Hi Barbara, sorry that your loaf spread out. Giving your bread a good shape helps give it a better rise in the oven and a more stable structure so that it is able to rise upwards instead of spread outwards. Check out this great video on shaping sourdough, and this one on professional shaping techniques. 

Another possibility is that your bread over proofed. When bread rises well at first but sinks down just before or during baking it is generally caused by over rising the dough. When the dough over rises, the structure of the bread is compromised. The gluten strands become weak and cannot hold themselves up anymore, so the bread collapses or sinks. It's very similar to a balloon that's been overinflated. One of the best ways to tell if your dough is proofed is the poke test. Press one finger gently into the dough, about 1/4" deep. If the dough reacts slowly, leaving a small indent where your finger was, it's ready. If it bounces back right away then it needs more time. If it leaves a big hole, or if the dough begins to collapse, it's risen too much. As always, feel free to call our free Baker's Hotline at 855-371-2253 for further assistance.

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