November 24, 2018 - 12:28pm
Preferment Plus Retarded Bulk Fermentation
Does a preferment make a difference if you are going to bulk ferment the dough in the fridge overnight?
I can see why a preferment would bring more flavor to a dough that bulk ferments for 2-3 hours, but 8+ hours in the fridge?
Would the answer be any different for a high whole wheat/high hydration bread?
Thanks
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For my micro-bakery I do it for several different reasons:
1. Scheduling: most of the work is done before baking day.
2. Some ingredients, like flaxseed, are only digestible when longer soaked (instead of acting just as fiber).
3. For some ingredients, like hard red winter wheat, very slow fermentation definitely improves the taste. Whole wheat breads tastes much mellower and less harsh when longer fermented.
4. The longer grains with gluten are allowed to ferment, the less digestive problems it will cause.
5. Sourdough Is a preferment, anyway.
I use either the preferment method or S&F, and usually bulk ferment my doughs in the fridge overnight.
Happy baking,
Karin
Thanks for the information. I always bulk ferment in the fridge overnight - I don't think there is an easier way to improve flavor, and it spreads the work over two days.
I didn't follow "preferment method or S&F"; what connection between using a preferment vs straight dough, and stretch and fold, am I missing?
For whole grain breads (that I sell the most) I basically follow Peter Reinhart's technique from "Whole Grain Breads", using a soaker and a starter, but then bulk ferment the dough overnight, too (which he doesn't).
If I bake lighter breads without sourdough, for example rolls, I often use Peter Reinhart's S&F as described in "Artisan Bread Every Day", preparing the dough earlier in the day, so that the ingredients basically ferment as long as if I use preferments.
Whether I work with this or that method also depends on the time I have. Mixing the preferments in the morning and (briefly) kneading the final dough in the evening requires less waiting time, and I can be gone for most of the day. But if I work with S&F, I have to wait around for the intervals between S&F sets, and, also, S&F doesn't work well for every dough.
When I just bake for myself, and not larger batches for sale, I like making Tartine-esque high hydration breads and follow Chad Robertson's or Maurizio Leo's no-knead procedure.
So it's basically only a matter of scheduling and convenience.
Karin