Fresh Milled Sourdough Troubleshooting Guide

Sourdough is a chain of decisions and any of them can go wrong. The good news: most failures fall into a small number of categories with well-understood causes. Use the jump links below to skip to your symptom.

Jump to a problem

• Dense crumb — see 'Dense or tight crumb' below
• Weak or no rise in the oven — see 'Weak rise / no oven spring'
• Overproofed dough — see 'Overproofing'
• Underproofed dough — see 'Underproofing'
• Gummy or sticky crumb — see 'Gummy crumb'
• Excessively sour bread — see 'Excess sourness'
• Flat, spread loaf — see 'Flat loaf'
• Tight, ear-less scoring — see 'Poor ear / pale crust'

Dense or tight crumb

The most common fresh-milled sourdough complaint. Causes, in order of likelihood:

1. Underproofed: the dough didn't ferment long enough. Watch for 50% rise during bulk; the surface should be domed with visible bubbles below.
2. Underhydrated: fresh-milled flour absorbs more water than commercial flour. Add 5% more water and autolyse 30–60 minutes before mixing.
3. Weak starter: starter wasn't at peak when added. It should double in 4–6 hours after feeding and pass a float test.
4. Aggressive shaping: tight pre-shape compressed gas out. Pre-shape gently, bench-rest 20–30 minutes, then shape.
5. Insufficient gluten development: not enough folds during bulk. Aim for 3–4 coil folds spaced 30–45 minutes apart.

Weak rise / no oven spring

The loaf comes out flat or barely puffed. Causes:

1. Overproofed: gas structure collapsed before the bake. Pull bulk earlier next time.
2. Cold oven: oven not preheated long enough. Preheat 45–60 minutes with the Dutch oven inside.
3. Insufficient steam: dry oven environment seals the crust too fast, preventing expansion. Use a Dutch oven (lid on for the first 20 minutes) or add steam via a tray of boiling water.
4. Weak starter: starter past peak, sluggish, or hungry. Build a fresh levain at 1:5:5 the night before.
5. Score too shallow: the bread had nowhere to expand. Score 1/4 inch deep with a confident, single motion.

Overproofing

An overproofed dough has fermented past its structural prime — the gluten network has degraded and gas escapes faster than the dough can hold it.

Signs:

• Dough is very domed, almost flat on top, with surface bubbles popping.
• Poke test: a deep dent that doesn't spring back at all.
• Dough deflates or 'sighs' when scored or transferred.
• Final loaf has open but irregular crumb, flat profile, pale crust.

Fixes for next bake:

• Shorten bulk fermentation by 30 minutes.
• Drop kitchen temperature — fresh-milled ferments fast in warm rooms.
• Reduce starter percentage by 5%.
• Cold-retard shaped loaves earlier in the fermentation curve.

Underproofing

An underproofed dough hasn't fermented long enough to develop full structure and flavor.

Signs:

• Dough feels tight, springy, slow to relax.
• Poke test: dent springs back immediately and completely.
• Loaf rises violently in the oven, splits in unexpected places, and has dense crumb at the base.
• Flavor is yeasty/flat rather than complex.

Fixes:

• Extend bulk fermentation 30–60 minutes.
• Warm the bulk space (oven with light on, ~78°F).
• Use a more active starter — feed and use at peak.
• Don't rush cold retard. 12–18 hours overnight in the fridge gives bran time to soften.

Gummy crumb

Crumb that's wet, sticky, dough-like when squeezed. This is not a hydration problem — it's a baking or cooling problem.

Causes and fixes:

1. Underbaked: bake to 205–210°F internal for boules, 200°F for pan loaves. Pull at 195°F and you'll have gummy crumb every time.
2. Sliced warm: the crumb sets during cooling. Cool boules at least 2 hours; rye loaves need 12–24 hours.
3. Excessive amylase activity: too long a ferment with high enzyme activity (especially with rye). Shorten bulk and use a more acidic starter to keep amylase in check.
4. Inadequate oven heat: weak ovens may need a temperature boost or longer bake. Verify oven temp with a thermometer.

Excess sourness

Counterintuitive but well-documented: very sour bread is usually slow-fermented bread, not over-fermented bread. Lactic and acetic acid build up over time, and a cool, slow ferment produces more acid than a warm, fast one.

If your bread is too sour for your taste:

• Shorten cold retard from 24 hours to 12.
• Bulk-ferment warmer (78°F) for a shorter time.
• Use a younger starter (just past peak, not 12 hours past peak).
• Reduce starter percentage and shorten total fermentation.
• Switch from rye-fed starter to wheat-fed starter — rye produces more acetic acid.

If your bread is not sour enough:

• Extend cold retard to 18–24 hours.
• Use a starter that's 4–8 hours past peak.
• Feed your starter rye occasionally for a more acidic flora.
• Bulk-ferment cooler (68–72°F) and longer.

Flat loaf

Loaf spreads out instead of up. Causes:

1. Overhydrated for the gluten structure: reduce water 3% next bake.
2. Overproofed (most common): see 'Overproofing' above.
3. Weak shaping: shape with more tension. Pre-shape, rest 20–30 minutes, then shape.
4. Skipped cold retard: an overnight in the fridge firms the dough and supports oven spring.
5. Underbaked Dutch oven: preheat with lid on for 45–60 minutes at 500°F before loading.

Poor ear / pale crust

The 'ear' is the lifted edge of a scored cut. Poor ears and pale crusts share causes:

1. Insufficient steam: trap moisture for the first 20 minutes via Dutch oven lid or steam tray. Without steam, the crust sets before the loaf finishes expanding.
2. Oven not hot enough: load into 500°F oven, drop to 475°F after lid removal. A 450°F oven won't generate the same color.
3. Score too shallow: score 1/4 inch deep with a confident single stroke.
4. Underproofed: dough has too much spring potential and tears in the score instead of opening cleanly. Extend bulk.
5. No diastatic malt or sugar substitute: optional, but a 1% addition of diastatic malt boosts crust color via Maillard reactions.

Starter problems

Starter won't rise

• Cold kitchen: warm to 75–78°F.
• Chlorinated water: filter or use spring water.
• Hungry: feed more often or scale up the ratio.
• Underfed: a 1:1:1 feed runs out fast in warm rooms — try 1:5:5.

Starter smells like solvent

Acetic 'nail polish remover' smell means hungry — feed it. Within one or two feeds the smell will normalize.

Starter has hooch

Grey or amber liquid on top means hungry. Stir it back in (more sour) or pour it off (milder) and feed.

When to start over (rare)

Sourdough's acidic environment protects it from most contamination. Only start over if you see:

• Pink, orange, black, or fuzzy mold on the surface (not the grey hooch — that's normal).
• Persistent rotting or sulfur smell that doesn't normalize after several feeds.
• No activity at all after 14 days of consistent room-temperature feeding.