March 10, 2019 - 7:59am
Bulk fermentation
Hi, I have just discovered the Ken Forkish videos and books. I have foolowed his overnight bread recipe to the letter but after the recommended period for bulk fermentation the dough is still far too sticky to handle andshape. I left it an extra 3 hours without much improvement then divided it intoproving baskets. After proving for 3 more hours (recommended 1 1/4) the dough is still tacky and doesn’t seem prved at all. Can anyone help please?
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It's possible that what you needed was actually a shorter time, rather than a longer one. This is a frequent "catch" in using any of his recipes.
You followed the recipe to the letter. More often than not a mistake when it comes to a Forkish recipe.
1: drop the hydration to something you are able to handle.
2: instead of giving it more time to solve the sticky dough issue, do the opposite. An over fermented dough just keeps on getting stickier. So aim for billowy and with some apparent blisters on top and not 2.5x - 3x risen as Forkish normally recommends.
3: final proof till just under doubled. Yours probably didn't prove because it ran out of steam.
4: better slightly under than over so go cautiously and with subsequent bakes you can be more daring once you get the feel of a dough when ready.
Thanks For taking the time Abe. I’ll try your advice next Saturday....fingers crossed
I don't think Forkish is the most reliable recipe maker. Some people think it might be that his baking environment (Portland, OR) is unusual. Who knows. I really like Jeffrey Hamelman's recipes. It's probably the most popular book on here. It was recommended to me the first week I was on here, and I've never looked back.
https://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bakers-Book-Techniques-Recipes/dp/1118132718