Autolyse and disaster
I’m new to baking bread. In the last three weeks of baking a loaf or two each day, I am happy with my loaf pan breads. However my 3 tries with Over Night White have been disasters.
I measure by scale. I mix, pinch, I stretch I fold and wait 12 or more hours to proof. The dough will rise, but it is so wet it can not be handled. The light bodied goop will just drip from my hands. Rolling into a ball shape is impossible.
What am I doing wrong?
And I have a couple of questions:
can I use a proof oven with autolyse dough? my oven has a proof setting. I’ve used it with my other breads and it works great.
do I have to proof in a round container? I’ve used a 14 quart lidded plastic container, but it is rectangle.
Any suggestions are gratefully received.
Recipe and method?
Recipe and method straight from Ken Forkish’s book Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast
I’m trying to make the overnight white. Except for the first phase being in a rectangle container instead of the round container Ken recommends, I’m fairly certain I followed his instructions exactly.
I’m wondering if the flour could be the problem. My daughter brought the flour and it is a different brand than I usually use. I just tried the white loaf in lesson #1. I gave up after I added almost twice the flour called for and it was still too sticky to knead.
Also, does anyone find that chlorinated water matters? If so I will use bottled water.
It kills yeast. Try returning to your usual brand of flour and try using bottled spring water.
Good luck
hester
Thank you. I will do
Forkish's timings are notoriously off for many bakers. His ambient temperatures are comparatively cool, which means the dough ferments rather slowly for him. For many bakers, their ambient temperatures are considerably warmer which leads to significant over-fermentation of the dough.
Where are you located and what kind of flour are you using? If the protein content is rather low, let's say less than 10.5%, you may need to dial back on the amount of water you use. For instance, if the formula is written to produce a dough at 80% hydration, you might want to drop the hydration to 75%. Depending on the dough consistency at that hydration, you can decide whether decrease further, hold at that level, or even add some water back for future bakes.
Paul
Or do you wait till it's ready? On top of all the great suggestions already given I just want to add that Forkish is very generous with his timings. Why not start the dough in the morning so you can keep an eye on it through the day?
I usually give myself 3 tries on a new product. I figure the first one will be too much "x" . The second try will be too little "x." The third try is down the middle and usually close to target.
Since every bag of flour has it's own unique needs for hydration, and that can change based on ambient conditions, it can be challenging to produce consistent results following recipes to the "t." Eventually you'll develop a feel for your dough - you'll be able to add or reduce liquid as required based on your experience.
For now, you already know that your dough is too hydrated. Next attempt you may try:
1) Initially add less than the specified hydration and observe how your dough performs (recommended)
2) Or, start off using a container with larger surface area and then if your dough is too hydrated you can leave it uncovered, exposed to air, to let some of the moisture evaporate (check in on it every hour or two) until you get to a workable consistency. (by the way this method can be a problem if you bake in a humid environment)
3) And/Or gently stretch and fold more frequently than the recipe suggests and see if that helps build structure (probably not the solution to your challenge based on all you've written)
Embrace the "mistakes" because those are the signposts to get you to your target destination. You'll quickly develop feel through experience and all the gloopy doughs of the past will be mere ghosts and shadows fading away in the past.