October 11, 2021 - 12:10pm
bulk fermentation
Sorry if this question has be addressed before, but when does bulk fermentation time start. Does it start after autolyse? I mix all the ingredients together at the start including the starter and salt. Then autolyse for an hour. Then I shape into a ball and after half an hour start my series of s and f's
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For me bulk fermentation begin when yeast start consuming the dough.
From whenever the yeast or starter goes into the dough, as Ming has said. You will often see people refer to the bulk after the autolyse has finished either because the yeast or starter is not put into the dough until the autolyse is over or because they wish to distinguish the purpose of each step.
In your method there isn't really an autolyse. Autolyse should be without starter or salt. One can get the same effect if the starter is included but then the bulk has also started in which case it's known as a fermentalyse. Myself and others, either to save time and/or to get the benefit of a long flour and water soak without the dough breaking down or an uncontrolled ferment, often do a saltolyse. This is when the flour, water and salt are mixed without the starter. The bulk ferment hasn't started yet and while an autolyse is done without salt because this is done over an extended amount of time it has a lot of benefits including that of an autolyse.
I think a lot of people do distinguish a bulk ferment starting from whenever the final dough is formed. So if anything is missing from Flour, Water, Salt and Yeast or Starter then one can (or, people do) differentiate between the steps. But if all those are in place I don't think one can call it an autolyse. What you have i'll call a 'Rest'. The same as a rest between the stretch and folds.
Thanks for the clarification. I do it all in one step for convenience. Also because I'm following the recipe book that I always use. Makes perfect sense that fermentation timing starts once the starter is in the mix
And get in a better autolyse of sorts by doing a fermentalyse. Add the salt after the rest and the bulk started from when the starter went in. Plus, as Chad from Tartine says, even a short 20 minute autolyse is better than non. Swap it around a bit and see if you like the results.
Usually, bulk fermentation begins the moment you finish kneading your dough, incorporating salt and yeast or starter/levain/sponge.
There are special circumstances worth mentioning though. If my dough temp is not equal to ddt (desired dough temperature prescribed in the recipe) at the end of kneading, then I warm it up or chill it until I reach ddt and only then begin to count bulk fermentation time. I learned that from Debra Wink here from her description of how she bakes her beautiful loaves. She learned it from Jeffrey Hamelman she said.
Also, sometimes kneading takes a lot of time, sometimes as long as an hour and a half to achieve the degree of gluten formation and gluten development by kneading, as required by the recipe. In this case I will also begin to count bulk fermentation time from the moment I finally obtained a well kneaded or an adequately kneaded dough and can finally begin to ferment it.