Sourdough – Experiment #1

Awhile back I bought a sourdough bread starter kit. Then we got busy and it sat on a shelf for a long time, until this weekend John decided to give it a try. It takes a few days to grow enough starter to make a loaf of sourdough bread. Finally, by the end of the weekend, he had enough to make a loaf.

We had a fleeting fall and now it’s mid-winter, so John was justifiably concerned that the ambient air temperature wouldn’t be high enough for a good rise. He read a tip online suggesting that rising dough be put in a cold oven with the oven light on – the oven shielding the rising dough from drafts, and the oven light adding warmth to the ambient air.

So he set it to rise in the oven overnight, turning on the oven light (but not the oven itself). Then he baked it this morning before work. It barely rose, did not brown well, and, discouraged, John declared it a failure and inedible.

Admittedly, it is like a brick, with a very tough exterior. But it has an excellent strong and authentic sourdough flavor. Plus, I know what went wrong, because I’ve made the same mistake myself.

Years ago I used to bake bread, and living in a cool, damp environment I learned that keeping the dough warm enough through the rising process is critical. In the winter I would raise the dough in the oven, with the oven turned on as low as it went, with the door open to keep it from getting too hot – my goal was anything over 80 degrees without actually starting to prematurely cook the dough, lol!

The temperature in the house last night was in the fifties. Here’s the kitchen temperature at 9:10 AM, after we had run the oven in the kitchen to bake the bread.

I’m not sure how cold it actually got in the wee hours, but I’m guessing mid-50’s for most of the night. I can’t imagine that one little light bulb would have kept the oven warm enough to raise the dough. It needed to be 30 degrees warmer than the ambient house temperature was last night, and a light bulb would not have done it. We needed to have actually turned the oven on low.

Turns out the surprisingly strong and rich sourdough flavor is probably due to the cold rising temperature. Here’s an explanation from the internet:

“In this stage the yeast metabolizes sugars in the dough, producing carbon dioxide, alcohol, and various flavor compounds. The speed and metabolic efficiency of the yeast depend almost entirely on temperature, with the optimal speed of fermentation occurring between 80–90°F (27–32°C).

That temperature is optimal, but you can get a faster rise with warmer temperatures (to a point) or a slower rise with cooler temps. But there is a trade-off. When yeasts are warm and happy, they metabolize efficiently, meaning they convert the sugars well, without many byproducts. But the byproducts of inefficient metabolism taste great. For richer flavor, it can be useful to slow down, or retard, the fermentation. This is often done by putting your dough in the refrigerator for the bulk fermentation, or even later on, during the proofing.” (credit: https://blog.thermoworks.com/bread/sourdough-bread-times-and-temperatures/)

And, having made this mistake myself in years past, I know what to do with our hard, flat loaf. No need to toss it out. This loaf is going to make some excellent turkey stuffing.

Stay tuned for Experiment #2 coming soon!