hello, I've be trying to make a good loaf of sourdough for about my 5th
try....and my situation is this:

everytime i put the dough on a cookie sheet it seems to flatten out and
doesn't raise really until i turn on the oven and then it springs up a bit.

Am i just not adding enough flour, and making to soft of a dough?

thanks for your help,
Michael

in article , Michael at
wrote on 7/10/04 7:03 AM:

> hello, I've be trying to make a good loaf of sourdough for about my 5th
> try....and my situation is this:
>
> everytime i put the dough on a cookie sheet it seems to flatten out and
> doesn't raise really until i turn on the oven and then it springs up a bit.
>
> Am i just not adding enough flour, and making to soft of a dough?
>
> thanks for your help,
> Michael
>
>
try raising it in a basket and then turning it out onto a peel and quickly
onto whatever you use in the oven. I have a preheated kiln slab piece in my
oven. That way it doesn't get a chance to totally flatten out. I use a
very wet dough and without the support of the basket ( or sometimes a bowl),
it wouldn't be able to not spread sideways.
Ellen
--

On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 09:03:36 -0500, "Michael" >
wrote:

>hello, I've be trying to make a good loaf of sourdough for about my 5th
>try....and my situation is this:
>
>everytime i put the dough on a cookie sheet it seems to flatten out and
>doesn't raise really until i turn on the oven and then it springs up a bit.
>
>Am i just not adding enough flour, and making to soft of a dough?
>
>thanks for your help,
>Michael
>

Hi Michael,

Janet's suggestions are right on the money, but there is another
issue:

As the fermentation continues, the bread becomes more flavorful, but,
at the same time, the gluten starts to deteriorate. That presents a
bit of a dilemma: The longer we wait, the more flavorful the resulting
bread (within limits of course), but the less the loaf will hold its
structure (that is, the flatter it is likely to be.)

There is no silver bullet answer but it is worthy of some
experimentation.

One of the great virtues of home baking is that the failures are
usually delicious!

Have fun,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 14:25:03 -0400, Kenneth
> wrote:

>Janet's suggestions are right on the money, but there is another
>issue:

Ooops...

That should have been "Ellen."

'Sorry,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

Just to add to what Kenneth said, the problem can also stem from too
much starter in the final dough. The "pressure" from the yeast can
shatter the skin and make it spread sideways.

Kenneth > wrote in message >. ..
> As the fermentation continues, the bread becomes more flavorful, but,
> at the same time, the gluten starts to deteriorate. That presents a
> bit of a dilemma: The longer we wait, the more flavorful the resulting
> bread (within limits of course), but the less the loaf will hold its
> structure (that is, the flatter it is likely to be.)

You might not be proofing the dough long enough before shaping. If the dough
is not full of air when it is shaped it tends to flatten out. It may puff up
a bit as it continues to proof, but never really does gain much height. Be
sure your dough has at least doubled in volume before shaping -- tripling it
is even better.

Trevor

"Michael" > wrote in message
...
> hello, I've be trying to make a good loaf of sourdough for about my 5th
> try....and my situation is this:
>
> everytime i put the dough on a cookie sheet it seems to flatten out and
> doesn't raise really until i turn on the oven and then it springs up a
> bit.
>
> Am i just not adding enough flour, and making to soft of a dough?
>
> thanks for your help,
> Michael
>
>

It also depends on the state your starter is in when you mix it into
the dough.
If you use an overmatured starter that means that the acidy may be too
high and you get more gluten deterioration. it is very important to
know the state of your starter, you can read more about it on
samartha's web site.

http://samartha.net/SD/SourdoughDefinition.html

Happy baking!