How do you control temperatures
for fermentation, resting and proofing? Or, do you...
I am trying to learn so I read a lot about building bread, but one (well, one at a time) thing I keep seeing, I don't get. For example, I was just reading about making Scali on SteveB's web site at Bread Cetera. Thank you Steve, that is a great site, and the breads are gorgeous. There are multiple references to rising and resting at different and very specific temperatures for a specified time. I see resting the biga overnight at 70F. I see the ferment at 76F for 1 hour and 15 minutes, and I see proofing at 74F for 1 1/2 hours. I see all this, and I understand it, but how do you do it?
How do you manage to control your temperatures so precisely in order to follow those instructions? My house has variable and not all that well controlled temperatures. They rarely, and never predictably, match the requirements of any given recipe at any particular time. Is it as simple (not to say easy) as learning to vary the times to compensate for the temperatures? Cooler takes longer, and warmer takes less time? Those variations have to have an impact on the results though. Can you compensate for that as well, or do you just take what comes of it? I need help getting my brain around this so I can start trying to practice it.
OldWoodenSpoon