Troubleshooting Sourdough: Why Is My Loaf Flat and Dense?
A flat, dense sourdough loaf is frustrating — especially when you followed the recipe “exactly.”
The crust looked fine. The flavor was good. But the bread barely rose, and the crumb feels heavy.
Most advice online jumps straight to fixes:
- “Use stronger flour”
- “Ferment longer”
- “Fold more”
Those suggestions aren’t wrong — but they’re incomplete.
A flat sourdough loaf is rarely caused by a single mistake. It’s usually the result of one system being out of balance.
Let’s break that system down.
What “Flat and Dense” Really Tells You
Before troubleshooting, we need to define the failure clearly.
- Flat loaf
- Dough spreads outward instead of upward, showing limited oven spring.
- Dense crumb
- Small, tight air pockets caused by insufficient gas retention or weak structure.
These two symptoms almost always appear together because they share root causes:
- Gas was produced but not retained
- Or structure existed but fermentation failed
In other words: either biology failed, physics failed, or the math failed.
Cause #1: Your Starter Isn’t Doing the Work You Think It Is
Let’s start with the most common assumption — and the most misunderstood one.
Many bakers believe:
“My starter doubled, so it’s ready.”
Doubling is a sign of activity, not proof of strength.
What Matters More Than Volume
A healthy sourdough starter must:
- Produce gas consistently
- Acidify dough at a predictable rate
- Support gluten without breaking it down too quickly
If your starter is underfed, overfed, or too acidic, it may rise, but it won’t support dough structure.
This is where the confusion between active starter vs discard becomes critical. If your feeding schedule produces excessive discard, it often means your starter population is imbalanced. A weak inoculation leads to slow fermentation and dense crumb.
(Read more: Sourdough Discard 101)
Cause #2: Overproofed vs Underproofed (And Why Both Look Flat)
This is where many bakers get stuck, because both extremes can look the same once baked.
Underproofed Dough
- Dough feels tight
- Surface resists stretching
- Loaf bursts unpredictably in the oven
- Result: dense crumb, limited expansion.
Overproofed Dough
- Dough feels fragile
- Surface deflates easily
- Dough spreads instead of holding shape
- Result: flat loaf, collapsed structure.
The key difference appears before baking.
The Poke Test (Properly Interpreted)
The poke test isn’t magic — it’s a diagnostic tool.
- Dough springs back immediately → Underproofed
- Dough doesn’t spring back at all → Overproofed
- Dough slowly fills in → Properly proofed
If your loaf is flat and dense, and the poke left a permanent dent, fermentation went too far. This happens faster in high hydration doughs.
Cause #3: Hydration Is Higher Than You Think
Many “mystery failures” trace back to hydration errors.
Common sources:
- Not accounting for water in starter
- Using volume instead of weight
- Switching flour brands
A dough intended to be 70% hydration can quietly creep into the high 70s. At that point, gluten struggles to organize, shaping loses tension, and oven spring disappears.
This is why “flat and dense” often appears right after someone tries to chase open crumb. Hydration doesn’t fail gradually — it crosses a threshold.
(Read more: The Science of Open Crumb)
Cause #4: Gluten Strength vs Dough Strength
This distinction matters.
- Gluten strength comes from protein and hydration
- Dough strength comes from structure built during bulk fermentation
You can have strong gluten but weak dough. Signs include dough tearing during shaping or spreading immediately.
This often results from too few folds, poor timing, or excess fermentation. Once fermentation passes its peak, strength cannot be recovered.
Cause #5: Salt Errors Quietly Ruin Structure
Salt is often treated as a flavor ingredient. It’s not.
Salt regulates fermentation speed, strengthens gluten, and improves gas retention. Too little salt leads to rapid fermentation and weak structure.
This mistake frequently occurs when scaling recipes incorrectly or adjusting hydration without recalculating salt. Small percentage errors have outsized effects.
The Math Behind a Stable Loaf
A structurally sound sourdough loaf requires alignment between:
- Starter percentage
- Hydration
- Fermentation time
Change one variable without adjusting the others, and balance is lost. This is where baker’s percentages matter more than recipes.
Eliminate Ratio Errors First
Before adjusting technique, eliminate the most common failure point: miscalculation.
Our Sourdough Architect Tool automatically accounts for starter hydration and flour-to-water ratios. This doesn’t replace skill — it prevents silent errors that sabotage skill.
Check Your Ratios →A Simple Diagnostic Order
If your sourdough loaf comes out flat and dense, check in this order:
- Was the starter genuinely active and balanced?
- Was fermentation stopped at the right time?
- Was hydration calculated accurately?
- Was structure built before dough weakened?
- Was salt correctly scaled?
Change one variable at a time. Otherwise, you won’t know what fixed the problem.
FAQ: Flat and Dense Sourdough
Can overproofed dough be saved?
Does more folding fix dense crumb?
Why did my loaf spread sideways?
Is flat sourdough still safe to eat?
Flat Loaves Are Feedback, Not Failure
A flat, dense loaf isn’t a personal failure. It’s data.
Once you stop guessing and start controlling inputs, sourdough becomes quieter, cheaper, and far more consistent. Fix the system — not just the symptom.
Continue Reading
- Learn why excess starter creates waste in Sourdough Discard 101
- Understand hydration thresholds in The Science of Open Crumb
- Design a stable loaf with the Sourdough Architect Tool