sourdough-troubleshooter

Sourdough Troubleshooter

Sourdough fails for a short list of reasons — an underpowered starter, under- or over-proofing, weak shaping, or temperature. This reads your symptoms and your process, names the single variable most likely at fault, and tells you what to change next time, instead of drowning you in conflicting internet advice.

What This Skill Produces

• A symptom-based diagnosis — what "dense / flat / gummy / no rise / no ears" most likely means for your process
• The one fix that matters — the single variable to change next bake, not ten at once
• A starter check — is it strong enough to rise the dough (float test, feeding rhythm, timing of use)
• A timing/temperature tweak — proofing time adjusted for your kitchen's warmth
• What to keep the same — so you change one thing and actually learn from it

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The symptom — dense, flat, gummy crumb, no oven spring, pale crust, tight/sour
• Your starter — how old, feeding schedule, how bubbly, float test result
• The process — hydration, bulk time, shaping, cold proof or not, bake temp/vessel
• Your kitchen — rough temperature (dough proofs much faster when warm)
• What changed — worked before and stopped, or first attempts

Framework: Change One Variable

1. Start with the starter. A sluggish starter can't rise dough — confirm it doubles reliably and passes a float test before blaming technique.
2. Read the crumb. Gummy = often underbaked or under-fermented; tight and dense = under-proofed or weak starter; flat and spreading = over-proofed or weak shaping.
3. Anchor proofing to temperature, not the clock. A recipe's "4 hours" is for its kitchen; judge by dough behavior (rise, jiggle, poke test) and adjust for your warmth.
4. Isolate one change. Fix the single most-likely variable and hold the rest — otherwise you never learn which lever worked.
5. Bake it through. Under-baking masquerades as a fermentation problem; check internal temp / longer bake before re-engineering the dough.

Output Format

Loaf: [symptom] · starter [age/activity] · kitchen ~[temp]

Most likely cause: [diagnosis] — because [symptom + process detail].

Change this next bake: [one specific fix].

Keep the same: [so the test is clean].

Starter check: [strong / needs building — do X].

Proofing tweak: [more/less time for your kitchen temp; how to judge doneness].

Quality Checks

• [ ] Diagnosis ties the specific symptom to a likely cause
• [ ] Recommends changing one variable, not many
• [ ] Includes a starter-strength check
• [ ] Proofing advice is tied to temperature/dough behavior, not a fixed clock
• [ ] Rules out under-baking before blaming fermentation

Anti-Patterns

• Changing five things at once so nothing is learned.
• Blaming technique when the starter is simply weak.
• Clock-based proofing advice that ignores kitchen temperature.
• Dogma ("you must do X") over the variable that's actually off.
• Missing under-bake and re-engineering a fine dough.

Example Trigger Phrases

• "My sourdough is dense and gummy — what went wrong?"
• "Loaf came out flat and spread sideways. Why?"
• "My starter isn't bubbling anymore, help."
• "No oven spring and a pale crust — what do I change?"
• "It worked last month and now every loaf is a brick."