Q: Too sour or overly tangy

A long, warm fermentation built up a lot of acid. Shorten bulk, ferment cooler, and feed your starter more often so it’s sweet and active. A neglected, hungry starter turns sharply sour. Refresh it with one or two daily feeds (discard down to a small amount first).

Q: Dough tears or rips while shaping

The gluten is under-developed or the dough is too dry. Add a couple more sets of folds, or a touch more water, and let it rest before shaping. Spelt, rye and high whole-grain doughs have fragile gluten that tears easily. Handle gently with a light touch and a shorter, simpler shape — they won’t take aggressive tension.

Question 1

Dense, tight crumb with few holes

Accepted Answer

Bulk fermentation was cut short, so not enough gas built up.

The fix: Extend bulk until the dough is jiggly and risen by roughly half, with bubbles at the edges.

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A weak or unripe starter couldn’t leaven the dough.

The fix: Build with starter at its peak — bubbly and domed — and feed it more often in the days before baking.

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Often normal for this bake

Enriched doughs are heavy with butter, eggs and sugar that slow the rise.

The fix: A tighter, cake-like crumb is normal — give enriched doughs extra time and warmth to prove.

Question 2

Gummy, sticky or doughy crumb

Accepted Answer

The loaf was sliced while still warm, before the crumb set.

The fix: Cool completely on a rack for at least an hour (longer for big loaves) before cutting.

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The bread was underbaked, so the centre never finished.

The fix: Bake longer and darker; the internal temperature should reach about 96–99 °C.

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Question 3

Dough is sticky, slack or hard to handle

Accepted Answer

Rye and high whole-grain doughs lack strong gluten and are meant to be tacky. Don’t add flour — wet your hands and use a bench scraper. The stickiness is the flour, not a mistake. Hydration is higher than your flour can carry. Hold some water back and add it gradually (bassinage), or switch to a stronger, higher-protein flour. The gluten isn’t developed enough to hold the water. Give it a rest (autolyse) and a few sets of stretch-and-folds during bulk.

Question 4

Loaf is flat or spreads out, no height

Accepted Answer

The dough overproofed and the gluten can no longer hold gas. Shorten the proof and use the poke test — the dent should spring back slowly and only partly. Shaping left too little surface tension to hold the loaf up. Pre-shape, rest, then shape tightly to build a taut skin; proof seam-side up in a banneton. Flatbreads and pizza aren’t meant to dome. Flat is the goal here — focus on bubbles and chew, not height.

Question 5

Loaf bursts or tears at the side or base

Accepted Answer

The loaf was underproofed and forced its own way out in the oven. Give it more proof so the crumb can expand evenly instead of blowing out. Scoring was too shallow or missing, so there was no escape route. Make one decisive cut about 1 cm deep at a shallow angle to control where it opens.

Question 6

Crust is pale, soft or won’t crisp

Accepted Answer

Not enough steam in the first half of the bake. Bake the first 20 minutes covered (Dutch oven) or add steam, then uncover to brown. The oven was too cool or the bake too short for browning. Bake hotter and longer; deep colour is flavour from the Maillard reaction.

Question 7

No oven spring — the loaf doesn’t rise in the oven

Accepted Answer

The dough overproofed and had no gas left to expand. Bake at a younger proof; the poke test should spring back slowly, not collapse. The oven (or Dutch oven / stone) wasn’t fully preheated, or there was no steam. Preheat hard for 45–60 minutes and trap steam so the crust stays soft long enough to spring. A weak starter never built enough strength. Revive the starter with frequent feeds until it doubles reliably, then bake.

Question 8

Too sour or overly tangy

Accepted Answer

A long, warm fermentation built up a lot of acid.

The fix: Shorten bulk, ferment cooler, and feed your starter more often so it’s sweet and active.

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Question 9

Not sour enough — too mild

Accepted Answer

The dough fermented fast and warm, or the starter is young. Add a long cold retard in the fridge (12–24 h) to build the sharper acetic tang.

Question 10

Dough tears or rips while shaping

Accepted Answer

The gluten is under-developed or the dough is too dry.

The fix: Add a couple more sets of folds, or a touch more water, and let it rest before shaping.

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Question 11

One big tunnel or hollow under the crust

Accepted Answer

Loose shaping trapped a large pocket of air. Degas gently and shape more tightly so bubbles are even, not one big void.

Question 12

Texture is tough or rubbery

Accepted Answer

The dough was over-worked or had too much flour added. Use a gentler hand and resist dusting in extra flour during shaping. Pizza and flatbread need fierce heat and relaxed dough. Bake as hot as your oven goes and let the dough warm and relax before stretching — never roll it flat.

Question 13

Crackers or flatbread won’t crisp up

Accepted Answer

Rolled too thick, not docked, or pulled from the oven too soon. Roll paper-thin, prick all over (docking), and bake low and slow until fully dry.

Question 14

Discard bake is flat or dense

Accepted Answer

Discard bakes rise from baking soda or powder, not from fermentation. A flat, tender result is normal — pancakes, cakes and crackers aren’t meant to rise like bread. The chemical leavener was old or under-measured. Use fresh baking soda/powder and the full amount; mix and bake promptly.

Question 15

Starter won’t rise or has stalled

Accepted Answer

It’s too cold, too young, or simply hungry. Keep it warm (24–26 °C) and feed 1:1:1 daily for a week; a little rye or whole wheat jump-starts it.

Sourdough Troubleshooter

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