Homemade Sourdough Troubleshooting: A Guide to Better Bread
There’s something wonderfully comforting about baking sourdough at home. From nurturing your own starter to pulling a golden loaf from the oven, the process feels both traditional and rewarding. But if you've spent hours tending your dough only to end up with a flat, dense, or gummy loaf, you're certainly not alone.
The good news is that most sourdough problems are surprisingly easy to fix once you know what to look for. Whether you're working with a brand-new homemade starter or you've been baking for a while, this guide will help you troubleshoot common issues and get back to enjoying beautiful homemade bread.
Sourdough bread with wheat design Sourdough roll individual Sourdough bread, sliced through the middle
The Heart of Every Loaf: Your Starter
A healthy starter is the foundation of great sourdough. If your starter isn't thriving, your bread will struggle too.
My Starter Isn't Rising After Feeding
If your starter seems lifeless after feeding, don't panic.
Common causes include:
A room that's too cold
Infrequent feedings
Chlorinated tap water
A starter that's still very young
A healthy starter should double, or even triple, in size within 4–8 hours after feeding. It should smell pleasantly tangy and be full of bubbles.
Try this:
Keep your starter somewhere warm (around 24–28°C / 75–82°F).
Feed it regularly using a ratio such as 1:2:2 (starter, water, flour).
Use filtered or dechlorinated water if possible.
If your starter is less than a few weeks old, simply give it more time.
My Starter Smells Like Nail Polish
That sharp acetone smell is usually your starter's way of saying, "I'm hungry!"
Simply increase feeding frequency or use a larger feeding ratio such as 1:3:3 or 1:5:5.
I Found Pink, Orange, or Fuzzy Growth
Unfortunately, this indicates contamination.
For safety, discard the starter and begin again with a fresh culture.
When Your Dough Refuses to Rise
One of the most frustrating moments in sourdough baking is waiting patiently only to find your dough hasn't changed much at all.
Dough Isn't Rising During Bulk Fermentation
The most common reasons are:
A weak starter
Dough that's too cold
Not enough fermentation time
Rather than watching the clock, learn to watch the dough.
You're looking for:
A noticeable increase in volume (around 30–75%)
Bubbles along the sides
A lighter, puffier feel
Warmth makes a tremendous difference. Many sourdough recipes assume a dough temperature around 24–27°C (75–80°F).
Dough Rose Then Collapsed
If your dough seemed promising but later turned sticky and shapeless, it may have fermented for too long.
Signs of over-fermentation include:
Very sticky dough
Difficulty shaping
Dough spreading out rather than holding shape
In future bakes, shorten your fermentation time or keep the dough slightly cooler.
Understanding Crumb Problems
The inside texture of sourdough—known as the crumb—offers valuable clues about what happened during fermentation.
Dense and Heavy Bread
A dense loaf usually points to one of three issues:
Under-Proofing
The dough simply needed more time to ferment.
Weak Starter
Even if the recipe is perfect, a sluggish starter won't generate enough lift.
Insufficient Gluten Development
Stretch-and-fold sessions help strengthen dough and trap the gases needed for a good rise.
For most home bakers, performing three or four rounds of stretch-and-folds during the first couple of hours works wonderfully.
Huge Holes at the Top, Dense Bottom
This often surprises beginners because the bread appears airy at first glance.
In reality, it's another sign of under-proofing. The gases concentrated near the top instead of being distributed throughout the loaf.
Giving the dough more time before shaping usually solves this problem.
Gummy or Sticky Interior
Few things are more disappointing than slicing into a loaf and finding a gummy centre.
Possible causes include:
Under-baking
Cutting too soon
Excessively wet dough
Under-fermentation
A sourdough loaf continues setting as it cools, so patience matters.
Try to let your bread cool for at least two hours before slicing.
When the Shape Goes Wrong
My Loaf Spreads Sideways
A loaf that resembles a pancake instead of a proud round loaf is usually suffering from one of the following:
Over-proofing
Weak shaping
Excessive hydration
Flour with insufficient protein
A few simple adjustments can make a big difference:
Practise creating surface tension during shaping.
Use strong bread flour.
Reduce water slightly if your dough feels unmanageable.
Everything Is Sticking
Sticky dough can feel intimidating, especially when you're new to sourdough.
Before reducing hydration dramatically, make sure you're developing enough gluten through folds.
Helpful tips include:
Wetting your hands before handling dough
Using strong bread flour
Performing additional stretch-and-folds
Slightly reducing water if necessary
Achieving a Beautiful Crust
A crackling golden crust is often what people imagine when they think of artisan sourdough.
Pale Crust
A pale loaf usually means:
The oven wasn't hot enough
The loaf needed more baking time
There wasn't enough steam
Many home bakers find that preheating a Dutch oven for at least 45 minutes produces dramatically better results.
Crust Too Thick or Hard
If your loaf feels more like a weapon than a loaf of bread, you may be over-baking.
Reducing bake time slightly and allowing the bread to cool under a tea towel can help soften the crust while preserving its lovely texture.
A Simple Trick for Beautiful Sourdough Scoring
If you're having difficulty scoring your bread, or you'd like to create more intricate decorative patterns, here's a simple technique that can make a big difference.
After placing your shaped loaf into a preheated Dutch oven, bake it for approximately 5 minutes before removing it from the oven. During this short time, the surface of the dough develops a very thin skin that helps hold the loaf together while remaining soft enough to cut cleanly.
Carefully remove the loaf and make your desired scores or decorative designs. You'll often find that the blade glides more smoothly through the surface, allowing finer details and sharper lines to stand out beautifully once baked.
Once you've finished scoring, return the loaf to the Dutch oven and continue baking for the remaining time as usual.
This technique can be especially helpful for bakers who struggle with dough dragging on the blade or for anyone wanting to experiment with decorative wheat stalks, leaves, flowers, or other artistic sourdough designs. The slight crust that forms during those first few minutes helps your patterns stay crisp and visible throughout the bake, creating a loaf that looks just as impressive as it tastes.
A Quick Sourdough Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet
If You See This | The Likely Cause |
Dense loaf | Under-proofing or weak starter |
Flat loaf | Over-proofing |
Large holes at top | Under-proofing |
Gummy crumb | Under-baked or sliced too early |
Dough won't rise | Weak starter |
Acetone smell | Starter needs feeding |
Sticky collapsing dough | Over-fermented |
Pale crust | Oven not hot enough |
A Simple Recipe for Reliable Results
If you're still finding your feet with sourdough, this straightforward formula is a great place to start:
500g bread flour
350g water
100g active starter
10g salt
Method
Mix all ingredients together.
Rest for 30 minutes.
Perform 3–4 rounds of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes.
Bulk ferment until the dough has grown by roughly 50%.
Shape the loaf.
Refrigerate overnight.
Bake in a preheated Dutch oven at 240°C.
Final Thoughts
Sourdough baking is as much more about observation than about following a recipe. Every kitchen is different, every starter develops its own personality, and even the weather can influence your results.
The most important thing to remember is that every imperfect loaf teaches you something. With a little patience, careful observation, and a willingness to experiment, you'll soon find yourself producing beautiful homemade sourdough that fills your kitchen with warmth, aroma, and the simple pleasure of freshly baked bread.
Happy baking!
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