Interesting And thanks for the detailed test it confirms my experiences, although I have done one more test. After a final proof of 24 hours in the refrigerator I placed the dough in a freezer bag and into the freezer for two weeks. Then I baked it as usual directly from freezer into oven and we did not notice any thing special compared to the other bread. I forgot to mention that I had made one dough that provided me two loafs one baked after 24 hours in the fridge and the second one baked after two weeks in the freezer.
The only small difference was the color of the crust being lighter.
@ericjs Glad you liked the post. Hydration and how the particular dough feels determine how much fiddling I do once the dough is in the basket, so I donāt always stitch. I do almost always shape that way. Oh, and how much gluten development I do during the bulk fermentation influences my approach. If itās no-knead dough, I might do very aggressive shaping to get some last minute gluten development into the dough: more stretching it out before shaping, and then doing the shaping you saw in the video, plus a second rolling. Not sure if I can explain it well: if the final tube feels super-floppy, Iād flip it over and roll it a second time, perpendicular to the seam of the first roll. (On a firm and elastic dough that would be difficult but on an extensible or wet dough, it can work nicely.)
@Jan210453 That is fantastic to learn about. Iāll have to try this someday when I want fresh baked bread and no timing variables. Thanks for sharing.
I regularly āover-proofā in the fridge. Thereās only so much bread my family can eat within a day or two, so every week (more or less) I make a batch of levain - dividing a 2-loaf recipe into three smaller loaves. I follow the book on the first loaf (more or less; Levain or Country White in āBreads of the La Brea Bakeryā.) For the other two - I shape even before the first rise, and put them in an oiled ziplock for xxx days - until I need it, which is often up to five or six days for the last loaf. When I need a loaf, then I put it in the proofing basket and let it sit at room temp for three or four hours. Loaves #2 and #3 may not be as spot-on as the first, but theyāre still really tasty, and I do what I can to work around my 10-hour work days. And it beats paying eight bucks a loaf for a dollarās worth of bread flour.
I do all my bulk ferment for 4 hours or so and about 1.5. - 2 hours of my final proof in the bannetons on the same day. Then when I get to about say 75% of the amount I want my dough to rise in the bannetons I put it in the fridge - letās say at 5pm. Next morning I pull it out of the fridge. 30 minutes later I start the oven and after 1 hour the bread is in the ovenā¦ I am baking at about 25 degrees C in the house - so fairly warm.
This is todayās bake 10% rye, 10% semolina, 15% wholemeal and 65% bread flour
Iām confused when you say everyone keeps their starter in the fridge. I make sourdough about twice a week. I feed starter every day. I store in fridge if away. Are you saying your starter is always in the fridge?
Most people would feed their starter once or twice a week only. Assuming you only bake or make something like pancakes with that frequency that isā¦
I feed it, let it go until itās reasonably active then put it in the fridgeā¦ Orā¦ I feed it on the day I bake get it active, put the remainder back in the fridge for up to week before I have to feed itā¦
Obviously if I wanted to bake every day Iād feed it every day - but I only have two people including myself in the household
Thanks. I will have to try this. Iāve been making sourdough for a few years and this is the first Iāve heard of keeping in fridge on a daily basis.
I think its a lot more complicated than that, but the short answer is yes, over time the gluten gets broken down by protoelytic (protein āeatingā) enzymes. It will get to the point of near disintegration. What other people are sensitive to and why they can eat your bread is due to a huge number of variables. Iām no doctor or nutritionist, but have been reading this stuff for a long time. A sourdough bread alone can be the difference because of the bacterial digestion, type of flour, etc. Or whatever strange ingredient was in the bread they were eating beforeā¦
I donāt like piles of discard (and I do use 90% of it), so I keep mine in the fridge and give at least 3 feeds, ratio 1:1:1 over the course of a day or two before using. Baking once or twice a week.
@heidi Sounds like a good strategy and I bet loaves #2 and #3 are awesome in the grand scheme of things.
@Peita_Wall I donāt see why it wouldnāt work for the artisan rye, especially if your refrigerator is on the colder side (38F or less). Just keep an eye on the dough as youāre evaluating just how long it can go.
@Thumbpicker Good looking loaves! Your approach sounds reasonable and well-suited to a busy day.
@laurajj My starter is only out of the refrigerator for 4-8 hrs on baking days (3ish times a week). Fed after each use. Occasionally fed an extra time before use too.
@muchohucho Thanks for explaining proteolysis. I used wonky and warm discard in some dough a few weeks ago and the dough was breaking apart during the pre-shape. Proteolysis! Turned out fine, thoughā¦and I guess with somewhat broken down protein. So interesting.
I should have said that I enjoyed reading your experiment. I loved reading about it.
Iām not as experienced as you but I thought I would at least relate my limited experiences on it. I always have done my bulk at room temp. Where I have varied things is how much I do the final proof before putting it in the fridge vs after putting it in the fridge the next day.
There were a few times where I did the final proof in the fridge without starting the final proof at room temperature. My dough was at the time was 5% rye 20% wholemeal and 75% white bread flour. I got very little rise in the fridge and then waited about 5 hours to try and get a rise the next morning. I think when it came out of the fridge it felt very cold and dense. It did eventually rise and I didnāt end up with a pancake per se but I have had more success getting the final proof going at room temp before I put it in the fridge and making an allowance for the amount it will rise before it chills right down and for a 1 hour cold rise from out of the fridge the next day before popping in the oven.
Anyone reading this should take it with a grain of salt because I may have only done it that way twice - however I do wonder about the variability in fridge temperatures between different peopleās fridges. Mine is probably pretty cold - that may have something to do with how much it slows the fermentation. Anyway all speculation on my part.
Youāre welcome. And I understand where youāre coming from with how immediate refrigeration can almost make the final proof take too long. Most of the time, I want bread faster than 18-40 hours later : ) so I also do some of the final proof at room temp before retarding the dough.
Melissa can give you her opinion as well but some people bake straight out of the fridge. Others say let it warm to room temp or give it 1-2 hoursā¦
Personally I take it out of the fridge, wait 30 minutes and then start heating the oven (and the cast iron Lodge Combo) then 1 hour after I have taken the dough from the fridge the oven has reached temperature (ie. 30 mins later) and held it for about 10 minutes and I bake the bread. This is dependant on me feeling that the bread has proved sufficiently. I feel that the cool dough probably holds its shape a little better than warm dough,
I also find that there is a bit of condensation on the dough after being covered with plastic and itās a bit damp straight up out of the fridge and a small wait dries it off a little as well. I donāt bother flouring the dampness because I put it on baking paper and thatās fine. Some people mist inside the dutch oven for extra steam - so really the dampness is probably a good thing lol.
