July 18, 2009 - 4:23pm
HELP please! rising times in different temps
hey all, question ----
on my last bread that turned out well, i had my starter activate after feeding at 75 dF for 4 hours then put it in the fridge (40 dF) for 20 hrs, my question for today is i fed my starter and left it at room temp, 70 dF today, for 9 hrs. how much longer should i let it rise so its somewhat equal to last bakes times and temps
i know i didnt write it out that well. im just as confused i promise.
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Just a wild guess but I think the body of knowledge you're reaching for in being concerned about the temperature of your starter is how to accurately control dough temperature. It's one of the most important skills a baker must learn in order to achieve consistency in fermentation, bread flavour and control over the timing of the whole process.
The key is the temperature of the water. There are a number of posts on this topic at TFL. There's an excellent explanation in Jeffrey Hamelman's book Bread, pp 382-5, and in lots of other books as well.
The temperature of the starter is part of the picture, for sure. But it's only one of the variables. There's air temperature, flour temp, the "friction factor" of the mixer if you use one, the temperature of the starter or other preferment if your recipe includes it and last but not least, the temperature of the water. Don't worry. Controlling for dough temp is not as complicated as it sounds. Do a little research, and you'll be handling this aspect with ease in no time.