The Fresh Loaf

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Extra long rise at room temp?

SourdoughStarter's picture
SourdoughStarter

Extra long rise at room temp?

Hi all,

My sourdough starter has been being sluggish and not producing good rises in the cold and I was wondering about the safety of letting a loaf rise at room temp for an extended period? It's currently been out on the counter for about 36 hours and it's finally doubled but I'm not sure if it's safe to eat? It never went in the fridge. I normally don't do more than about 18 hours at room temp for any bread.

Isand66's picture
Isand66

First, how cold is your ambient room temperature?  If your starter is not very active you should try and refresh it several times to get it back to where it should be.  If it is just the cold of your room, than you can try letting your final dough proof inside your oven with your light on and a bowl of hot steaming water to create a warmer temperature.

The only reason why your dough would not be safe to eat is you put meat inside otherwise I don't see what the issue would be once you bake it.

SourdoughStarter's picture
SourdoughStarter

OK thank you! I'm new to this (obviously) and don't want to give everyone food poisoning. I just finished baking it and I'm glad I did, it's the tangiest most flavorful loaf I've made to date.

I have had the starter at room temp for over a week with 2x a day feedings, it's not really coming back. I've been putting it in the microwave where it's a little warmer but not much luck there either. Bubbles, but separates immediately without rising.

SourdoughStarter's picture
SourdoughStarter

Edit: The microwave is OFF, I'm not microwaving the starter, just a warmer space.

Les Nightingill's picture
Les Nightingill

if your starter is the consistency of batter, you will not see much rise, as the gases float to the top and are released. Only the stiffer starters will trap the bubbles and exhibit rise. Mine is 100% hydration (equal parts rye flour and water) and this is stiff enough to rise.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

it may be getting too much food too soon.  Let the starter ferment fully before feeding it, that may mean raising the temperature during fermentation and/or thinning with more water and/or feeding less often.  Also at cooler temps it help to increase the amount of starter used in the recipe.  Try doubling the amount used to inoculate  or increase the amount used and at the same time decreasing the recipe flour and water, just move more flour and water from the recipe into the starter build.

Starters change their needs with seasonal changes.  To increase the yeast in the starter get the temps of the fermentation up to at least 75°F - 78°F  Higher encourages more sour from the bacteria, as does cooler temps.  (funny how that works)

That your bread tastes sour with a very slow rise, tells me that the bacteria count is too high in comparison to the yeast count for the time the bread dough was fermenting.  

tgrayson's picture
tgrayson

Add a bit of commercial yeast to reduce the fermentation time.