The science of slow/cold fermentation?
Greetings. I am curious about the topic of slow fermentation, specifically the science behind it. What makes it interesting to me is just by controlling temperature and the time of fermentation, you could maximize the flavor of the bread with very slight changes from the initial recipe.
How does it differ from the usual fermentation process? I mean in a standard fermentation, the yeasts consume the simple sugar created in the flour and gives off alcohol and carbon dioxide in a relatively short time as it is done at room temperature. How does lowering the temperature (via refrigeration) and slowing down the metabolism of the yeast and then allowing the bread to ferment for a much longer time affect the taste of the bread so much? What happens differently inside the bread done with fast vs slow fermentation?
Though I do not know fermentation on a very specific level, I would really love to learn the more inner mechanics of it. Thanks in advance!