sourdough bread sticky after baking

This excess water is not retained inside the dough but rather coats the doughs surface causing it to be wet and sticky. Ensure that your dough is well fermented prior to shaping. Oil the mixing bowl, the bowl used for bulk fermentation and folding, and the proofing vessel. And dont let it sit in the fridge so long that it dries out. Concentrate on shaping evenly and with plenty of tension to ensure your dough rises evenly and doesn't split other than where you've scored. Once you get the hang of the sourdough process and the various phases, then start introducing whole grain flours into the mix. Since using dry hands can be such a big problem for the sticky dough, Id advise that you get yourself a bowl of water to dip your hands in before you handle the dough. High temperatures can cause premature over fermentation, which will result in wet, sticky sourdough. In this article, we're going to talk about some of the causes of what makes this happen, as well as how to sort it out if it does happen. Under fermentation causes a pale crust because it doesn't enable caramelisation of the sugars in the dough. Wet hands are a good idea when handling dough, however you should be able to shape your dough with dry hands very easily. MAKE THE DOUGH Mix the sourdough starter and water together in a large mixing bowl - I use my dough whisk for this. But what if your dough is really wet and sticky and you just can't do anything with it? SOLUTION - Lack of oven spring can be a complex problem. Sourdough can be a little tricky as it can take time for the flour to absorb the water during the autolyse process. . Lightly Flour One Side Of The Dough During Shaping. However, if you are just about to shape your dough, adding flour is not an option. (12-15% protein content), plus extra for dusting 2 teaspoons fine sea salt Method. Set aside. Place a long piece of parchment paper over the bowl with the dough. There are lots of things that can go wrong when baking sourdough bread. Thanks @Barryval and @ifs201! It really is a delicate balance to ensure that the yeast have consumed enough of their food to produce those beautiful pockets of air - but not too much so they can still provide oven spring at baking time. The problem with damaged starches comes from the over absorption of water. A good example of a low protein flour is general wholewheat flour. Mix until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl . How Do You Know When Your Sourdough Starter Is Ready To Bake With? Well, sourdough is a stickier, wetter dough than regular yeasted bread. Many thanks for this. It will give you a better understanding of what you can do when it comes to handling your dough at different stages. And sometimes the issue is the recipe. Mix until no dry patches remain. We actually followed this recipe twice, the first time was in the exact proportion mentioned with a hydration of 81% and "Betty" turned out tacky and moist. Here are some of the problems that can cause wet and sticky sourdough: Many people say "just use wet hands" if your dough is super sticky or wet. A tightly shaped dough that has been stitched when placed in the banneton will hold together better when tipped out for baking. SOLUTION - extend your bulk fermentation to enable the yeast in your dough to release some of their energy before hitting the oven. For the most recent of these, I used the following recipe/process:66.67% 600g King Arthur Bread Flour33.33% 300g Whole-Grain Einkorn (locally grown and milled by River Valley Community Grains, in NJ)20% 180g Liquid levain (King Arthur AP Flour)2.1% 19g Kosher Salt75% 675g Water, Levain built and matured for 3 hours @85F . Place a lidded pot (Dutch Oven) in the oven to preheat. This is called having over-proofed bread. Im the face behind The Pantry Mama and I want to help you bake delicious sourdough bread, no matter what your schedule. The water and other wet ingredients are absorbed into the flour. Avoid using cake or pastry flour for dusting as it contains a higher starch content and tends to lump up more than bread, rice or semolina flour. Gently pull the dough towards the edge. In other cases, the issue is the recipe. Beginner bakers are best to start off with low to medium hydration dough before moving onto high hydration. I would like to share with you what I have learnt from the many hours spent researching and testing these baking techniques myself. If you are new to sourdough bread baking, I recommend reducing the hydration (ie. Even with parchment paper, the base of your bread is sitting on the hot base of the Dutch Oven causing it to cook more quickly. Sourdough differs from most bread in that it contains no baker's yeast, relying instead on a fermented "starter" of water and flour to provide lift. One reason why people add too much flour and mix it in is to try to get the dough more manageable. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Okay, so maybe sourdough is never going to be extremely easy to handle, especially when it has very high hydration, but you can get to a point where youre very comfortable with handling sticky sourdough. Even though our dough doubled in size at the end of four hours with visible strength around the rounded sides, there weren't bubbles on the surface of the dough. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'crustylabs_com-box-3','ezslot_2',120,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-crustylabs_com-box-3-0');There are other reasons besides having very high hydration levels that can cause your sourdough to be wet and sticky. Let's dive into each of these reasons and see how you can avoid or correct the situation. BE CAREFUL, IT'S HOT! