Potato flake sourdough troubleshooting is inevitable from time to time. Find some helpful solutions here in this post that might save you hours of investigating an issue you might be having!
Potato flake sourdough one of several types of bread starters. While being a sourdough starter, it is different than traditional sourdough. It combines the unique flavor of a potato flake starter with the benefits of wild yeast fermentation.
However, like all sourdough baking, it can come with its own set of challenges. In this guide, we’ll walk you through common issues you might encounter and provide detailed solutions to help you achieve the perfect loaf every time. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or it’s your first time working with a potato flake starter, this post is designed to ensure your success.
Understanding Potato Flake Sourdough
What is a Potato Flake Starter?
A potato flake starter is a type of sourdough starter that uses instant potato flakes, water, and sugar instead of flour and water. This starter can be less tangy and has a slightly sweet taste, making it a great choice for those who prefer a milder sourdough flavor. The initial process begins by mixing instant potato flakes, sugar, water, and active dry yeast to cultivate the wild yeast needed for fermentation. If you don’t already have your own starter, you can learn how to make your own in just a few days!
Why Use a Potato Flake Starter?
Using a potato flake starter offers several advantages:
- Sweeter Bread: The inclusion of sugar in the starter gives a sweeter bread compared to the sour taste of traditional sourdough.
- Soft Texture: The potato flakes contribute to a soft and fluffy bread texture.
- Unique Flavor: It provides a unique flavor profile, different from traditional sourdough bread.
Key Elements for Success
Before diving into troubleshooting, let’s talk about some crucial elements for successfully working with potato flake sourdough.
- Room Temperature: Maintaining the correct temperature range is vital. Your kitchen should ideally be at room temperature (around 70°F to 75°F) to promote proper fermentation. Too cold and it slows the fermentation down significantly. If it’s too hot it could potentially kill the wild yeast in the starter.
- Warm Place: Keep your starter and dough in a warm place to ensure active yeast growth. A consistent warm environment aids the fermentation process.
- Large Bowl: Use a large bowl to mix and rise your dough. This gives it ample space to expand.
- Glass Jar: Store your starter in a clean glass container to monitor its health and activity. It does not necessarily need to be a jar, but using glass is the preferred container to store it in.
- Plastic Wrap: Cover your dough with plastic wrap to retain moisture during rising.
- Wooden Spoon: Use a wooden spoon for mixing to avoid metal reactions that can affect yeast activity. Stainless steal is perfectly fine, but some suggest to avoid metal just to be safe.
Potato Flake Sourdough Troubleshooting: Common Issues and Solutions
1. Starter Not Bubbling
Symptoms: Your potato flake starter is not showing any foam or bubbles, indicating possible weak yeast activity.
Causes:
- Inactive Yeast: The yeast may be old or inactive.
- Wrong Temperature: The starter may be too cold.
- Insufficient Feeding: The starter hasn’t been fed regularly or the proper amounts.
Solutions:
- Check Yeast: If you are starting out making a brand new starter, ensure your active dry yeast is fresh and not expired.
- Warm Environment: Place the starter in a warm place, around 75°F, to encourage yeast activity.
- Regular Feeding: Feed your starter with a cup of water, 3/4 cup of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of instant potato flakes every 5 to 7 days. Stir well and store in a warm environment.
One thing to note about this issue:
- Listen to the starter: Put your ear to the opening of the jar. If you can hear the sound of what a bowl of Rice Krispies sounds like, or s carbonated soda, your starter is still alive! Some times starters don’t foam or bubble as much depending on the brand of potato flakes used.
2. Dough Not Rising
Symptoms: After mixing and allowing time to rise, your dough remains flat.
Causes:
- Inactive Starter: The starter might not be active enough.
- Cold Temperature: The dough may be too cold to rise properly.
- Insufficient Time: The dough hasn’t been given enough time to rise.
Solutions:
- Check Starter Activity: Ensure your starter has been fed and had plenty of time to feed before using the starter. Using the starter somewhere between 8-24 hours after feeding is optimal. A mature starter should have at least some bubbles and sound like a carbonated soda.
- Warm Place: Allow the dough to rise in a warm place, around 75°F. If your kitchen is cold, consider using a proofing box or a turned off oven. Use caution when proofing with oven light on, as some ovens can get too warm even with just the light on.
- Patience: Sometimes dough needs more time. Allow the dough to rise for up to 12 hours or overnight if necessary.
3. Bread Too Dense
Symptoms: Your baked bread has a dense, heavy texture instead of being light and fluffy.
Causes:
- Under-proofed Dough: The dough hasn’t risen enough.
- Too Much Flour or Too Little Flour: Adding too much flour can make the dough dense. Adding too little flour can also cause the dough to be too heavy for it to rise properly, resulting in a dense dough.
- Weak Starter: The starter may not be strong enough to leaven the dough.
Solutions:
- Proof Longer: Allow the dough more time to rise. It should almost double in size before baking.
- Measure Flour Carefully: Be sure to measure out your flour, but also read your dough. Be willing to add a bit more flour or water depending on the texture. The dough should be slightly sticky.
- Strengthen Starter: Ensure you have an active starter. Feed it regularly and give it time to mature.
4. Bread Deflated After Baking
Symptoms: Your bread bakes beautifully but deflates after removing from the oven.
Causes:
- Proofed too quickly: If you try to speed up the second proofing process too quickly it might not be able to properly develop enough strength and won’t be strong enough to hold up the weight of the dough.
- Air Bubbles: After the first proof, it is important to remove the air bubbles and shape into a nice tight loaf before second rise. If air bubbles are left it can cause the top of the bread to appear tall but fall after taken out of the oven.
