I just baked four sourdough loaves in a row that were flat and sad. It made me feel flat and sad. 😂 And I’ve been baking sourdough bread for an entire year.
While I was staring at my hockey puck of a loaf, I thought: I want to sit down and write something to other discouraged sourdough bakers from this super dispirited place.
We All Understand How You Feel
First: you are not the only one with failed loaves or even entire spans of failed loaves.
What you see on social media is typically the “best” attempts – they’re put out there and shared because they’re share-worthy!
That’s part of the reason I started a “Friday Fails” segment. I want all bakers – especially beginners – to know that we’re all getting bad loaves now and again (some of us more often than not!).
It’s also why my platform is a place where the entire sourdough experience is shared – not just the best parts. Yeah, it may make some people unfollow me because they deem me “not expert enough” if I screw up sometimes.
But I’m human, and I’m learning every day. And I like being transparent about it. (Case in point here, here, and here.)
That is part of the journey, and honestly, the challenge to keep getting better is what makes sourdough so addictive in the first place.
It’s Just Sourdough… Who Cares?
I bet some people will see this and think: it’s just a loaf of bad sourdough bread. Is that really cause for an entire pep talk?
Yes! Yes, it is!
This is a blanket statement, but for most of us, I’d be willing to say that sourdough is about more than just a loaf of bread.
For many of us, sourdough has become a symbol of patience, persistence, and personal growth. It connects us to an older history – a world before our time. It’s also a creative outlet – a way to slow down in an often chaotic world.
I’ve seen moms share that learning to make sourdough bread has gotten them through postpartum depression.
That is more than just bread.
So, when you spend two or three days putting your heart and soul into a loaf and it turns out lookin’ like a frisbee, it feels like more than just bread.
It feels like all that time, care, and attention you put into the process was wasted. And that hurts.
So, what now?
Failures Are the Best Learning Tools
Here’s the silver lining: every failed loaf teaches you something.
No failure is wasted. Yes, it’s annoying when you make the same mistake more than once, but each time something doesn’t come out right, you learn. You improve.
Why do you think sourdough Reddit is FULL of people asking for crumb reads? We all want to know what we can tweak to make our bread even better next time.
Every “failure” is just a step forward toward mastering the craft.
So, that loaf that came out horrendous isn’t for nothing. You just learned something about your process that you can now tweak for next time.
And as a friend on Instagram once told me, you’re just in your crouton moment. It’ll pass.
Troubleshooting Common Failures
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with sourdough, but I’d say about 90% of the issues come back to bulk fermentation.
Bulk Fermentation
Dense loaves, flat loaves, heavy loaves, pale loaves, gummy loaves, sticky loaves, dough that won’t hold its shape, scores that crack… all these common issues are typically due to bulk fermentation troubles.
The reason it’s so hard is because there is no simple way to tell when it’s done. There are too many variables.
The most influential variables are the temperature of your dough and the strength of your starter, but there’s also factors like humidity, elevation, how much starter is in your dough, the type of flour you’re using, the type of salt you’re using, the temperature of your water…
You can see why it’s nearly impossible to give simple guidance on bulk fermentation that works every time for everyone.
I’ve compiled some of the most credible resources for you based on experts in the sourdough space and what they have to say about bulk fermentation:
- The Sourdough Journey’s dough temperature and percentage rise chart, called the Two-Factor Method: the idea is the temperature of the dough influences how quickly it ferments, so the warmer it is, the quicker you need to cut off bulk fermentation and shape the dough. 80°F dough should be shaped at a 30% rise, 75°F dough should be shaped at a 50% rise, and so on.
- Maurizio Leo: use your senses and intuition. Look for a risen dough with domed edges, feel for a stronger dough, and use dough temperature as a guide. Find more details in his book The Perfect Loaf (page 92).
- Ken Forkish: every recipe operates on its own timeline. Don’t rush bulk fermentation. Most sourdough recipes in the book Fiour Water Salt Yeast recommend letting the dough triple in size before shaping (no cold retard in those recipes).
