Flat /Spreading Loaf.

The dough spreads sideways on the baking surface instead of rising up. It looks more like focaccia than a boule. The crust is wide and low.

Watch: Flat Spreading Loaf
sourdough fixes

Search YouTube →

1. most common

   Too much hydration for your flour

   High hydration dough requires high protein flour and well-developed gluten to hold its shape. If your flour protein is below 12% and you're attempting 78%+ hydration, the dough will spread. Every 5% of hydration requires meaningfully more skill and gluten strength to manage.
2. very common

   Underdeveloped gluten

   Without enough stretch and folds during bulk fermentation, the gluten network is too weak to hold the shape you gave it during shaping. The dough relaxes and spreads. A minimum of 4 sets of stretch and folds, spaced 30 minutes apart, is the baseline.
3. common

   Overproofed

   Overproofed gluten weakens. The structure that holds the shape degrades when the dough is left too long. A dough that was perfectly shaped at the right time will lose that tension if it proofs too long afterward.
4. common

   Weak shaping

   Surface tension at shaping is what keeps the loaf upright. If the final shape was loose — dough sticking to hands, shape not held tightly — there's nothing to fight the spread.
5. occasional

   Too warm during final proof

   Proofing at high room temperatures softens the dough and speeds fermentation to overproofing territory. A cold final proof (fridge overnight) gives structure back to the dough and makes it easier to handle.

1. Refrigerate immediately

   If the shaped dough is spreading before it goes in the oven, put it in the fridge for 30–60 minutes. Cold dough holds its shape and is dramatically easier to score and load.
2. Bake in a Dutch oven

   The enclosed environment supports the sides of the loaf during the critical first 20 minutes. Without it, the dough spreads. With it, the rising gas has nowhere to go but up.

1. Drop hydration by 5–8%

   If you're at 78%, try 73%. Get the loaf right at lower hydration first, then incrementally increase once your gluten development improves.
2. Use bread flour, not all-purpose

   12–13% protein bread flour has significantly stronger gluten. This is the single biggest structural upgrade for a spreading loaf.
3. Add more stretch and folds

   Do 4–6 sets during bulk, every 30 minutes. Each set tightens the gluten network. By the end of bulk the dough should feel noticeably stronger and hold its shape when disturbed.
4. Cold proof overnight

   Shape, place in a floured banneton, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight (8–14 hours). Cold proofing firms the dough, slows fermentation, and makes scoring easier. Bake straight from the fridge.