Experimenting with long cold fermentation AND proof. I’ve done either but first time doing both. It was on impulse in the evening, 2 days ago. Kids are in bed and we’re are sitting around the dinner table doing summer holiday planning and logistics. I fed my starter a few hours earlier, preparing her to go back into the fridge. At 9pm, I decided to make dough. Threw everything into a bowl and mixed with a danish whisk. Left it about 30mins. 3 sets of S&F every 20mins. Then left it on the counter till we went to bed at midnight. Room temp 3hrs + 8hrs cold bulk fermentation.
300g bread flour. 200g water. 115g starter. 6g salt. Hydration: 72%. Loaf weight 621g.
Next morning at 8am, I took the bowl out of the fridge and left it on the counter for 2hrs. Dough was still cool while shaping so much easier to handle and a lot more surface tension. Left it in the banneton another hour on the counter, then put it in the fridge for a 24hr cold proof.
Today, FINALLY, score and bake in DO 30/15min @ 230/210C. Tried the ice cube trick for the first time too.
Height: nice height 7/10
Ear: Tidy 7/10
Belly: A bit small 6/10
Crust: Great colour and super crisp 7/10
Blisters: Wow! That ice cube made it blister so much! 9/10
Crumb: I was expecting more from the extra long ferment. It’s as good as my usuals but nothing ahhhhmazing 7/10
Taste: Light hint of sourness. Maybe my tastebuds are too common but I really can’t detect much difference from the only cold proof loaves 🤷🏻♀️ 8/10
Final verdict: I feel like the ice cube made a bigger difference than the double cold ferment/proof. Not really worth it unless it helps me work around my schedule. 7.3/10
Been double doughing this week so I can tell you what’s coming up over the next 2 days as I switch from Beatrix to Frisco. Tomorrow is a high hydration (80+) and high starter % loaf. Friday is a more mini (500g) long cold proof one.
by VincentVan_Dough
6 Comments
I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the best crumb I’ve seen 😭😍
Skilz
Gorgeous loaf! Like always! 🤩
Nice job as usual.
Reduce the acidity of your starter and change your fermentation time => 18 to 24 hours cold bulk fermentation and 12 to 18 hours cold proofing.
You put too much starter in your dough. For a 48-hour dough, 10% of the flour weight in starter is more than enough, for a 24-hour dough, 20%.
You can go up to 30% if you add inclusions (fruits, seeds, etc…).
In French Bakery, big blisters are not a quality, quite the opposite. It’s a sign of poorly controlled fermentation or dirty bannetons.
If you want more advice on fermentation times, whatever technique you use, feel free to ask.
This is perfect 👌
Okay, who gave you the right to be this good at BOTH sourdough and photography?! That bread looks like it belongs in a bakery window—and the photo? Straight out of a food magazine. Honestly, I don’t know whether to be impressed or jealous… probably both. Bravo, you carb-crafting, camera-wielding wizard! 🥖📸✨