My dough is soooo slowwww

By Laila O'Boyle · November 11, 2025

Hi Early Risers!

Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of DMs like, “My dough just isn’t rising, what did I do wrong?” I promise, you’re not doing anything wrong.

After years of learning sourdough and teaching it online, I’ve noticed one thing that still trips people up when it comes to fermentation: temperature.

A cold starter rises slower. Same with c

old dough. When you’re used to doing everything the same way, seasonal temperature shifts can really throw your sourdough timeline off.

I’m not saying you have to turn your kitchen into a science lab, but if you’ve switched from iced coffee to hot, slipped on fuzzy socks, or turned on the heater, it’s time to use some tricks to speed up that fermentation (because no one wants to stay up past midnight waiting for dough to finish rising).

🌡️ Use warm water

When mixing your dough, use water around 85–90°F. Remember, your flour is at room temperature, so your final dough temperature will land lower than the water alone.
Warm dough gives yeast a jumpstart (the yeast takes off early, and the bacteria catch up later) so even if you don’t have a warm spot for the full bulk fermentation, this early boost really helps.

💡 Find a cozy spot

If your oven light can stay on, if you’ve got a microwave above a warm stove, or even a heating vent that keeps one room toasty. Those are all great (and free!) fermentation helpers.

🍞 Add more starter

This one can sound scary, especially if you’re type A and finally nailed your recipe. But more starter means more yeast, which means a faster rise.
Just remember: starter adds both flour and water, so you might need to hold back a little water at first and add it in gradually during your folds until the dough feels right.

If this sounds too loose for comfort, here’s a tip:
Add up all your ingredients (including the starter’s flour and water) to get the total formula. Then calculate how much extra starter you plan to add and compare the two. That’ll help you visualize the adjustment.

🌾 Use whole grains

Whole grains are full of enzymes that break down starches, making food for your yeast and speeding up fermentation.
The tradeoff: they can make your dough a bit denser. But they add flavor, nutrition, and complexity.

If you feed your starter with whole grains instead of adding them directly to your dough, you’ll still get the fermentation boost, but your dough will handle more like your usual white one.

(Just note that whole grains soak up more water so be ready to add a bit more if your dough feels tight.)

💧 More water (for the confident bakers)

Wet dough ferments faster but it’s also trickier to handle. Think of your yeast like a boat in a river:

In rapids and fast-moving water (high hydration), the boat moves quickly.
In calm, slow water (low hydration), it moves slower but is more predictable.

You can make incredible bread with either one, they just behave differently.

If this all feels like a lot, start small.
✨ Just use warm water in your dough, and you’ll already be one step closer to dough that rises happily… even in the chilly months.

And as always, if you’ve got questions, drop them in the comments!

Thanks for being here, my dear Early Risers!

Laila

PS Please give me some holiday baking requests!! I am feeling overwhelmed and have 20+ ideas which is paralyzing me!