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. When it comes to building the gluten, everyone has a different preference in how to do it. Cover with cling film and let rest in the fridge for 12-15 hours. Be sure you open with an autolyse, a step far easier than it sounds. The recommended method to prevent wet and sticky dough from sticking to our hands is to wet our hands with water whenever we are handling the dough; wet dough sticks to dry hands, but wet dough does not stick to wet hands. Same with the salt %, it is computed on total flour. This allows them to get an understanding of how to handle basic dough before moving onto something more tricky. Nor should it be sticky after youve baked it. It will only improve the flavor. A basic sourdough is made with only wheat flour, sometimes just white flour and sometimes a combination of whole wheat flour and white flour. Once one side is stretched and dusted, you should shape the dough and put it into your banneton. Semolina (used for dusting pizza dough) however is much coarser in texture and it really comes down to your personal preference; if you like the coarse texture by all means go for it. If you're using all purpose flour, it can be a good idea to add some vital wheat gluten to the mix. The uneven crumb occurs because fermentation has not been long enough to allow the gases produced by the yeast to evenly distribute, resulting in some larger holes (generally in the middle). Placing a baking tray underneath your Dutch Oven should do the trick. 310-330 . Generally, a good hydration starting point is 75% or so when working with bread flour, 80% or so with whole wheat. Making sure you get bulk fermentation correct - you'll find my best tips, You could also make sure that you spray plenty of water onto the outside of the dough before placing it in your Dutch Oven. Hi, I'm Kate! Score the bread on top with any design you like. Add in your white and whole wheat flours. Thank you for going the extra mile to check the recipe! And wait longer before slicing. Bread doesn't rise when baked. Is rye flour good for . Get a piece of baking paper cut to about the size of your dough ball and plop the dough, seam side down, onto the baking paper. We can prevent wet sourdough from sticking by oiling our work surfaces, using wet hands to handle the dough and dusting the proofing containers. It will look like cloudy water. Dough that splits in this way is almost always under fermented. We can use the mixing time below as a sanity check to determine if we have indeed under mixed or over mixed our dough; if you fall way out from the range in the table, increase or decrease mixing time to stay within these guidelines. However, the dough may be too hydrated for your location. 25 minute proof at room temperature. This makes it easier to handle. Breadopedia.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. stickiness is usually not cooking off enough moisture. Generally, flat loaves will still taste ok, they just lack that beautiful airiness we want to see in our sourdough. The higher hydration the dough, the stickier its going to be. When using a proofing basket, line it with a clean cloth and dust its surface with flour by using a sieve to ensure an even coating. 16 hour cold (38F) retard, in closed plastic bags. If your dough is under fermented it will lose shape quickly and spread when it's tipped out of the banneton. Rest uncovered for 25 minutes. PROBLEM - Base of my sourdough bread is thick and chewy. Required fields are marked *. If your bread contains rye, it can take up to 24 hours! Charlie was a little better probably because we increased the bake time, but the higher hydration did it in. If your dough does not develop a sufficient gluten network, it will be wet, sticky and have no structure. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'crustylabs_com-leader-1','ezslot_6',124,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-crustylabs_com-leader-1-0');The table below is extracted from Jeffrey Hammelmans Bread Book that shows the relative mixing time between different mixers and hand mixing to develop the same dough to the same strength. Next, add 8g fine sea salt. It can be a mixture of rye and wheat or just rye. Mix dry ingredients together. This allows the dough to absorb the water into the flour and start to form gluten strands that hold the bread together. The bread is heavy, hasn't puffed up in the oven and has a moist, dense texture inside. Can you just add more flour to your sourdough? You can read more about this trick, Use water mist or ice inside your Dutch Oven to ensure you get a, Leave the sourdough bread in the oven to cool after it's baked (you'll find a. Mix together the flour, sourdough starter and 250ml/9fl oz water in a bowl. During this time, the flour has the chance to fully hydrate and gluten network is able to develop in spite of the lack of mechanical mixing. But as it cooled, the crust wrinkled and collapsed what happened? After every fold, you will notice a significant improvement in dough strength and significant reduction in the wetness and stickiness of the dough. The only issue with this is that the oil will mix in with the dough and alter the flavor, so dont use a type of oil you dont want to risk tasting in the end product.Some people suggest waiting for dough to rise. Remove the potion from the refrigerator before chopping and boiling it. Add the honey or maple syrup, pumpkin pure, pumpkin spice and salt. Third, mix in the soaker, mixing and incorporating the grains and seeds into . This will give the sourdough a chance to find new pockets of sugars and starches to consume. Give it around thirty minutes. The stickiest of doughs are the ones that dont have a developed gluten network. The difference between wet dough being successful and wet dough being a big sloppy mess is dough strength. Bread needs gluten development in order to trap gas and rise, but this also helps the dough to become less sticky. The problem is that the crumb is very tacky to the touch and abit sticky on the knife. They are purposed for cakes, slices, muffins, and other cooking. When the dough is excessively over mixed, it first becomes very strong and stiff, then when mixed further, the gluten network starts to unravel and unknits, releasing the absorbed water out into the dough environment, causing it to be wet and sticky. The water absorbed from the damaged starches is then gradually released and the dough that was initially dry and strong becomes wet, sticky and weak over time.