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.
Once the gluten network has formed, over handling the dough can cause this network to break down. You really only need to handle sourdough minimally. Each set of stretch and folds should consist of 4 stretches and folds. You should aim to do around 4 to 6 sets, but you may need less depending on the dough strength.
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.
Baker's Tip: As a general rule of thumb, the sets for high hydration doughs (wet dough) can be spaced closer together because the dough is slack; about 15-30 minutes apart. For low hydration doughs (dry, stiffer dough), the gluten will need more time to relax, about 30 minutes to 1 hr.
Knead dough by hand for 15-20 minutes: Knead 5-10 minutes at a time, taking breaks in between. Avoid using a mixer for the kneading process, which can heat up the dough too much and may not activate the gluten in the flour effectively. If using a mixer, always knead the last five minutes by hand.
After kneading the dough for several minutes, press it with your finger. If the indentation stays, the dough still needs more work. If it springs back to its original shape, your dough is ready to rest.
The Poke Test – Give that ball of dough a firm poke with your finger. If the indentation fills back quickly, you're good to go. If it stays looking like a deep dimple, continue kneading.
Kneading is usually done in one prolonged stage, which is ideal when baking with commercial yeast as your dough won't be rising or fermenting for an extended length of time, the strong yeast means the dough rises much faster. Kneading is a more vigorous method than the stretch and fold technique.
What is this? 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.
The timing for proofing sourdough can be stretched from 4 hours to even a few days! The smaller the amount of sourdough starter in the dough, and the colder the temperature, the longer the dough is able to ferment for.
Step 10: After the last set of stretch and folds, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. This is called the bulk proofing. While this is called an overnight sourdough bread the key takeaway is that it needs to proof in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
You must discard some of your sourdough starter each time you feed it. You'll discover that discarding is necessary to build a healthy and thriving sourdough starter - but it's not actually as wasteful as you might think.
How many folds are too many? Most recipes recommend 4 or 6 sets of stretch and folds with 30 minutes intervals. Also, you do not want to be handling the dough late in the bulk fermentation process. It is best to leave it untouched for the last 2 hours (minimum) of bulk fermentation.
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.
Analyze three things: dough volume, dough appearance, and dough texture. Dough volume should be at least double from the gas built up from yeast fermentation. There should be visible signs of the bubbles of gas on top and from side if you have a see-through bowl or container.
Bread Loaves made with over-kneaded dough commonly end up with a hard crust and dry interior. Often upon cutting, slices will crumble. If your perfect bread loaf turns into a crumbly mess, don't worry. The overworked dough will work great when used as croutons or breadcrumbs.
Will my sticky sourdough or bread dough still rise? The sticky dough can still rise or spring in the oven. The big question is whether the dough has enough strength to trap the gas and stop the dough from collapsing during proofing or when you bake.
Upon forming, gluten is very tight and strong, which causes the dough to tear when stretched. Giving your dough time to proof will prevent tearing and make it easier to spread. While a few hours will do the trick, longer is always better.
Leave the dough gathered up
Cleanly bundled dough allows you to assess the dough better as it rises during bulk fermentation. I find it's helpful to leave the dough neatly gathered up in the bulk fermentation container. Leave your dough gathered up with a mostly-smooth top after a set of stretch and folds.
Loaves spread out or do not hold shape while rising.
Proof in a basket or use spring-form pan ring to hold dough's shape during rising. Place the dough on parchment paper first, then easily transfer loaf plus parchment directly onto a hot baking stone.
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.