Below is a video of the “poke test” in action. You can see the indentations I made remaining in the dough. If the dough was overproofed it would show very little movement and would possibly deflate a little. Underproofed dough would bounce back and wouldn't show much evidence of indentation.
To fix underproofed bread, next time, give the dough more time to ferment before baking. This could mean additional time in bulk fermentation, proof, or a combination.
Smooth surface – there should be no shagginess in the texture of the dough, it should smooth and almost shiny at its surface. A domed surface – the top of the dough should looked domed, indicating it is still growing and has strength left in it. If it becomes flat or collapses, this is a sign it has over fermented.
You'll end up with a loaf that doesn't expand or bake well, and that is also misshapen and very sour. While some people (including us) like that biting flavor, others may find it too sour. Mistakes are inevitable when it comes to proofing bread, but there's no need to throw out dough if it proofs too long.
What to look for in an over proofed loaf. Similar to the signs of over proofed dough, an over proofed loaf will be very flat, without much rise or retention of shaping. Over proofing destroys the structural integrity of the bread, so loaves that have gone over are unable to hold their shape in the oven.
Properly proofed sourdough bread undergoes the oven spring, which is the final expression of the carbon dioxide gasses in the oven. An overproofed dough lacks the necessary carbon dioxide gas for the added boost. The result is a flat, squat loaf of bread with a tight, gummy crumb.
You can easily leave a loaf in the refrigerator for 3 days before baking. I've gone as long as 5 days, but you will see some deterioration of the loaf after Day 3. Your refrigerator temperature is very important when doing long, cold retards.
After kneading, shape your loaf, cover it, and let it proof for 4-24 hours, depending on your specific sourdough starter and ambient temperature. You can manipulate the sourness of the bread with a longer rise time. A 24-hour rise time will produce much more sour bread than a 4-hour rise time.
Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.
In sourdough bread, if you do not give enough time for the wild yeast to multiply and reach a decent population where it can cause enough leavening, your bread is bound to be too dense. Another possible reason for a super dense bread could be the death of the yeast due to some reason.
Sourdough Starter Too Young
Dough made with a young sourdough starter just won't develop. It will stay very wet and sticky, rather than strengthen with each stretch and fold. No matter how long you leave it to ferment, the yeast and bacteria won't actually grow or change.
Over-proofed dough is very soft, when you pull at it, it falls apart easily, it's sticky, it smells sour/acidic and can have a crêpey look/feel. If you've shaped it, it will deflate when you poke at it.
The good news: We found an easy way to rescue overproofed dough. Simply punch it down gently, reshape it, and let it proof again for the recommended amount of time. In the test kitchen, these steps resulted in bread that tasters found acceptable in both texture and flavor.
Under- or over-proofed bread will change the "crumb" of the bread but has nothing to do with food safety. If it is baked fully it will be safe even if it's a little dense or too airy.
Underproofed dough is dense and has not increased in volume. This will result in a dense bread with a very tight crumb (holes are very close together) that doesn't have the pillowy texture when you take a bite. The flavor will also be underdeveloped.
You most definitely can bulk ferment sourdough too long. If you leave the dough to ferment for too long, it will become "over fermented". Over fermented dough will lose its structure and become a soupy, sloppy mess that you will not be able to shape.
If you think you've over-kneaded the dough, try letting it rise a little longer before shaping it. You can't really undo the damage of over-worked gluten, but the longer rise can get the dough to relax a little. Loaves made with over-kneaded dough often end up with a rock-hard crust and a dense, dry interior.
Proofing sourdough overnight in the fridge is a great option if you like to bake first thing in the morning. You could plan out your sourdough baking timeline so that your bulk fermentation finishes in the evening. You would then shape your dough and place it into the fridge to proof overnight.
I recommend using a see-through cambro for bulk fermentation which also has indicators for the volume by liter and quart measurements. Dough appearance should no longer be rough after sourdough bulk fermentation. It should be smooth looking and even a bit shiny. If you lift up a section, it should move together.
To know when your loaf of sourdough bread is cooked through, use oven gloves or a clean tea towel to pick up the loaf and turn it upside down. Holding the loaf in one hand, take the other and knock on the bottom of the loaf as though it was a door. If it sounds hollow your sourdough loaf is cooked through!
If you'd like to turn your oven into a proof box, you'll need a whole pot of boiling water to moisten and warm the air in the larger space. If your oven has a bread proofing setting, resist the urge to use it; the temperature is likely to be too hot for the long, slow fermentation sourdough requires.