Is a retarder just another name for baking specific refrigerator?
When artisan bakers rest their dough in a Retarder?/Refrigerator? overnight, what is the temperature set to?
And finally why do they do it? Cooler temperatures do not encourage fermentation or promote deeper, more complex taste development (I would guess). So why do it? Is it just to facilitate/allow bread to be baked at more convenient times of the day?
And I forgot - for gluten development - higher temps are better.
Enjoy!
The production schedule is certainly a big part of it. I do think long, slow fermentation helps with flavor and gluten development too though.
Remember that fermentation is not just about yeast development. In the refrigerator, some more yeast activity does take place. You can check this yourself by making some yeasted dough (using instant dry yeast, for example), letting it ferment until it's doubled, then putting it into the refrigerator. It will continue to ferment for a while until it cools down. After that it will still continue to develop, but over a span of days. This will add flavor as the metabolic byproducts start building up. The gluten continues to develop, too.
With sourdough, the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) will continue to slowly metabolize, producing more byproducts and lowering the pH of the dough. All that contributes to the flavor. Either proteolytic enzymes or a low pH (or both) will also lead to a breakdown of the dough once enough time goes by. That's when your starter becomes soupy in the refrigerator.
Retardation doesn't need to be done in an ordinary kitchen refrigerator. In fact, warmer temperatures might work better for some doughs. But most people don't have another refrigerator, one which can be set to higher temperatures so they just go with what they have.
So yes, retardation gives you flexibility in your schedule. But it also can bring in a lot of additional flavor, and sometimes better handling dough too.
TomP
Thanks Tom.
You said above “It will continue to ferment for a while until it cools down. After that it will still continue to develop, but over a span of days.”
So I’m wondering, in your experienced opinion, if continued development in the frig takes days, is there a true benefit to leaving it there for only 8hrs overnight? Can you yourself taste the difference bt dough fermented properly and dough fermented properly and then allowed to rest overnight in the frig?
At some point I’ll experiment for myself but I’m wondering how you’d answer that question?
It's one of those "it depends" things. The longer the dough stays chilled, the greater the depth of flavor. Especially with sourdough, the more sour the bread will become. Each dough and recipe and flour will behave differently in detail, so you have to learn what works well for your schedule, technique, recipe, and taste. Too long and the dough will start to degrade. I've had a yeasted dough work well after 5 - 7 days, and I've had poor results after three.
You should figure on the dough continuing to ferment for about an hour after you put it into the fridge. So if your bulk ferment would be done after say 6 hours, chill it after 5. It will, as I said, keep fermenting after that but much more slowly. There's nothing critical about any of these timings. For myself, I will happily refrigerate a bulk ferment if there isn't enough time to proof and bake it before bedtime. I won't care when I take it out, letting the time depend on my schedule for the day to come - it could be first thing in the morning, early afternoon, whatever. I let the dough warm up for half an hour or an hour, then divide and shape, or ferment longer if it hasn't already fermented enough. Others don't wait for the dough to warm up. You can also shape the final loaves, let them partially proof, and then chill them overnight. Bake right from the refrigerator if you like - they will work well, and the scoring will be easier when the loaves are cold.
If you've read about "no-knead" doughs, almost all the gluten development and flavor gets developed in the fridge. The dough improves day by day for a time - you cut off a hunk when you want bread and bake it.
So there are lots of details that can make a difference but the overall picture is to go ahead and chill the dough or the loaves to make baking more convenient, and go on from there to learn what works better for you.
Oh, and in case you don't think I answered your question:
The answer is "yes, I usually can". You do need to allow for the dough to be not quite "fermented properly" so that it can finish up in the fridge. As I said above, there's nothing critical about these timings.
From my very subjective point of view there are 2 main aspects (in a very simplified world):