Slow-doughn (slow-down) sourdough...
Hey bakers, friends!
You guys have been great to me. This picture is just my second attempt at sourdough in the dutch oven. It works wonders for me and my family. Too much bread... is there such a thing?
I am about three weeks in to a sourdough frenzy. My starters are just about that old (three weeks), and I'm making sourdough bread for friends, for family, for co-workers and for dogs. Whoops!!! Someone left the bread out on the counter and maybe our puppy a very happy puppy.
ANyway, to the point! I have questions. Lot's of them. Currently I am without a scale which is fun but, can be a challenge. Also, my kitchen is often times below 60 F (it's one of those old-fashion basement kitchens complete with cold stone and unsealed corners). The winter draft has actually created the perfect environment for my bread making. Everything is moving slower, the dough is always cold until it hits the bottom of the dutch oven, and I realize that this variable will not hold up for long. Soon (hopefully) the house will be warm and my process will have to adapt.
The question I want to ask now, considering this cold-kitchen environment, is how can I use it to my advantage?
Is there anyone out there who has experimented with using less sourdough starter and allowing for a longer fermentation?
For example, I use about 1 cup of starter to 3 cups of bread flour (no scale yet, sorry) for a loaf of bread. Does anyone have any experience, perhaps, using less sourdough starter (making up for the weight with more flour/water) to achieve a longer, slower fermentation period?
I generally autolyse flour, water and starter for 1.5 hrs in my cool kitchen.
Then, sprinkle salt and start with stretch and folds (S&F) once when I add the salt, then two more times at 45min-1hr intervals (if I have the patience).
After my 3rd S&F I usually transfer the dough to a lightly oiled casserole dish so it can sort of spread and relax. By this time, anywhere from 3 to 4 hrs has passed. When the dough looks happy and rested, maybe 1/2hr or 1hr later (remember this is a cold kitchen, so I am going by observation) I will pick up the dough and set it on the counter. (Total elapsed time: 4.5 to 5 hrs) I do a careful stretch and fold, no pushing on the dough or pressure then flip it so the seam side is down and let rest for another 1/2hr. then I sprinkle a little flour on top and around the sides (very little flour, just enough to release some stick) and with my scraper, I slide it into the dough, working quickly, all around the dough. It's hard to describe what it is that i do, but basically the scraper shapes the dough for me instead of me doing it because my hands are too rough. Then this shaping rests for a 1/2hr, and then I will do the same thing: a little flour dusting and the scraper motion to create a nice and taught Boule shape then i flip it onto my hands and drop it inverted, bottoms up, into a proofing basket. I let proof (all the while, the dough has been in the same cold kitchen) for anywhere from 1-2hrs. In the mean time i will do a dance, a little jig, and preheat the oven and dutch oven.
In conclusion, the time that has elapsed from when i mixed the autolyse to final proof ready to bake, it has been about 8hrs at a consistently chilly temperature.
So... I don't find that the bread has over-proofed or under-fermented for that matter. The crust and crumb have been very satisfactory. The taste is slightly sour. Obviously, my starter needs to mature more, etc.
My inquiry is this: Can I use less starter in my dough and make up for it by allowing longer fermentation and proofing ? Does the sourdough starter work like that, or is there a certain percentage of starter you need to create a good bread. The extreme being: 2 tablespoons of starter to one loaf of bread, in which case the fermentation period would be a lot longer... Does this make sense? Does anyone have answers, comments, unrelated suggestions to the process I explained above...
Thanks guys, sorry for the long-winded post.