Help! OG low

I brewed a 2.5 gallon pale ale yesterday and my gravity is pretty low. Beersmith calculated 1.056, and I ended up with 1.043-45. Should I add some sugar/honey to fermenter?
Details:
4.5 lbs 2 row
.5 lbs vienna
.5 lbs crystal

Strike temp: 160
Mash temp: 148 for 75 min (actual was 147.7, and around 144 after 75 min)
I drained MT, sparged 2 gal at once at 168 deg, stirred and let sit for ten min, and drained completely.
After boil, I was short on volume and added about 2/3 gal clean water to carboy, shook well, and pitched yeast.
Funny thing, this is fourth batch on this setup and first time i missed beersmith est numbers.
What did i do wrong? Should I add sugar/ honey?

Your process looks good. You could add sugar/honey if you want the extra alcohol, just be aware it will dry your beer out, I would say don't do it. There are tons of small variables that can be changed in beersmith, so make sure all your settings are good. Your process may just result in slightly less efficiency than what is used in beersmith (70% I think), but as long as you are consistent on your equipment you can compensate with extra grain.

I wonder why, after three successful batches, I get this. Makes me want to invest in a refractometer. That way I could take immediate action. Maybe I should try stirring more, or maybe sparging in two steps vs one.

ColoHox said:

Your process looks good. You could add sugar/honey if you want the extra alcohol, just be aware it will dry your beer out, I would say don't do it. There are tons of small variables that can be changed in beersmith, so make sure all your settings are good. Your process may just result in slightly less efficiency than what is used in beersmith (70% I think), but as long as you are consistent on your equipment you can compensate with extra grain.

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Thanks!

I just realized what might help me next time: stir during mash. Just read on John Palmer's website that you need to stir the mash ever 15-20 minutes. I guess I thought that mash was like bbq: if you're lookin you aint cookin. Ill try more stirring next time.