Most recipes call for three or four rounds of stretch and folds, repeated every 20 minutes or so. What is this? By the last round, the dough should keep its shape, and not feel as sticky as it did at the start. It may also have small bubbles on the surface depending on the recipe.
Too little folding can result in weak dough. But too much folding can produce excessive tension and compressive forces. An over-folded dough might have a tighter crumb as the layers of alveoli push against each other and coalesce. In the worst case, excessive folding might cause a dough to tear under too much tension.
Stretch and folds are completed in sets. The first set is usually done about 30 minutes into the bulk rise. Then, you'll complete up to 4 additional sets spaced about 15 minutes to 1 hour apart, depending on the dough's flexibility and your own personal baking schedule.
First, you always want to let the dough rest between folds. The most typical rest time is 30 minutes between folds. This lets the gluten relax and the next fold is more effective.
How many sets of folds are needed? There's no single answer for how many sets your dough needs. If you hand-mix your dough, two to four sets should do it. Of course, the type of flour and hydration in a recipe also play a big role in answering this question.
How many times should you coil fold or stretch and fold? Generally 4 to 6 sets of stretch and folds should be sufficient (4 folds in each set). Similarly, 4 to 6 coil folds should be enough to develop the gluten in a higher hydration dough.
While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed. Instead, the overworked dough will result in a hard loaf that will likely not be eaten. It's important not to overwork your dough and continually check for overworking throughout the kneading process.
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.
The second proving has given the bread more elasticity, and made it harder to deflate the air. Second rises may add significantly to the total time it takes to complete a loaf of bread, but the step can be essential to achieving the taste and texture inherent to a number of popular breads.
If dough hydration is too high, the dough will be too slack to hold its shape. Try adding a little more flour or a little less liquid to the dough.
If you skip stretching and folding, chances are you will end up with soggy dough that doesn't hold its shape before or during baking. Developed strands of gluten help hold the bread together as it bakes, and contributes to a strong upward rise (called oven spring) rather than spread during baking.
Each stretch should be held 15-30 seconds and repeated 2 to 4 times. Many exercise studies on older adults include stretching exercises as part of a well-rounded exercise program.
If you tried to give this strong dough a stretch and a fold-over, you'd be fighting the dough, forcing it to comply. Instead, give the dough more time to rest, let the gluten relax and become extensible again, and then perform another set (if at all). Generally, I like to wait around 30 minutes between sets.
#1 Sourdough Bread Baking Tip
To prevent over fermenting your dough, use your refrigerator as needed. After you complete the 4 sets of stretches and folds, you can put your dough in the fridge at any time.
YES! 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.
You should see the formation of lines of gluten strands and/or webs of gluten that have formed. The texture and feel should no longer be sticky but only tacky. If the dough is sticking to your finger or hands rather than sticking to itself, it is not done fermenting.
You can gently deflate the dough, reshape it, and set it to rise again. Watch it very carefully, as this third rise will go quite quickly and probably won't be as high.
Bread recipes typically call for two rises: The first is the “bulk” rise when the dough rises in the bowl, while the second rise comes after the dough has been shaped, like when a sandwich dough proofs directly in the loaf pan.
Knead it two to three times before forming your desired shape or placing it into a bread pan.
Loaves made with over-kneaded dough often end up with a rock-hard crust and a dense, dry interior. Slices will be very crumbly, especially toward the middle.
Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough. Sticky dough isn't necessarily a bad thing, although I appreciate how frustrating it is for a new baker.
When the bulk fermentation goes too long — often when the dough more than doubles or triples in volume — the dough can over ferment. You know the dough has over fermented if, when you turn it out to shape it, it is very slack — if it's like a wet puddle — and very sticky and lacking any strength and elasticity.
Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.
If you're feeding your sourdough starter more than twice a day, chances are it's being overfed. Some other signs your sourdough starter is being overfed are: sourdough starter not bubbling or rising. not smelling yeasty.
If your recipe calls for more than 227g (about 1 cup) of starter, feed it without discarding until you've reached the amount you need (plus 113g to keep and feed again).