Can I rescue this disaster?
I've just realised that I made a mistake in my sourdough recipe yeasterday. My starter had been fed and was vigorous, so I made a sponge and left it to ferment for 12 hours until just before bed time. I added flour, water and salt to make the bread dough and left it in a bowl overnight to rise. My intention was to rising early and do a few stretch and folds before a final shape and baking. I was very disapointed with the rise this morning, the dough had risen a little but nowhere near doubled. The total recipe was
1 Kg bread flour
600g water
2 tsp salt
I went to church to give the dough more time to rise, but little has changed on my return. Then it struck me; I had measured our 2 tablespoons of salt instead of 2 teaspoons, what a wally! So here are a few thoughts and questions:
The extra salt has inhibited the growth of the yeast, that's why the dough didn't rise properly.
I could add another kilo of flour and 600g water to the dough to bring it nearer to the correct proportions.
Has the yeast been damaged by exposure to so much salt?
Am I just throwing good flour at a bad situation? Maybe I should bin it and start again.
Not the end of the world and I'd not waste the dough.You are still at the stage it can be saved. Whether or not to add extra flour and water depends on the taste of the dough-taste it for salt level and decide.It probably is very salty and the natural yeasties may have suffered.
Mistakes like this actually allow you to be creative and pay attention to the dough. Add the flour and water and 1-2 tsp instant yeast and re-rise. It would have developed plenty of flavor and may be a very tasty loaf at the end.
Thanks for the encouragment. I was ready to bin it all, but as you say, it's a chance to learn more about dough.
The dough does taste very salty so I've divided it up into three batches. Two of them are going into the fridge for another day, one of them has already been tripled in volume by the addition of flour and water to the correct proportions.
One thing that did amaze me was the strength of the dough as I tried to divide it. This must be because of the long ferment time. Just waiting for the first batch to rise again.
I am glad that you didn't throw out the dough. You should have a nice loaf in front of you by now.
I find sourdough very forgiving. As long as the dough is not contaminated it will continue to rise and all it needs is food: flour & water.
I have many mishaps in my kitchen with my breads but always managed to save it. The one time I could not save a dough for food (1st attempt using water roux starter) I ended up using it to make bread scruptures. My little guy loved it. The dough didn't rise much but it was just perfect for him to shape it into any animals he wanted for baking. The dinosaurs he made last for a very long time too! :-) So no mistakes are total worthless; we all learn from them and the new experience always betters our next attempt. Keep up the good work!
Al
Yes, you're right. I do have a nice looking loaf in front of me. I will get three loaves out of the first batch I divided off from the bad one. I'll post pics as soon as they all come out.
I've been playing around with the way I stretch and fold; I made one round loaf that fell flat as soon as it went in the oven, but it's risen very well now :-)
Here's the pic of todays bake after I rescued half of the over salted dough. I still have another tub of dough in the fridge for later this week.
I experimented with stretching and folding and tried several different slashing techniques. Still a lot to learn! Gotta wait for it all to cool now.
It tastes great; the wife loves it, the kids love it, the dogs love it, so I love it :-)
Lemonade from lemons! Wish I lived close enough to pop over for a bite!
They all looked great! Congrats on your successful rescue mission. Would love to see more pictures of your baking in the future. Keep up the good work!
Al
Thanks Al, I'd like to see me post some "better" pictures, the camera on my phone leaves a lot to be desired. One of my friends tells me my pics look like my lens is covered in flour :-D