bread

Bread and Sourdough Troubleshooting Part 2

Phil June 5, 2020
Sad, weak sourdough ball

Here is a compilation of things I think I've learned about baking bread, sorted by category:

Starter

Starter doesn't rise or double in height

The problem:

Your starter doesn't rise.  Generally this is caused by having a yeast and bacteria population that is too low.

Potential causes:

  • You haven't given it enough time: If your starter is fairly new, it may take a number of days and regular feedings to make your starter healthy.
  • Your starter is overripe: Eventually the byproducts of yeast and bacterial metabolic activity will create alcohols and acids that will start to kill off the yeast and bacteria that you are trying to cultivate.  If your starter smells very sour, this may be the case.
  • Other bad stuff is growing in there: With feedings at the right interval, you will cultivate a yeast and bacteria population that will prevent mold and other undesirable stuff from growing.  If the balance is off and your yeast and bacteria population is depleted, other organisms can have the opportunity to grow.  You can usually tell by smell.

How to fix it:

  • Make sure your starter is active and doubling (or more ) between feedings.  If your starter rises and then falls between feedings, you may need to feed your starter more regularly or determine actions that you can take to slow its activity, like reducing its temperature or changing your feeding ratio.

Related links:

  • None yet

Sourdough starter smells bad

The problem:

Your sourdough starter smells bad.  There are a lot of smell descriptors that are used to describe a good starter.  Sometimes it smells nutty, fruity, sweet, sour, or even a little alcoholic.  But it shouldn't smell like mold or body odor.  Moldy starter smells awful.

Potential causes:

  • The population of your yeast and bacteria isn't strong enough to prevent other organisms, like mold from growing.
  • The walls of the starter container are not clean.  Yeast and bacteria die off along the walls of your container, and then mold and other bad things grow.

How to fix it:

  • Some advise starting over with a new starter.
  • You may be able to "rescue" your starter.  If there's mold growing in it, it may not be growing on more than just the surface.   Some of the good yeasts and bacteria may be living in the bottom of your starter container.  You can remove some of that, move it to a new jar, and then feed it and see how things go after a few feedings.
  • Change starter containers once in a while.

Related links:

  • None yet

Bulk Fermentation

Over-fermentation

The problem:

The weather was recently very warm, and I let a sourdough bulk fermentation go on for too long.  I'd estimate that it got about 10 hours at 80F.  The dough had doubled in volume, but it appears the acids and enzymes eventually destroy the gluten and leave you with a sticky, lumpy mess.  Apparently, when the gluten breaks down, water is released, which makes the dough stickier.  It was a pain to handle, and didn't hold its shape at all during pre-shaping, as this time lapse shows: (5 minutes of time is condensed into a few seconds)

 

Sad, weak sourdough ball

 

There's no strength in the dough at all, it's lumpy and shaggy, very wet, and falls apart almost immediately.  This is different than overproofing, as the dough was falling apart before making it to the proofing stage.

How to fix it:

  • If it's too hot, try using cold water in your mix to slow down fermentation
  • Find a cooler place for the bulk fermentation
  • Ferment for a shorter amount of time
  • Use less leaven/levain or starter

Related links:

Baking

Loaf too flat, too dense, or no oven spring

The problem:

No large airy holes, very dense and flat loaf.  Possibly decent flavor, but dense and gummy on the inside.

This might have many potential causes which are generally related to a lack of strength in the loaf and a lack of bubbles and CO2 :

  • Weak yeast or sourdough starter
  • Shaping technique did not generate enough tension in the loaf
  • If there's very little yeast activity at all, you'll notice poor color development in the crust and a "raw" flavor

How to fix it:

  • Make sure your starter is active and doubling (or more ) between feedings
  • Pre-shape and shape your dough to generate adequate tension and gluten deveopment

Related links:

  • None yet

Loaf explodes, blows out, or tears open

The problem:

Hot steam and carbon dioxide have nowhere to go during the bake, and eventually cause your loaf to blowout or explode.

How to fix it:

  • Score the top of your loaf with a lame.  This will help guide the loaf when expanding and hopefully provide you with more oven spring.

Related links:

  • None yet

the bread project: loaf 24

phil April 20, 2012
30% rye 10% spelt sourdough loaf, top view

As some of you know, I’ve been trying to bake a lot of bread.  I’m experimenting with the idea of creating a bread diary.  This is loaf #24, a 30% rye 10% spelt and the rest white King Arthur bread flour loaf with a sourdough starter.  hydration was about 68%.

30% rye 10% spelt sourdough loaf, top viewTop view – kinda funky ears.  slashing could be improved

 

30% rye 10% spelt sourdough loaf3/4 view of the loaf

 

30% rye 10% spelt sourdough loaf, side viewside view.  Didn’t rise as high as I’d like because I had this loaf retarding in the fridge for 4 days.  Better flavor though..

 

30% rye 10% spelt sourdough loaf, crumbsome big holes at the base.  gigantic ear on top.  Tasted great.

 

Bread and dough troubleshooting guide and table

phil April 8, 2012

Here's a bread and dough (works for pizza dough too) troubleshooting guide, culled from a variety of sources.  I hope to continually update this as I learn more in my quest to make great artisan bread.

