydannnn on 12 Apr 2020 at 21:44

Followed a beginner recipe from a site with a similar name :)

I'm pretty sure my starter is active, it doubles in size and bubbles quite a bit. I did however use it when it's "hungry" to create a levain (again, per the recipe).

Here you can see my dough prior to bulk fermentation:

As you can see, it looks incredibly "wet". Almost glossy. This didn't change much after bulk fermentation. I got maybe 1 air bubble on top of it, and it didn't seem to rise much either. I did wet my hands for every stretch and fold, so perhaps that added too much hydration?

If anyone could tell from this photo alone what I did wrong that would be greatly appreciated :)

That looks pretty normal to me. Lean doughs like sourdough are usually pretty shiny just due to the high water content. It could simply be that whatever recipe you used had photographs that deceptively edited out or otherwise hid the glossiness of the dough. 

If you have a picture of what your dough looked like AFTER bulk fermentation, that would be much more useful in deducing what's wrong. If you're starter's fine, then it's probably just that you didn't ferment the dough for long enough. Were you keeping track of it's internal temperature throughout the rise? If the recipe listed an ideal internal temp. and your's was lower, then the dough would've fermented slower. This tends to be where bread recipes, especially for lean breads, can only do so much since the conditions of every kitchen are different and the only real way to gauge the completition of bulk fermentation is by feel.

When I took it out onto the counter and shaped it, I came back 25 minutes to find it almost oozing off the counter :(

That sounds like it could either be that your dough hadn't developed enough strength or there was enough surface tension built during preshaping (or both). If your dough feel slack even after giving it the listed number of stretch-and-folds, you can always just add more sets throughout bulk fermentation. Again, that's where feeling the dough is very important since your dough will never be exactly the same as the recipe's dough. As for shaping, that's only going to improve with practice. You could always make a batch of "dead dough," or essentially just find a really simple lean dough recipe (flour, water, salt, yeast), knead it until developed, let it rise, practice shaping it, throw it into the fridge to let it rest for a few hours or overnight, and just repeat practicing with it however you like until the dough completely gives out on you.

Thanks!!

What kind of feeling am I looking for? And how often should I check for it? The recipe I followed didn't call for any kneading but I did some flap and folds anyway. Could that have "weakened" it?

It's a bit difficult to describe, but the dough should distinctly feel more "taught" and strong. It should become harder to stretch the dough with each stretch-and-fold due to the increased resistance and visually the surface should appear smoother. Like said, if on your last stretch and fold you feel that the dough is still weak, you can add another one during the remainder of bulk fermentation. Here's a fantastic video recipe that walks you through the steps of sourdough making and shows what a strong dough looks like (the camera also doesn't hide the glossiness of the dough): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlJEjW-QSnQ

As for bulk fermentation, I usually check on it around 30 minutes before bulk is done in case the yeast are especially active. If the dough looks small even after the full time, I'll check on it again in 15-30 minute increments depending on how dramatically the size differs from what it's supposed to be. 

I doubt that any extra kneading or folding could have weakened the dough since those are usually done to impart strength. The only thing kneading really does is close up the crumb a little bit.

Awesome, thank you!

Last question - any chance I can recover the dough after it's been resting in the fridge in this state? It's sorta shaped like a boulle, lol.

Visually, the dough definitely looks quite strong and smooth, holding its shape nicely after the folds. Though I don’t feel confident enough just through sight to tell you that the dough is sufficiently strengthened—that’s something that you, the dough-master, must feel for and decide for yourself. This is where bread making becomes a personal journey; have fun with it, don’t be afraid to learn from your mistakes, and become one with the ways of the yeast! ;)

Thank you so much for your kind words and suggestions! Much appreciated!!

The dough holds it shape after the stretch and fold yet after a while it softens and looses shape again.

Is there a limit to how long bulk fermentation should go? The recipe called for 4 hours, maybe I should do more? And is there a minimum time it needs to ferment after the last stretch and fold is performed?

I don’t really think there’s a limit, but if you’re waiting for hours upon end and there’s literally no rise then there’s probably something wrong with the starter and extending bulk ain’t gonna fix that. I also wouldn’t say that there’s a minimum but if the dough’s rising super fast, dramatically more so than in the recipe, then the internal temperature’s probably too hot and you’ll just be losing some flavor from the shortened fermentation. Bulk fermentation is complete when the dough looks puffy, jiggly, airy, and generally full of life (it should rise but not necessarily double in size) and if you have a glass container, the bottom and sides of the dough should be full of little bubbles.

And it’s natural for the dough to lose strength as it rests; so long as you feel like it’s taught and resistant after the last stretch and fold, it should be strong enough for shaping so long as it isn’t allowed to bulk ferment for tooooo long (again, not quite to the point where it’s doubled in size because otherwise it will have weakened to much).