How long will 'pre-dough' keep?
So, I made my first loaf of sourdough today - wasn't entirely happy with it. Not quite sour enough for my tastes and didn't get quite the rise I had hoped for. I can identify any number of things that weren't optimal - including my fire alarm going off when I removed the upturned metal mixing bowl I'd been using as a makeshift cloche. I can only assume that the residue on my pizza stone is enough to make my overly-sensitive fire alarm go batty. GRRR.
Anyway, not one to give up I said to myself, "Well, it's edible. Not great, but not horrible either, and it'll be fine as toast!" And so tonight I made another batch of the pre-dough to try again tomorrow. Only, I just realized upon putting the pre-dough into the fridge for 'overnight' that I don't have another bag of flour as I'd thought I did. WHUPS! Obviously I can't just substitute spelt or rye, which I have PLENTY of without doing some major dance steps, and I'm not really up for trying a nearly 100% rye sourdough just yet when I obviously haven't mastered the plain-jane version! So, here's the problem - by time I get up, go to the store and get back, it's going to be far too late for me to start bread making as I have plans for the early evening. Can the pre-dough stay in the fridge until Monday morning early-ish? It just got made up around 9pm-ish and in the fridge about 20 minutes ago. If it gets extra-sour in there, I'm completely fine with that as my last loaf was a bit bland, as I mentioned. I just don't want to risk it losing its lift.
I'm definitely going back to the cooking in the Le Creuset as trying to get any sort of steam-substitute going in an apartment kitchen is just... well. No.