The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Making Sourdough work during the work day

kmaltby's picture
kmaltby

Making Sourdough work during the work day

Hello Everyone, I have been making artisan breads for the past couple of weeks with the purchase of FWSY. I am a decent baker making sandwich breads for a while and have had quite a bit of success with FWSY White Poolish recipe. Almost 2 weeks ago I started my starter using http://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-starter-maintenance-routine/ setup. And it passed the float test with no problem last night. To make things easier for me I fed it and put it in the fridge to hold things over until the weekend when I am going to do my first sourdough loaf. My question is has anyone found a way to make sourdough work around their work schedule. I have time in the morning to form loaves and even mix together recipes. I know you can use the fridge to slow down the rising schedule but I need ideas on scheduling and thought some more experienced bakers would be able to help me figure out timelines. 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

at any time in the bread making schedule to have the bread meet your schedule instead of the other way around.  I have retarded starters, levains dough at every stage with no problems at all.  What happens is that you might need to fridge it more than once and it will take an extra day or two but that is about it!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Funny you asked this because I have been looking all over the web for an equivalent schedule such as 1 hour at room temperature is equal to so many hours in the fridge. I think that there is no cut and dried answer to this. I need to delay my dough by an hour or two for my next loaf, Pain au Bacon, out of the same book you are using. I believe this is where experimentation will come in since it probably depends on how much Levain is in the dough, the dough temp and so on. My last loaf was left to rise on the counter for 3 hours then I put it in the fridge. I left it in the fridge for another hour and a half and baked it cold. The original recipe called for a 4 hour rise. I was happy with the crumb but I did not get much oven rise. I can't figure out if it is just that pure Levain loaves from that book don't get a lot of oven spring or I did not get the proofing time right. I know that Ken Forkish says that pure Levain loaves are rounder and not as light as hybrid breads so maybe that if the way they are supposed to turn out. So back to your question, I think we just need to try delaying in the fridge like Dabrownman says and keep track of what works and what doesn't. 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

My commlent above refer to a final proof. I sure would like to figure out how to edit responses on here. Very annoying when I find typos or missing details after I hit the save button. 

kmaltby's picture
kmaltby

My goal would be to start the initial feeding in the morning. Add the final ingredients around dinner so that I can get the folds in before I go to bed. Wake up the next morning to form the loaves place those in the fridge so I can bake them that evening. I guess I will just have to see, how it works with my schedule. I am making some loaves this weekend with my starter. Hopefully from there I can make my schedule for mid week baking. 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Be sure to keep notes in a bread diary so you can refer back to what you did. It also help to keep track of times and I include pictures in mine as well. 

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

I have been working on the same thing for a while.  I aimed for a 24 hour bulk ferment , so i could refresh the starter one morning, make the loaf that night , then bulk ferment for 24 hours at room temp.     While I am shooting for a workday schedule, it helps to do a few tries on Saturdays and Sundays, because I can monitor how  long it takes to double.  I am not goiod at judging the final proof in a fridge, so I do the final proof in a proofing box at 90 F,   then bake and the loaf is done by evening.

bikeprof's picture
bikeprof

a few options outlined here (among a number of threads on the topic):

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32225/fit-tartine-bread-85-joband-little-time-morning

 

ao's picture
ao

I've never had any issues working around my work schedule. but then again I'm a complete newbie to this, and may not be suited for giving out advice.

 

Regardless, this is what I usually do.

I prepare the dough/ feed starter the night before I want to bake, then I proof mine overnight while I sleep (after a couple of stretch and folds). When I wake up in the morning I put it in a bennton while I make breakfast and get ready for work. i then throw it in the fridge. When that night, I heat up the oven, and bake on a dutch oven. baking straight from the fridge has worked very well for me. While I'm baking, I prepare my dough and SD for the next day. And the cycle repeats...

My Bulk ferment usually takes 5-6 hours with an extra hour or so in the banneton. I've retarded for  24 hours without any issues :) 

This is the recipe I use:

https://youtu.be/DSs8w2AAN2w

 

And this is today's SD!

 

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

you use for this bread? I have an 8 to 5 job so would love to model your schedule. 

If you could give me a day by day break down! I would really appreciate it! 

GlobalTJB's picture
GlobalTJB

Great video.  I will give that a shot since I have only been baking on days when I am home all day.