Hello, I’m not completely new to sourdough or bread making in general. Started the hobby during Covid, but took a break for a couple years because I was getting discouraged. Kept my starter that I bought off the KA website in the fridge and fed it 1:2:2 with AP flour every few months or so. Recently in the past month I’ve been getting back into sourdough but keep getting loaves that have sticky/tacky crumb. These are the loaves I’ve made in the past month. I’m generally happy with the look of them but I have to toast the bread slices so it’s not so gummy. Is it a BF issue? It’s every single sourdough loaf I’ve ever baked. I use the aliquot method and temp my dough after mixing the starter in.
Fed starter for a couple days 1:1:1 and used at what I think is peak.
400gm KA bread flour
280gm water
100gm starter
8gm salt
-Mix the flour and 270gm of the water until a shaggy dough forms. Cover for 30 min
-Mix in the starter. Get the temperature of the dough and take out a portion to put in a 2oz sauce container according to the aliquot chart. The doughs have all been around 75f so looking for a 50% rise. Cover for 30 min
-mix in the remaining 10g water with the salt
-stretch and folds/coil folds every 30min for the next 2 hours.
-BF until the sample reaches the lid of the sauce container. The second loaf I fell asleep so it was bursting out of the sauce container…
-kinda invert the bowl to plop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pre-shape. Let sit for 30 min.
-final shape and place into a banneton. Put in the fridge to bake next day.
-preheat oven and Dutch oven to 450f for an hour, spray the dough with water and score. Lower temp to 425f Bake for 30min covered and 15min uncovered. Internal temp for all loaves were 207f-210f
-waited a few hours for loaves to completely cool before cutting.
EDIT: I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR HOW HELPFUL THE ENTIRE THREAD HAS BEEN. I am learning a ton and I can’t wait to try some of these suggestions. Really some of them need to be talked about way more than you normally see on tutorials.
by sadbut_ok
26 Comments
It’s a perfect loaf and I am terribly envious so dont sweat it and SD is always a bit gummy. What helped me a lot was to let the bread cool down a lot.
Switch to AP
The first loaf maaaay be a little under fermented, but the second one is spot on in my book. But they both look really REALLY good! Because of the nature of how sourdough ferments and the higher hydration m ratios, the crumb of sourdough is a lot different than yeast breads and is usually different than the “sourdough” bread that you get at the store and most bakeries. The yeast and lab bacteria both break down the gluten a bit. The result is a chewier, moister, custard like crumb that most people who aren’t used to artisan sourdough consider dense and gummy. I’d take a finished product like yours any day of the week!
Edit: I think the large hole in the first loaf may even be a shaping issue.
Hmm maybe try reducing the time in the dutch oven and lower the temperature once it’s uncovered for a longer bake, that should help dry it out resulting in a less gummy texture.
It looks like you’ve nailed it. If you don’t want to bake for 5min longer, then you can try one or both of the following: 1. Put the bread directly on the rack for some portion of the browning stage of the bake. 2. Put the bread directly on the rack in the extinguished oven with the door 1/3 open at the end of the bake.
Both of these techniques will dissipate more water. Adjust temperature as necessary, and wrap in linen to cool for a softer crust.
That second loaf is absolutely stunning! First possibly a bit under as others have said. I’d be thrilled with either, tbh. 🙂
It’s the final, and most difficult step…
Waiting hours for it to cool down completely!!
The crumb looks great. Sourdough texture does tend to be a bit more gelatinized. You can mitigate that by either lowering the hydration or adding a bit of fat, like oil or butter, to your dough. About 10 grams per loaf is sufficient.
I’m jealous of your “gummy” loaves. I’ve been baking a year and have had maybe one good loaf.
You could try adding a bit of oil, it will help produce a softer crumb
This is a damn good loaf!! Jesus Christ this looks delicious. Send me some please!!🙏🏾 💯💯
Toast it
Same, I have great looking loaves but they do have a “wet” slightly gummy texture. I’ve been meaning to ask this myself!
Looks great
Looks better than mine! Jealous
Ive been having a similar issue at 70% so im gonna try lowering the moisture back a bit. I made a great WW loaf at 70% so im thinking 65%for regular bread flower might also give me some good results.
I started “curing” my loaves by turning off the oven after baking and propping the door open for 20 minutes. It helps make the crust crispier and also helps with the tacky crumb. I will never go back to not doing that!
Maybe bake it longer, and let it fully cool before you cut it. The loaf looks awfully nice to me.
I just had a gummy one and honestly tasted great anyway, don’t worry . Make sure internal temp whne left to cool is good and with that hole you let steam get out but finish the cooking
Beautiful photos. I would ferment a hair longer if I thought they were gummy but they look fantastic
Looks beautiful. I have noticed an airier crumb with a higher hydration. I have gone up to 80 percent and it makes a noticeable difference. Obviously you also need to proof properly, not cut into it warm, etc. but seems like you know that.
OH NO!
My lobster is too buttery and my steak too juicy
Check the temperature of the loaf before you take it out. Should be 200 to 210 degrees. I just slip the thermoneter into the expansion joint. Let it cool for a long time after it comes out. If you don’t and cut into it does get gummy. If your loaf is gummy you can slice it up and freeze it to use for toasting 🙂
Well I love gelatinized sourdough it’s delicious. There’s a difference between that and gummy. Yours doesn’t look gummy at all.
This loaf is perfect. You may just not like the texture of sourdough. It’s never going to be as light or fluffy as store bought or yeast bread.
You need to let the load come to room temperature for the starches to all set. That or cut it warm and live with a bit of stickiness. I’m like the owl in those Tootsie pop commercials and never have the patience to wait