I was using the no-knead sourdough bread recipe to the tee. The dough was more sticky than I though should be after proofing and did not rise much so I put it in the baking crock. It rose beautifully and as I put it in the oven (475) I noticed it joggled like jello. Needless to say after a short while the beautiful rise crashed and the bread, although tasting pretty good, had a flat, crusty mushroom top. The loaf started at about 5 ½ inches tall and ended up at 3 ½ inches. Very Slightly under baked although I actually baked it a bit longer than the “17 minutes covered” and " “17 minutes uncovered” as your online recipe described. (I did 17 min and 20 min) Could not get the internal temp above 190 degrees. My home in Colorado is at 7000’ above sea level so I know I have challenges and modifications to be made which are trial and error for me. I am a new sourdough baker and want to get produce a decent loaf. Any suggestions?
Deflating is a sign of the dough running out of “food” i.e. over fermenting. It is also what happens when an underbaked loaf cools down.
Everyone’s conditions are different, so you shouldn’t follow the timing of a bread recipe, for the rising or the baking. Bread baking is so hard and so rewarding because you have to learn to read the dough and take recipes as suggestion not rule.
Ambient temp, water temp, starter strength, flour brand, elevation, oven power…etc are all influencing factors. Quite a few recipes in our blog have photos that show before and after images of the first and second rises of the dough. This may help you get a sense of when to transition from one step to the next.
This blog post is a good read for understanding sourdough baking from a conceptual standpoint:
Here are some threads in our forum that cover high altitude baking: