Fridge Retardation
Hello Accomplished Bakers,
I'm still practicing/experimenting/learning with high-hydration rustic/artisan breads, and ever trying to achieve nice oven spring and open crumbs. I haven't dared to venture into sourdoughs yet, because I don't want to spend weeks growing a starter then ruining it on the actual bread making. My yeasted bread results so far are decent, and sometimes awesome, but not totally consistent, especially given the hot steamy weather in HK (currently 20-25C ambient room temp), so recipes calling for 3-4 hour bulk fermentation then >2 hour proof just doesn't work.
Long winded intro leading to my question. Overnight final proof in the fridge sounds great and I've tried it a few times, but the rise is minimal and the final product is never to my satisfaction when compared to room temp proof at 20-25C. So the question is, when fridge retarding:
- what should be the fridge temp be if I want to proof 12-14 hours?
- when final proofing in the fridge, do I need to wrap the outside of the banneton completely, cuz surely cold draft from the fridge would enter through the seams of the banneton? How do people do it? Or do most of you simply cover the top only with a towel? Thanks Everyone!