What happened to SOUR in dough?
I've read dozens of ways to increase the sourness of your sourdough, as well as other posts on FL. I don't know if half of them work based on my experience. As we all know, the nature of yeast/leavened breads is quite dynamic.
My sourdough is coming out less sour, without any apparent changes. Same recipe, same flour, same controlled environment, same process, etc. I've always fed my room temp starter thrice daily.
I am wondering if anyone has experienced such, and/or, what changes were brought forth to increase sourness.
I live in bay area, and while the climate is 30° cooler than previous months, my house is set at the same temp, rain or shine.
Could covering your starter have an effect, decreasing sourness? Also, I've always bulk fermented 5-7 hours, and have always performed a cold retard for 12 hours. I've tried 17 hours with no luck. My starter always triples, etc. I don't think that it matters that my starter is 95% bf, 5% rye. Again, I always achieved the same level of sour until recently.
Has anyone experienced similar? Your experiences would be appreciated. Thank you.