- Karyn Lynn Newman, PhD: when the dough is jiggly like a bowl of jelly, it’s ready to be shaped. Ready dough should rise to double its original volume. Try the poke test, smell test, and jiggle test (explained on pages 63-64 of her book Sourdough by Science).
- Chad Robertson: try to keep your dough’s temperature between 78-82°F to accomplish a full bulk fermentation in 3-4 hours. Ready dough will release from the sides of the bowl and you’ll see a 20-30% increase in volume. Bubbles will form along the sides of the container. (Instructions for Basic Country Bread in Tartine Bread).
And for some not-as-credible ideas that many have found helpful and I don’t know where they originated:
- The float test: carefully remove a small portion of your dough and put it in a glass of water. Be careful not to flatten this portion of dough so as not to de-gas it. If it floats, it has enough gases trapped in the dough to hopefully raise your loaf during baking. Stop the bulk fermentation and shape the dough at this point.
- The aliquot method: after you mix your dough – potentially even after you finish your stretch and folds – take a small portion of your dough and put it in a jar with measurement markings. This allows you to monitor the rise of your dough in a much easier, clear-to-see way. Pair this with dough temperature and percentage rise targets to properly ferment your dough.
- Jello shot cup hack: If you’re looking for a 30% rise (typically with dough that’s 80°F), you can put 40g of dough in a jello shot cup. Once the dough touches the lid, it’s at a 30% rise and is ready to shape.
Other Troubleshooting
I’ve compiled a list of other factors that may be hurting your bread. This is based on my own experience and my observations of others.
- Sh**ty weather: when the weather in my area is particularly bad – especially during hurricanes – my bread never turns out right. The texture feels off, it bakes up weird, and I’m left wondering what the heck I did wrong. I haven’t seen any scientific research about this, but enough bakers have messaged me with similar experiences that I really do believe the barometric pressure in the atmosphere can impact your bakes, similar to baking at high altitudes.
- Your water: if you have city water, the chlorine levels from your tap may be killing your starter. Consider using purified water or putting a filtration system in.
- Your salt: some salts contain an anti-caking agent that can negatively impact your bread. Check the label and ensure it’s just salt in there.
- Your hydration level: different flours have different water-absorbing abilities. Check the protein content in your flour and add more or less water based on what you find. Higher protein flours can accept more water while lower protein flours can’t.
- Dough strength: if your dough doesn’t have enough gluten development, it can’t properly trap the gases and give you a well-risen loaf. Try doing a longer kneading at the beginning of the process, or add in more folds during the bulk fermentation. Slap and folds can be a fun alternative to kneading if you have some aggression to get out from your last bad loaf. Ensure your dough passes the windowpane test somewhere along the way to confirm it’s strong enough.
- Your starter strength: if your starter isn’t happy and healthy, it’s not going to do a great job with your loaf. Make sure you’re feeding it daily, maybe even twice per day, depending on your feeding ratio. If it’s not doubling – ideally tripling – in size at peak, it probably needs to be fed more often to build up its strength.
I know there are other potential issues, so please leave a comment with your input and I will continue to update and expand this resource.
Next Steps
For a quick win, try my Easy, Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe.
It’s super simple, ferments overnight, and can be baked by lunchtime with minimal hands-on time. It’s the perfect recipe to rebuild your confidence.
For those looking to dive deeper into troubleshooting and perfecting their technique, I highly recommend checking out The Sourdough Journey’s website. He has a library full of troubleshooting tips and, in my opinion, the best bulk fermentation advice out there.
And if you haven’t yet, grab a copy of The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo. It’s full of practical advice and tips – I’ve had so many ‘aha!’ moments reading it, and I know it will help you, too.
Hang in there.
Sourdough is definitely a process, but once you start getting the hang of it, you will truly realize that it was all worth the effort.
