People keep overproofing their sourdough and dont even realize it

I was at a friend's place last Saturday and she had this beautiful dough sitting out for 14 hours. I took one look at it and knew it was gonna be a brick. She baked it and yep, flat as a pancake. I used to do the same thing until I started timing my bulk ferment with a small jar sample. If you poke it and it doesnt spring back at all, its overproofed. Has anyone else dealt with trying to convince a fellow baker theyre letting it go too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowan_butler931mo ago

Isn't it funny how we all have different ideas of "done" in baking and life lol?

blake_smith1mo ago

Ngl, I've had way better luck with longer ferments that would scare most bakers - those 14 hour jobs gave me the airiest crumb I've ever gotten. Maybe the issue isn't time but how you're judging the dough's structure.