Lately when I’m making sourdough, the texture inside feels a little sticky and gummy. Some parts taste slightly raw as well. They seem to proof well and my starter doubles in size without issue when I feed it. What am I doing wrong? I had more success months ago and it seems to be declining. Below is the measurements I use.
475g bread flour
325g warm water
10g sea salt
100g starter
by livvyeveb
16 Comments
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Do you take a temp read before removing it from the oven? Mone are done at about 205F.
Together Sticky, gummy qualities and the crumb indicates under fermentation, so a longer bulk fermentation time would help.
Has it gotten cooler where you live? The temperature change could be why the performance has changed.
Your starter is getting too acidic or, there is too much amylase activity going on. Need more info actually of exactly what you are doing and the nature of your starter. Invest in a pH probe for starters.
i had that issue when using only strong bread flour, started using 50% bread flour and 20% AP, 15% WW and 15% rye, I dont cut it open until completely cool and its perfect
Did you cut it before it cooled?
First of all, loaf looks great.
Fresh sourdough should be a bit tacky/sticky and more moist than a grocery store loaf. And considering your crumb I don’t see any thick dense gummy spots on a quick glance.
That being said, ensuring it’s fully cooked all the way through and fully cooled so that it finishes baking will help if you think it’s still too moist.
It looks great, possibly temperature related when shaping and proofing? Less humidity now during these colder times?
How long are you baking it for? What temperature?
EDIT:
For common questions, I live in Southern California and it’s gotten colder in the last few weeks. I bake it in a Dutch oven. 500° to get it ready. 485° for 20 minutes with the lid on. 465° for 12 minutes. I may need to bake it longer with the cooler weather. I didn’t cut the loaf for two hours so it could cool. Once I let it set after cutting it, the tackiness has lessened.
Gummy means you need more BF time
Kept happening to me, and stopped when improved starter strength. I went back to feeding mine pure rye to restrengthen and it comes out real nice. Sourdough will always have an inherent level of gum though.
Mines gummy if I’m impatient and cut it when it’s still warm
I would eat tf out of this bread!
But for me this comes down to needing to bulk ferment a teensy bit longer + baking a bit longer.
It could be a touch underfermented or your starter could be a bit weak or acidic – is the flavour very tangy? If so it might be a starter issue, if not likely needed another hour or two BF, depending on temperature.
Underfermento