My sourdough came out like a brick last Thursday and I actually think I fixed it wrong

I was in my kitchen at 5am before work, shaping my usual weekly batch. I had been fermenting for 18 hours which is my standard, but the dough felt super slack and sticky. I added a handful of flour during shaping, which I always read is a bad move because it toughens the crumb. Loaf came out dense with almost no oven spring, maybe 1 inch tall instead of 3. A week later I tried the same recipe but just worked wetter dough into a round without any extra flour, and it actually rose better. Anybody have a different take on handling sticky dough without ruining the structure?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_walker10d ago

That bit about sticky dough meaning it needs more time isn't always right. Sometimes your dough is just overproofed and extra flour is the only way to save it from turning into a puddle.

briancarter15d ago

Learned this the hard way after dumping a bucket of starter down the sink in frustration.

aaron88415d ago

I read somewhere that the sticky slack phase in sourdough is actually the dough telling you it needs more time, not more flour. A baker I follow online said she switched to coil folds instead of adding flour when things get wet, and that changed everything for her. Your second attempt sounds like it proved that point, wet hands and a bench scraper can work way better than dusting the surface. The added flour probably just broke the gluten structure you already built during bulk fermentation. Every time I fought sticky dough with extra flour the crumb turned out heavy and rubbery, exactly like you described. Your mileage may vary, but from what I have seen in my own kitchen, that wet sticky stage is a feature not a bug once you learn to work with it.