Rise after night in fridge...?
Hi there.
I am new to sourdough bread and am getting a little better with every attempt.
I am still confused about fermenting after retarding overnight in the refrigerator. I viewed some youtube videos where it was stressed that the loaves should go into the oven straight from the refrigerator.
When I have done my final shape the previous night, a significant amount of gasses that accumulated during bulk fermentation is lost. It is obvious from all I have learnt that when placing the loaves into their baskets, after shaping, they do not fill the baskets as much as when placed in the oven... If the baskets are put in refrigeration straight after they receive the loaves, and the following day the loaves go to the oven straight from the refrigerator, when do they rise...? I know they certainly don't rise in my fridge...
Thank you very much.
If your loaves have not risen sufficiently in the fridge, then you don't have to put them in the oven straight out of the fridge. Leave them out to rise after you take them out.
Or... let them rise a while before you retard.
I sometimes have problems with my loaves over-proofing in the fridge. I think it's because my dough is too warm going into the fridge and it rises too much before it is sufficiently cooled. Today I baked some loaves where yesterday I let the bulk rise for a few hours and then cooled it down for a few more hours in the fridge. Then I took it out, formed the loaves, let it sit for half an hour and then back in the fridge overnight. They rose in the fridge just enough for me to set them on the counter for an hour while the oven heated up and then baked them. Worked great!
Thank you.
Leaving it on the counter after removing from the fridge is actually what I do. I was wondering if that's contributing to the fact that I am not getting a nice oven spring.