Sourdough in Summer

My letter to a friend about baking sourdough bread.

Your intuition about heat was correct. The hot weather sped up your yeast and exhausted it.

I used to let my sourdough rise in the boiler room. It killed my dough! Big disaster. (Many years ago) I was freaked for a while about sourdough and took a break from it.

I mix up my dough in a clear bucket and put it in the fridge. I let the bucket of dough stay in the fridge sometimes more than overnight until it shows signs of life. When it rises a bit I punch it down to refresh it and let it rise again in the bucket (still in the fridge). The lid is loosely attached so the dough can breathe. The third rise is shaped into loaves.

The final PROOF and the last possible chance to rise--(I get only 3 rises out of Fleishmann's). I do this in the greased baking pans set in a cold empty oven away from cat and dog. Sometimes the last proof is an hour or two or three or four depending on how cold the kitchen is. I slash the top of the loaves as a way to show me how alive it is and when it's ready to bake.

Sometimes just because it's easier when the dough is ready to bake I turn on the oven to 450 and it bakes from a cold start for 60 minutes. Without the cold start (& preheated) it bakes for 35 minutes.

This is my technique all year round but in summer the last proofing goes a bit faster.

Also sometimes I make mini bread loaves - the refrigerated dough will warm up faster when it's in small blobs.

Even my sourdough starter never sits out it's cultivated to grow in the jar in the fridge. It's been alive for 20 years. I should be celebrating its birthday.

My dough is blended flour 2 teaspoons of Fleishmann's yeast and about 2 cups of starter 2 tablespoons kosher salt and half a bucket of flour (bread flour, whole wheat, rye, semolina, pinhead oats, coarse cornmeal) and water until the consistency is like quick sand.

I use Fleishmann's instant yeast, not quick rise and cold water otherwise everything happens too fast. Slow as you know means good flavor.

I spray the loaves with water to make them shiny, towards the end of the bake. Remove oven light bulb if you decide to spray the loaves while baking otherwise it will shatter. I speak from experience.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Happy baking,
Emily