D'oh. Help needed to use up proteolytic dough...

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seasidejess on 21 Apr 2020 at 11:17

I used too high an amount of prefermented flour and let it proof for too long overnight. Now I have a stringy, goopy mess that is completely broken down. Alas. Live and learn, amiright?

The question is, should I just throw it away, or can I use it up in pancakes or quickbread or something? Anyone have any suggestion?

 

Cook something up, nice and toasty, for your feathered friends.  They aren't picky.

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seasidejess on 21 Apr 2020 at 12:05

I have a house full of 19-year-olds: the twins are mine and we have a lovely bonus kiddo. A young woman came on visit for spring break and is snuggled up with us for the duration of the shelter-in-place. So I like to feed the family if I possibly can. (Although I would feed the birds rather than putting the dough in the trash.)

The pancake trial:

  • one egg (1/4 cup)
  • one part milk (1/4 cup)
  • two parts dough (1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda.

I hit it with the stick blender to emulsify. It turned into a very nice pancake batter that cooks up into lovely, fluffy, tender pancakes. Win! 

I found this recipe for sourdough discard biscuits that I haven’t had a chance to try yet, it is from the website thekitchn.com

“ Sourdough Biscuits (uses discard)

 

This biscuit dough is likely a bit drier than you’re used to, so don’t stress if it feels dry while mixing and kneading, or if you leave some crumbs of dough behind. You’ll get six sandwich-sized biscuits from this recipe — perfect for bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches.

 

MAKES

6 (3-inch) biscuits

PREP TIME:

15 minutes

COOKING TIME:

18 minutes to 20 minutes

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sourdough starter discard

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 425ºF. 
  • Place 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. 
  • Grate 1 stick cold unsalted butter on the large holes of a box grater. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and use your fingers to toss and coat the butter in the flour, breaking up any clumps of grated butter.
  • Make a well in the flour mixture and add 1 cup sourdough starter. Stir together with a spatula until a rough, shaggy dough forms. 
  • Scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick rough rectangle (about 5 x 7-inches), with a long side close to you. Sprinkle the dough with a little more flour, if needed. Fold the dough in half from top to bottom, then pat it back down into its original shape. Repeat with the folding and patting, alternating folding from each side, the bottom, and the top until you have completed a total of 8 folds. At the end, the dough should be a little springy to the touch.
  • Pat the dough until 1-inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out 6 biscuits. If you don't get 6 the first time around, gather the scraps together into a ball, pat back down until 1-inch thick, and cut out more as needed. Discard the scraps of leftover dough.
  • Place the biscuits on an ungreased, unlined baking sheet, arranging them so they just barely touch each other. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately with butter or jam. 

RECIPE NOTES

Storage: Leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Warm in a low oven or toast in a toaster oven. 

 

https://www.thekitchn.com/sourdough-biscuit-recipe-23020482 “

Thanks, Benito,

I'll have to try those. My starter is too big right now which is how I got into trouble in the first place. Too much starter in an overnight dough: no bueno.

Here's  a funny thing: I made the test pancakes, which were great, but then no one was around to eat, so I didn't make more (everyone was in their online college classes or working). So after a while I glanced at the dough and it melted my heart: it had sort of settled down and smoothed out, as if promising to be good. So I relented and carefully babied it into a loaf with a few gentle...gentle...gentle shapings, with lots of flour on the bench and rest in between, panned it, let it proof until just getting puffy, sprayed it, and put it inside a closed roasting pan in the oven. Lo and behold, it actually Sprang Up and burst open on top. It is a pretty darn good little bread, even though the texture is more like a soft rye than a sourdough. The crumb is dense, but soft and creamy and aerated, not rough and tough. Perhaps the tangzhong saved the day. 

And I still have too much starter! So I'll still need that biscuit recipe!