June 26, 2010 - 12:19am
Hot weather affecting dough and starter texture?
Hi everyone,
This is driving me crazy! Everything's been going well with my starter and dough, and now, suddenly my starter has gone much more liquid and my dough is really soft, sticky and floppy. I'm still using the same recipe, same flour, etc, so wondering: is this change in texture something to do with the weather? It's now up to around 30, so my kitchen is probaably around that temperature too (not sure, but it's warmer than previously). Bread is prooving much more quickly now, but the real issue is : what should I do to stop the dough being so sticky and floppy? It won't keep its shape at all and I'm having to pour it into the banneton.
Any advice very gratefully received.
Thanks guys.
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I'm not sure where you live but I'm in Arizona & during the warmer months I cut my proof times about a 1/2 to a 1/3 of the normal time and I keep my starter in the fridge & feed it before using more flour to water.
Good Luck,
Margie
I'm not sure where you live but I'm in Arizona & during the warmer months I cut my proof times about a 1/2 to a 1/3 of the normal time and I keep my starter in the fridge & feed it before using more flour to water.
Good Luck,
Margie
and keeping it cooler if you want it to stand at room temp and wrap a loose damp towel around it and stick it into a shady draft. This tends to cool it a little. Refrigeration might be better and easier to control. You could also slip your starter jar into a terra cotta wine cooler or water soaked unglazed clay pot. Just ideas I'm throwing around here.
Yes, seasonal changes affect the growth and hunger of the starter.
Now if your dough is as running as I can imagine, then this link might help:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/18144/sourdough-loosing-elasticity-please-help#comment-121566
Debra Wink talks about Theol compounds building up in the starter. Good news is it can be rectified! Yeah!
Mini
My starter is runny too, I add more flour; the dough is much more runny, no problem, runny dough bakes up beautifully in an iron kettle, a clay pot like a Römertopf or a silicon loaf pan. Check out the no-knead threads.
Happy baking !
My starters have changed also. What I did and is working well is I reduced the amount of starter in my dough by 50% then recalculated the flour and water.
Rise times are still quicker but the dough is much nicer.
Hi Yogibaker,
For the first time ever (I've been baking for 30+ years) last week I overproofed 2 loaves. Here in the midwest it is very hot and humid, which means I need way less water than usual. King Arthur Flour has suggestions on reductions of water. I tend to kind of eyeball it. Like Marge, I think I'll cut back my proofing time by 1/2 hour and add time in as needed.
The weather caught me, too. This is when watching the starter/dough and not the clock comes in. Observe the signs for starter readiness and correct amount of rise. I use the fridge for bread proofing except autolyze and stretch/fold/shape. Or a basement room if you have a cool one. If your starter is on the counter, make sure you feed it well and that you don't begin when it is prematurely slack and all done being active - I aim for the peak or just after (note convex edges bordering container). Also, if you adjust your recipe to use less starter, that and some salt will slow things down.
So I know what you are talking about. Things you can control to slow down starter:
-add salt,
-use less starter, feed it with more flour/water
-put in fridge after a while
WIth the same technique, you can slow down the dough:
-use less starter
-retard the dough
-watch the dough developement, rather than obeying the clock
Yes Yogibaker,
I have observed the same problem since the weather got warmer. The shorter fermenting times are understandable but I have to add a little less water into the dough since the beginning to get the same consistency after mixing as in winter. I do not know why. The air humidity is a little higher but not much. But I cannot see another reason.
zdenka