I've been getting a lot of questions about sticky dough, so today I want to cover this very common problem.
To begin, sourdough is a stickier, wetter dough than most yeasted breads - this is because sourdough contains more water.
However, while sourdough is wetter and stickier, you should still be able to stretch, fold and shape your dough without too many issues.
But what if your dough is so wet & sticky that you have a hard time doing anything with it?
In this blog, I want to address what causes wet, sticky dough. & how you can fix it so that you can make incredible sourdough bread.
Why is my dough so wet & sticky?
Wet & sticky dough can be caused by a few issues - I recommend trying to pinpoint what it is so you can fix the issue & change your formula for next time.
Here are a few of the problems that can cause a wet & sticky dough:
Starter was too young
You've added too much water during autolyse
It's too warm in your kitchen - a common issue for me
Over fermentation
Your starter is too young.
Dough made with a young starter just won't develop - this is because the starter lacks the established yeast colonies required to make the bread rise. This will prevent the dough from strengthening & will instead cause it to be a wet & sticky mess.
Unfortunately the only solution is to toss your dough & dedicate some more time to strengthening your starter - if you want to skip this step, I'll leave link below for my Dehydrated Sourdough Starter.
You added too much water to your dough.
One of the most obvious causes of wet dough is using too much water in the dough during autolyse.
Sourdough can be a little tricky as it can take time for the flour to absorb the water during the autolyse process. This is especially difficult if you live somewhere humid (like me!).
You might think it seems dry when you first mix it & add extra water. But if you leave the flour, water, starter & salt to autolyse, the flour absorbs all the water & becomes fully hydrated.
Using too much water for the amount of flour you're using will result in a wet dough that's really hard to handle!
The solution to this is to adjust the amount of water you are using. I usually do 25 gram increments.
Example: if I normally use 350 grams of water, I cut it to 325 grams.
The temperature in your kitchen is too warm.
I've said it before, & I'll say it again..and again..and again. Temperature is one of the most important factors when making sourdough - it affects every part of the process.
If your kitchen is too warm, the dough can become a sloppy mess. High temperatures can also cause premature over fermentation, which will result in wet, sticky dough.
The solution? You need to make sure that you keep your kitchen at a temperature between 75F-82F.
If that is difficult for you based on where you live, you'll want to adjust the amount of starter you use in your dough.
As a general rule, the less sourdough starter you use, the slower your dough will ferment - resulting in a more sour loaf. The more starter you use, the faster your dough will ferment - resulting in a less sour loaf (my preferred method).
It can get complicated, so try not to overthink it.
Just remember: if your house is warm, use less starter, if your house is cooler, use more.
Over fermentation.
Over fermentation is a cause of wet, sticky dough. This is really only an issue once you've done bulk fermentation & you are trying to shape your dough - been there, done that...several times.
The problem here is, there's not a lot you can do with over fermented dough - but I always recommend making focaccia!!! It's perfect for over fermented dough.
Can you just add more flour to your dough? I don't recommend this unless you've just mixed your dough & you feel it's too wet. I don't recommend adding more flour if you are about to shape your dough - it's too late at this point.
Further Reading
If you've found this article helpful, you might also enjoy these:
And if you want to skip the Sourdough Starter Step, click below for the link to my Dehydrated Sourdough Starter - she is very active & will have you making bread within a week!
Comments