Help Please, my dough seems to be getting wetter as it rises and proofs.

I’ve made bread on and off for years but never got real serious or regular about it. I’ve had sourdough starters that I’ve neglected and had to get rid of, and used commercial yeast. I have some knowledge, and often get good results but sometimes not.

Recently I’ve been given a sourdough starter that I’ve been working with and really trying to keep in good shape. I’ve made several loaves, and have made some adjustments to address problems, but have a new problem that I’m not sure how to deal with.

My starter seems to be doing fine as far as I can tell. It gets good and bubbly, I only see hooch occasionally, usually if I’ve gone longer than normal feeding cycle. I usually discard enough to keep about 25g, and feed 1:1:1 to keep about 75g and try to do it every weekend. Occasionally it goes a couple more days, but never 2 weeks. It is 100% hydration. I use KA or Bob’s Red Mill bread flour, and occasionally add 10g or so of rye for the feedings. I usually let it sit out on the counter for an hour or more to get a good start, then into the fridge for the week.

I use my 50g discard and step it up 1:1:1 to use for baking. It sits out on the counter till it appears bubbly on the surface, then I add 10g salt, 425g flour, and 201g water. This should give me 65% hydration. I mix it well and let it sit out on the counter in a fairly heavy glass bowl for a couple hours till I start to see some rise, then in the fridge overnight for bulk ferment.

In the morning it comes out on the counter and rises. I may or may not do a stretch and fold or two. Shape, proof, and in the oven.

I just noticed an error in my math giving me 70% hydration for todays loaf, so that is for sure part of my problem, but that difference should not be the underlying cause of my issue.

What I’ve noticed is that as it rises, if I am doing stretch and folds, it seems sticky and wetter as time goes on. Every time I pull it out it seems to stick to the bowl, and is pretty “lazy” on the counter, not holding it’s shape. I don’t normally flour the counter or my hands, but did today and that helped work it, but it still seemed to be getting wetter and more relaxed as I went rather than drying and getting firmer to hold it’s shape for baking.

Any thoughts?

If all is the same - it's the starter. Things will get stretchier as time goes on - but it's the starter - as usual. Enjoy!

Could you please clarify a couple of things:

--when you say "I use my 50g discard and step it up 1:1:1 to use for baking," does this mean you are mixing the 50g of discard with 50g of water and 50g of flour and essentially creating a levain of 150g?
--when you say this levain "sits out on the counter till it appears bubbly," does that mean you are using it before it gets any rise?
--when you add the flour, water & salt to this levain and "mix it well," can you feel any gluten develop in the dough?
--how is the bread? Are your loaves rising nicely in the oven despite the lassitude of the dough? Or are they spreading? Or are they not rising at all?

Rob

--PS: btw, I'm not understanding your hydration calculation. If my understanding of your recipe is correct, this is my math:

flour: 75g in levain + 425g in final dough = 500g total
water: 75g in levain + 201g in final dough = 276g total
276/500 = 55% hydration

Yes

I see some increase in volume and bubbly surface, so, some rise but probably not double.

Not really. I mix it till all the water is absorbed and the starter seems well distributed, but I don’t knead it.

I do get some oven spring, but not as much as I would hope for or expect. I certainly don’t get a nice ear from any slashes I make.

I had an error in my op, I actually added 275g water for 70%.

I’ve done some no knead doughs, and seen other bakers have good results, so I’ve been trying that, but my suspicion is I need to work the dough more when initially mixing it, and perform some stretch and folds to promote gluten development.