It'll happen sooner or later - you'll start a batch of sourdough, and while you're waiting for bulk to finish, you either forget about it, or, in my case, pass out and fall asleep...only to remember hours afterwards about it.
That's exactly what happened to me last night. I started my batch earlier, just before dinner, thinking I would be able to shape and start cold proof before bed. It had been a super busy day, lots of client (Zoom) meetings, will signings, dealing with a problem real estate closing at the office, and I was more tired than I thought. I finished my last set of folds around 7pm, and figured that I'd have everything in the fridge before midnight so I could head to bed. Next thing I knew, I woke up at 8am on the couch, and my dough had been out for almost 16 hours - WAY overproofed, so much so that it had collapsed on itself - no strength left in the dough at all...it was just a mess.
At this point, you pretty much make sourdough crackers, or start over. But I remembered that one of my clients, who grabbed a starter from me, made foccacia from sourdough. So I drizzled some EVOO on a cookie pan, poured out my super slack dough onto it, drizzled some more EVOO on it, dimpled the dough as best I could, and sprinkled some rosemary, dairy-free Parmesan cheese (hubby is vegan), and Maldon (flaky salt). Crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
Into the oven at 425F for 25 minutes, then took it out of the oven and sprinkled some more Maldon on it, let it cool on a baking rack for about 30 minutes - and it freaking WORKED!
Chewy, but tasty. Even the kids ate it. So YAY! for happy accidents, and I now know NEVER to throw away an overproofed batch!
Til next time, happy baking!