Tight schedule

Roger

I am very new to this and am amazed at how on top of it all you need to be.  I do not have time to keep checking temperatures and proving rates.

So is it realy this complicated or can you force a reasonable result form a tighter schedule.

My starter is OK not over active but alive and bubbly! well ish... so I make it up with the extra flour and water in the morning, by one oclock it will have a froth on the top so it gets mixed with the flour, nice and moist, it then gets left to rise until 5 oclock, not double but looks as if it has stretch marks! Knock back prove till 9-30 or 10 and cook before I go to bed.

Thats it, not perfect but taste is good... mostly a bit flat.  I would be happy to leave one of these phases over night so I can bake the next early evening.

Does anybody have a feel for what is the most important phase? which period would you extend over night if you had to?

Commercial bakers must have to run a tight schedule and I guess it just has to work!

Replies

mlucas 2010 March 16

Hi Roger, take a look at Sourdom's "timetables" post, it has some great options. http://sourdough.com/blog/sourdom/beginners-blog-sourdough-timetables

I've only made one SD loaf myself so far, but the fridge definitely helped make it more manageable for me.

How long has your starter been going for? Mine's only been two weeks, I definitely notice the starter's smell becoming more flavourful and I assume that will translate to the bread.

Cheers
Mike

DavidMannafromDevon 2010 March 16

 Roger, 

don't be a slave to the digital thermometer; people did manage to bake bread before they were invented; and before fridges, proving boxes and watches. 

I don't know how your day pans out but if you want to free up your day try:

Feed last thing at night or early am.

  • Early evening - make up dough.  Bulk prove.
  • Late evening - Shape and prove overnight (maybe refrigerated but maybe not if you have a cool place).  If your loaves prove too fast reduce the amount of starter in the mix. 
  • Early am - bake.
  •  

This schedule leaves your day clear for work (if necessary)

If your loaves are always flat try folding 2 or 3 times during the bulk prove to give it more tension.  This should help give it a better lift.

Happy baking

David 

 

 

Roger 2010 March 16

Thanks for that, quite like final proove over night, it suggests that this is the most important lift, I guess if it does not go in big it stays flat?

Roger 2010 March 16

Thanks Mike

My starter is only two weeks old as well. Ive started another to see if there will be a difference! will try running several in parallel, may try a different flour.  I didnt have any grapes but I had a well bloomed plum which I dropped in to start.

rossnroller 2010 March 16

Hi Roger.

The overnight retard in the fridge is the key to convenient baking, I find - and in most breads it enhances the flavour!

My timing is as follows:

  • Feed starter in morning, or whenever you need to so its ripeness peaks when you plan to start mixing the dough and bulk-proving (early evening in my case).
  • Do most of your bulk prove at night, and finish it off by retarding in fridge overnight, or pick a recipe where the bulk proof and shaping can be done at night, then the final proof of the shaped dough overnight in the fridge .
  • In weekends, or when your mornings are free, you can them just either bake straight out of the fridge or if necessary, do the shaping + final proof, then bake. And I find that increasing the fridge retard until evening still results in a good bread. The retard part is very flexible, I've found: anything from 8 hours to 16 seems to work fine with most recipes.

 

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