I've been trying to make sourdough for about 3 months now and it always either comes out too dense or collapses in the oven. I've watched a bunch of YouTube tutorials but I think I'm not really getting the fermentation times right. Can someone who makes it regularly give me some practical tips?
The most likely problem is that your starter doesn't have enough strength or you're over-fermenting without realizing it, and here's where clock timing tricks you because your kitchen temperature changes everything! What works is touching the dough: it should be puffy but with tension, not loose or deflated, and when you do the stretch-and-fold it should resist a little bit. The three months you've been at it aren't wasted - you already know what mediocre dough feels like, so now you need to learn to recognize when it's perfect, and that shows in how it behaves, not in some number of hours you read on YouTube.
Another crucial detail: if it collapses when you bake it, it was probably already over-fermented in the banneton! The second fermentation has to be shorter than you think, especially if your place is warm. Try the poke test - stick a wet finger in the dough and if the hole recovers slowly (in a second or two), it's ready; if it disappears instantly, it needs more time; if it stays there, it's too late!
I've had my battles with sourdough starter too 😅 what changed everything for me was stopping relying only on time and starting to actually look at how the dough looks: you need it to double in volume during the first fermentation (usually 4-6 hours depending on your house temperature) and then after shaping, wait for it to rise but don't overdo it, don't let it quite double or it'll collapse in the oven. Another important trick is making sure your starter is really active before you use it (it has to float in water and make bubbles), because if you use weak starter, of course you're gonna end up with dense bread. And honestly, temperature is key: if your house is cold it takes way longer, so maybe you need to ferment somewhere warmer or just be patient and give it more time.
Don't get obsessed with following exact timing down to the minute, because that's what kills your bread! The starter is alive and changes depending on your kitchen temperature, so you need to learn how to read it: when you see it's risen quite a bit (it doesn't need to double completely) and has bubbles on the surface, that's when it's ready for the next step. About the collapsing when you bake it, you're probably giving it too much fermentation before putting it in the oven or your oven temperature isn't right. Start using the "poke test" (stick your finger in the dough and if it springs back slowly, you're good; if it bounces back fast, it needs more fermentation; if it doesn't come back, it's overproofed) and you'll see how everything changes!
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