Troubleshooting

There are many different problems you can have with sourdough baking, that is what experimenting is all about! Here are some of the problems and solutions I have come across so far:

What do I do if: The bread isn't sour enough! The original proofing time is where this problem usually occurs. Do not stir down the proofing dough until 4- 6 hours or the dough doubles in volume. You need to let the proof go long enough to get "sour" but if you allow it to go on too long, the gluten will start to break down and you will have "glue". It also seems to me that the longer the sourdough starter is kept, the better tasting and tangy it is. Another way to increase the sour factor is to add a cup more sourdough starter and add about 1/2 cup less of water in your basic sourdough recipe. Just remember to give your starter a larger feeding the day or two before you want to make bread so you have extra starter. Adding a half cup of fresh ground whole wheat can also help improve the sour flavor. Another factor is to make sure you don't feed your starter to close to the time you will mix up a batch of dough, give it 18 hours or so instead of just 6 - 12 hours. Bread just baked and still warm is not as sour as when it is cooled off completely several hours later, then the sour comes through. Also try the recipe for Two Day Sponge Sour.

The dough won't rise or rises too slowly! There are multiple reasons for this problem: The starter isn't vigorous enough and needed to be fed more often. The room is too cool where the dough is proofing.(Just let it stand longer or put it in a warmer room). Not enough starter was used (you watered it down to get enough for the recipe, you can also let it proof longer if this is the case). Too much flour was added to the dough (the dough is so heavy it can't raise well). Salt was added to the recipe before the proofing was over with(Salt impedes the growth of the sourdough yeast). Just allow it to proof longer. Your sourdough starter is weak or dead. (You would notice no bubbles or activity if this was the case or a bad smell). You have used water to feed your starter that is toxic to your starter. If you are on city water you may want to have a gallon of spring or filtered water handy to feed your starter or keep some water handy that has been boiled and cooled. Another reason for poor dough proofing is that some starters don't handle honey, malt syrup, large amounts of cornmeal, wheat germ, and a few other ingredients too well. If you suspect it was one of these ingredients, use brown sugar instead of honey or malt syrup, and leave out any cornmeal or wheat germ. If your dough raises fine, then you know your starter doesn't like these ingredients. Sometimes freshly ground flours have this affect too and you may have to let them sit a little while before using. A poor quality flour can cause this problem also.

The dough rises too quickly! Gee thats wonderful! You just have to remember not too wait too long in the morning to get your oven going! This is a sign of a good vigorous starter that is being well fed. Make sure that you monitor the dough closely when you take it out of the refrigerator in the morning as the dough will want to be baked sooner than usual.You don't want to overproof it at this point or it will collapse in the oven.There were times when I have had my bread into the oven within the hour after taking it out of the refrigerator in the morning. However this does not always happen as I have also had to wait 3 hours before it was ready. The dough will also raise more quicky during the second proofing before going into the oven if you have forgotten to add the salt before forming your loaves.(Yep, I did this too!).

The bread cloth is stuck to the surface of the bread! Mist the cloth with water from your mist bottle, wait a second or two, and pull slowly. Mist more if you still are having trouble. Try using Rye flour or Semolina flour instead of white flour for dusting, as the white flours can act like a glue.

The dough's surface is dried out after being in the refrigerator overnight! I have had this happen when I forgot to put the whole bowl with the dough into a large plastic bag to keep the moisture in (A plastic bag with handles from the grocery store is what I use, I just tie the handles to keep the moisture in). Try misting and covering with a plastic bag to see if you can rehydrate the surface some.

The dough is way too sticky, just like glue! This can happen if you beat the dough too much with your dough machine or if you proof too long or a combination of the two. The gluten is breaking down. Get rid of most of the dough and use the rest of the dough as a starter for your next batch by kneading in more flour and letting it raise again(or just toss the whole thing and try again!)

I can't get the bubbly blistered look to my crust! To get a good blistered looking crust, you need to ferment your dough, it helps to proof overnight in the refrigerator. It is the long fermentation and hot oven with steam that give you that sought after crust.

My crust blew out the side or has a terrible crack! A blowout or a large crack is usually a sign that the dough was not proofed enough on the last proofing. If you are pretty certain the proofing was adequate you might have slashes that were too shallow.

How come I can't get a nice holey crumb??? To get a nice holey crumb, you need a vigorous starter, a fairly wet dough, and another trick is to add the salt to the dough just before shaping. Make sure to knead the salt into the dough thoroughly with a light hand during kneading (handle the dough gently and don't incorporate too much flour). Also try using some All Purpose flour mixed in with the Bread flour.

Why is the crust pasty, whitish and ghostly looking? I have had this problem often enough. First the main reason for a crust being whitish, is that is was fermented too long without a refresh or building up of the dough and the sugars in the dough are depleted. Some other ideas I have for this whitish crust problem, are underproofing, or spraying too much water directly on the dough. For a crust that is just not brown enough, you may not have your oven hot enough with enough humidity in the beginning of the baking. The oven needs to be pretty hot, and if you forgot to spray or get enough steam into your oven in the first five minutes of baking, you may end up with a pale crust.

Why did my bread come out flat? Working with wet doughs can be tricky and getting a holey crumb with a great oven spring and a brown crust is the goal. However, wet doughs tend to spread. Some of the ways to keep the dough from spreading are to proof the dough in a basket, bowl, or Banneton to help shape the dough while it is proofing. Baskets and Bannetons also allow the outer crust to dry slightly forming a thin casing to hold up the dough. Turning out the dough roughly when it is ready to bake is also a good way to flatten it. Make sure you have plenty of Semolina or Rye flour to dust the proofing cloth or Banneton with so the dough won't stick. Slashing too deeply will also cause your dough to spread out sideways and flatten. Having your oven too cool won't encourage a good oven spring, your dough needs to jump away from the hot stone, causing it to spring upwards. When you use a baking stone, the oven may register as being the right temperature, but give more time for the stone to heat up properly. If you are working with a boule shape, you can gently press the dough in a circular motion after the initial shaping to help it spring upwards. When you shape dough into the longer bread shapes, like the torpedo, french or baguette styles, shape them correctly by pulling the outer dough around and pinching underneath to form a tight skin that will hold the dough together. There are many good books that describe this process and you can also find some online tutorials on shaping bread. It takes practice. A flat bread can also be caused by a poor quality flour. Try Bread flour or a different brand of flour and see if that helps.

How do I handle wet dough, it's impossible! It's not impossible, it's a challenge! Handle the dough gently and keep just enough flour to keep it from sticking on the working surface. Some people like to use oil instead of flour to keep the wet dough from sticking. The number one tool I absolutely have to have to handle sticky dough, is the dough scraper or pastry blade. You will find it a great help to scrape up dough that is trying to stick to the surface. Keep your hands clean, if your hands are covered with sticky dough, wash them off and rub a little oil into them. Handle the dough quickly and gently, get it shaped and into the basket as quickly as possible. The more you handle it the harder it seems to be to work with.

Why isn't the crust crisp and crusty? The crust on sourdough breads needs a hot oven and humidity to come out right. It also needs to bake long enough to drive out enough moisture so that the crust doesn't soften and get rubbery from the interior being too moist after baking. Also don't put the bread in a plastic bag until it is completely cooled off. Any warmth will steam the crust and make it soft. Bakeries use the paper bags instead of plastic to keep the crust crisp. You can leave a freshly baked loaf out all day the first day (covered with a tea towel after it cools)and only put it in a bag in the evening.

I will be adding to this page as I come across more questions or problems.