May 6, 2007 - 3:23pm
Retardation in the frig
I read of the importance of retardation often but am not clear on the parameters for same. Rose Barenbaum in the bread bible says that 24 hours in the frigerator is too much and will kill the yeast, so, I guess that is the maximum limit but what amount of time is generally considered the best for a regular loaf of white bread, say with Floyd's recipe? My guess is that there is a continuum of minimum, optimum, and too much. Do most people omit this phase altogether and get on with life? Rose Barenbaum retards the starter the night before and then also the dough in the last stage after taking it out of the frig and cutting and shaping. Thanks.
Country Boy