Category Amount Effects More information
kneading under-kneading Dough is floppy and loose, tears easily, looks shaggy. Lack of oven-rise, dense texture.  Gluten has not become elastic enough.  Windowpane test fails because the dough doesn't have the strength to stay together. http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/bread-baking-clinic-underkneading-overkneading-157484
kneading adequate kneading Dough is elastic but not too tight.  Windowpane test success - you can stretch a small portion of the dough thin enough so that you can almost see through it, like a translucent window. http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/bread-baking-clinic-underkneading-overkneading-157484
kneading over-kneading Dough is dense and tough and tears easily.  The gluten is so tight that it has little give.  Windowpane test fails because you have to pull so hard you tear the dough. http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/bread-baking-clinic-underkneading-overkneading-157484
hydration ratio (aka water to flour ratio, or baker's percentage) low hydration (<60% or so)not enough water! Dough is crumby, craggy, and really hard to work with.  It doesn't stick together when you work with it.  When baked, small, tightly-formed cells in crumb.  This may be desirable in some cases, such as for bagels.  Add more water to fix this.  My own hydration experiment for bagels
hydration ratio (aka water to flour ratio, or baker's percentage) medium hydration Dough is easy to work with but not too sticky.  Note: Some flours, like rye flour, are just sticky by nature.  
hydration ratio (aka water to flour ratio, or baker's percentage) high hydration (>70% or so)too much water! Dough is floppy and sticky and hard to shape.  Large holes will appear in bread when baked (if they don't collapse).  The bread won't rise as much because it will be weaker.  Some breads are supposed to be high hydration - like ciabatta. http://www.pizzamaking.com/pizza_glossary.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W580u--9poM
rise too little Fails poke test - poke the bread with two fingers.  If the bread rebounds to its original shape then the dough is still too firm.  The bread will be dense and "doughy" - it will smell and tastes like dough.  The loaf will have a light or greyish crust - no Malliard reaction (browning of sugars) occurs because the flour hasn't been broken down.  To fix, make sure the yeast you've used is active and/or let the bread rise for longer or increase the rise temperature (optimal temperature is about 100-110F.  Too much heat will kill your yeast!)  http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/21628/finger-poke-test-problem
rise just right Passes poke test.  If the hole from the poke rebounds part of the way then proofing is just right.  
rise too much Fails poke test - (the hole does not rebound at all.)  Dough collapses on itself.  There's so much air in the loaf that it cannot hold its weight.  
baking temperature low Lower baking temperatures generally make softer and thinner crusts.  
baking temperature medium Somewhere in between.  
baking temperature hot Higher temperatures generally make crustier loaves.  This means darker and thicker crusts.  Note: to really promote a thick, chewy crust, bake in a dutch oven.  This traps steam near the loaf, which delays crust formation and allows it to get thicker.
salt none or not enough The loaf may look good but it'll taste like cardboard.  It's surprising how much salt enhances the flavor of the bread.  If you realize you've forgotten before you bake, you may be able to make a salty paste and spread it onto the dough while you stretch and fold.  
salt just right The general rule of thumb is to use 2% (baker's percent) salt.  That's 20 grams for each 1000 grams of flour.  Encyclopizza, chapter 4
salt too much Too much salt can inhibit yeast fermentation and may be too salty to taste.  
bake time too short Light crust, doughy and gummy interior.  
bake time just right Bread sounds hollow if you knock it on the bottom.  Nicely browned crust.  The internal temperature will be about 190-210F.  
bake time too long Longer baking times mean a darker crust and a firmer and dryer crumb.  Too much bake time = burny.  
gluten too little Low-gluten breads will not rise well.  The bread won't have the strength to expand when the yeast creates carbon dioxide.  The dough won't stretch well.  
gluten just right Stretchy enough to hold CO2 bubbles without being too taut  
gluten too much If there is too much gluten, the bread won’t be able to expand because the dough will be too tight. The bread will be really chewy and rubbery.  
yeast too little Dough rises really really slowly or not at all.  Your loaf will be dense.  In extreme cases, it'll feel like a brick or a stone.  And the inside will be gross and barely edible. With artisan sourdough breads, this can happen if your starter has died or if you haven't adequately refreshed it.  
yeast just right (1-2% by weight)  http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/26/bakers-percentage-2/
yeast too much The dough can rise too quickly and collapse back upon itself  

// Have questions?  Share them in the comments below.

Finally, a bread experiment worth posting about (Loaf #19)

phil April 3, 2012

After baking a number of failures (that’s a separate, loooong blog post) this morning I’ve finally baked a sourdough loaf to show off:

 

20% rye, 10% spelt sourdough loaf.  top view.

 

 

from another angle

 

pretty good crumb.  I’m happy with it at least.

roughly, here was the recipe in terms of bakers percentages:

  • * 20% rye flour
  • * 10% spelt flour
  • * 70% bread flour
  • * 72% hydration
  • * 20% sourdough starter (just all-purpose flour.  the yeast was fairly active)
  • * 2.2% salt

and so I can remember, here was my technique:

  • * mix everything together with the kitchenaid at power setting 2 for ~12 minutes (maybe a bit long but whatever)
  • * put the dough straight in the fridge (I didn’t have time to bake that day!)
  • * take the dough out 2 days later (dough didn’t rise much in the fridge)
  • * let the dough warm to room temperature with the oven on low for 2-3 hours (the dough rose a bit during this time)
  • * fold and shape the loaf
  • * place in bannetton and back into the fridge overnight (~6 hours)
  • * score the loaf
  • * bake at 450F in the lodge dutch oven for 55 minutes straight from the fridge
  • * open the dutch oven and take pictures of the unexpected results