them old overfermentation blues

I’ve been feeling uneasy these days, and, perhaps in solidarity, my starter has, too. For a few months now, it’s been highly acidic which has cut down on its ability to promote yeast growth. For my usual deli rye – 45% whole rye/10% whole spelt/45% bread flour -- I mixed the levain and, after 12 hours on the counter, it was clear that it had not progressed in the right direction. It felt and looked dead -- just a non-responsive grey lump.

I mixed the dough anyway, but after its usual 3 hours on the counter, it, too, felt inert – little rise, almost no stretch. So I left it out another night – at which point it had become more of a batter than a bread dough. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to try to bake it right then. So I put it in the refrigerator for an additional 12 hours. Last night – after 36 hours of fermentation for a bread that I have previously baked, from start to finish, in 12 hours – I took it out of the fridge. The chilled batter was seriously gooey but I was able to shape it and bake it.

And, now that I’ve eaten a few slices, I have to say: The sourness is pronounced but pleasing, and while I miss the loft of an appropriately fermented bread, the crumb is a bit softer and more pillowy than usual and the crust is crispy and delicious (though not as amazingly sweet and crispy as it would be with more controlled fermentation).

What can I tell you? Reports of my dough's death were greatly exaggerated. And them old overfermentation blues sometimes ain’t all that bad. 

Rob