Avery, fungal amylase or malted barley flour are often added to flour to correct for the naturally occurring amylase content. Amylase activity helps convert starches to sugar for the yeast to consume. Having the correct amount of amylase activity is important, because too little will cause issues with rising and too much can affect the dough structure. Most bread dough will begin to break down after prolonged fermentation, so this may be unrelated to the amylase added to your flour. While initially the acidity of sourdough will cause the gluten to tighten, over an extended time the acidity will build and the protein structure will begin to break down. You might want to experiment with a shorter fermentation time or a lower amount of sourdough starter, and see if this corrects the problem. Barb@KAF

• Reply