- Over-proofed Dough: Over-proofed dough can lead to a deflated loaf.
- Baking Time: If the bread is underbaked, it is possible that the middle did not bake fully causing a collapse in the loaf.
Solutions:
- Check Proofing Temperature: Ensure that your proofing area is not too warm causing a quick rise.
- Remove air bubbles: Be sure to remove a lot of the air bubbles and to shape the dough into a tight loaf before placing the bread into the loaf pans.
- Avoid Over-proofing: Keep an eye on your dough and avoid letting it rise too long.
- Ensure Correct Baking Time: My loaves are typically done after 35-40 minutes. If unsure, you can check the internal temperature of the bread with a thermometer. It should be done when it reaches about 190°F at the center.
5. Dough Rises During 1st Proof, but Not 2nd
Symptoms: The bread rises over double for the first rise, possibly even spilling over the bowl, but hardly rises at all during the second rise after shaping into loaves.
Causes:
- Long Fermentation: The dough may have fermented too long during the first rise. When this happens there isn’t enough strength left in the yeast or enough “food” left for the wild yeast to feed on. This means the dough rise will be much less on the second proof.
- Temperature too warm: When dough is left in a place that is too warm for too long, this causes over proofing and can also kill the yeast. It might have had enough time to work some for the first rise but by the time the second rise comes around the yeasts have been killed by the heat.
Solutions:
- Shorten Fermentation: Reduce the fermentation time to avoid over proofing and allow the wild yeast to do more work during the second rise.
- Adjust Fermenting Temperature: Avoid leaving your dough in a place where it can be too warm. The ideal temperature for proofing bread is between 70-80°F.
General Tips for Potato Flake Sourdough Baking
- Feeding Schedule: Don’t neglect your starter. Make sure to feed it at least once a week fi leaving it out on the counter and at least one every 2 weeks if keeping it in the fridge. This maintains its health and activity.
- Temperature Control: Monitor the room temperature and dough temperature closely. Use a thermometer if necessary.
- Hydration Levels: Adjust the amount of water based on your flour type and humidity. The dough should be slightly sticky but manageable.
- Experiment with Flours: Try using different flours in your loaves of bread, like whole wheat flour or bread flour to see how they affect the texture and flavor.
- Starter Storage: Store your starter in a glass jar covered with a paper towel or loose plastic wrap to allow airflow while keeping contaminants out.
- Handling Dough: Use cooking spray or a greased bowl to prevent the dough from sticking. When dividing dough, ensure your hands and tools are greased if the dough is sticking too much. Avoid using additional flour after fermentation, as the added flour will not be fermented like the flour in the dough.
Advanced Potato Flake Sourdough Troubleshooting
Using Commercial Yeast
It is sometimes thought that if a starter is weak, adding commercial yeast to the starter will help boost the starter. This is not a method I would recommend.
Problem: Weak starter that needs help ASAP!
Alternative Solution:
- Boost With a Super Feeding: Instead, boost your your starter by feeding it. Start with 1 cup of starter in your jar and feed it 1 cup warm water, 3/4 cup of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of potato flakes. About 4 hours later, feed it again, don’t remove anything from the jar. Add 1/2 cup warm water, 1/3 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of potato flakes. Allow it to remain at room temperature for 12-24 hours. At this point you should notice a difference in the activeness of your starter.
Different Types of Sourdough Starters
There is a lot of knowledge to be gained from experimenting with different types of sourdough starters. However, you have to remember that each type of starter can yield various results. There is the potato flake sourdough starter, amish friendship bread starter, and the traditional sourdough starter. With in those three types that I am familiar with, there are many wats that that can differentiate from one baker to another. It’s possible that there are more starters out there, too!
Problem: Finding the right information for the potato flake starter.
Solution:
- Learn from other bakers: Being able to learn from other potato flake starter bakers will be a huge help. In my facebook group you can ask questions to real people and get quick responses from myself and others who have been baking longer than I have been alive!
- Embrace experimenting: When you learn to let go a little bit and experiment with what you have learned you will find yourself creating new delicious bakes that you never thought you could. Become familiar with the overall concept, including the fermentation process as potato flake starters can ferment differently from traditional starters. Once you have a basic understanding of what works and doesn’t you will surprise yourself with all you can accomplish!
Conclusion on Potato Flake Sourdough Troubleshooting
Potato flake sourdough baking can be incredibly rewarding, offering a unique flavor and texture that sets it apart from traditional sourdough. By understanding the key elements of success and addressing common issues with practical solutions, you can troubleshoot effectively and achieve the best results in your homemade sourdough bread. Remember, patience and practice are crucial. Good luck, and happy baking your homemade bread!
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Kelly Gwaltney
I’m fairly new to using a potato flake starter. I was wondering if I can feed and use my starter 2 days in a row or do I have to wait 3 days to use it again?
Magen
You can feed and use again as long as it has had at least 8-12 hours to feed before using again. If I know I will be using mine multiple days in a row, I find it easier to feed double the amount instead of feeding two days in a row. 🙂
Wanda Swan Simpson
I’ve had problems with my dough rising last spring and now this fall. I have searched the web extensively for help. Your site gave the best suggestions and has the most recipes I have found anywhere for the type starter. Thanks!
Magen
Thank you! Sorry to hear you have had some trouble. It seems the changing weather always messes with the dough! Glad you have found my site helpful! 🙂
Wanda Swan Simpson
And your recipe for one loaf will save me lots of time and money as I test the strength of my starter.
Magen
So glad to here that it will be helpful for you!