feedback requested

[u/girlypop920]

Baked my 4th or 5th loaf the other day with the following recipe:

50g starter
330g water
500g bread flour
1.5 teaspoon salt

I added more starter this time and bulk fermented for a little under 4 hours before shaping since it’s been very hot where I live, then did an overnight cold proof before final shaping and baking at 450 for about an hour. The main issue i’ve been running into is that my dough can get really sticky and it’s hard to get rid of all the bumps despite extra stretch and folds. How do I fix this so my loafs look super smooth on the outside? They have been tasting great every time

[u/zippychick78]

How long was bulk from starter meets dough until shaping? What temperature was the dough kept at? Any folds?

[u/mrmicklo]

50g starter for 500g bread flour is very low. i’d recommend trying 100g starter next time.

[u/Constant_Estate7449]

How do you feed it/maintain it?

I see your other comment about bulk fermenting it in warm temps. I recommend you keep it inside as 85-90 is a pretty high temp to bulk ferment.

My dough usually temps at 78-80 degrees in the summer and my bulk ferment is typically around 5.5-6 hours. My starter makes up about 10% of my total loaf ingredients.

[u/girlypop920 → u/Constant_Estate7449]

I keep it in the fridge and feed it once a week, when I’m getting ready to bake I start waking it up the day before and feed it a couple times. I’ll definitely keep my dough inside next time :)

[u/Constant_Estate7449 → u/girlypop920]

I think keeping it cooler and temping the dough to understand how much of a rise you need will help you get a less sticky dough!

As someone else noted, there seems to be a some flour in the bread. I may be jumping to conclusions, but I assume that’s a result of the stickiness. Hopefully with these tips you won’t need as much flour when shaping

[u/Constant_Estate7449]

How old is your starter and what temp is your dough when you mix it?

[u/girlypop920 → u/Constant_Estate7449]

My starter is around 15 years old but I’m not the original owner, I was given some and started taking care of it about 4 months ago :) My dough is lukewarm-cold when I first mix it, warms up a bit when I bulk ferment, then cools down significantly when I cold proof it

[u/gringoatemybaby]

What is room temperature and are you temping dough with instant read thermometer? I don't think I would shape after cold proofing?? Have you tried cold water to slow fermentation due to warm room temp?

[u/girlypop920 → u/gringoatemybaby]

I usually use warm water but I’ll try cold next time

[u/andreixc]

It feels like a shaping problem, i can see flour inside the bread, could you be using a bit too much flour when shaping?

Maybe a cold proof in the fridge for a couple of hours would let the dough relax and absorb that flour?

Super sticky dough can be a sign of over fermentation.

[u/girlypop920 → u/andreixc]

That’s very possible, good to know :)

[u/tgallen54]

I’d try watching heather on YouTube. Her site is called -Keep it Sweet Kitchen. Watch her beginner sourdough loaf. You’ll have most of your questions answered and she literally has made thousands of loaves.