July 29, 2017 - 9:40am
Does the size of the bowl matter during bulk fermentation?
I've been using a fairly large ceramic bowl to house my dough during bulk fermentation. It's large enough that my dough could probably quintuple without it being too crowded.. It rises okay, but I'm not quite getting the results I'd like.
This could be due to any number of factors, of course, but I'd like to figure out if the bowl might be a problem before moving forward. If a bulk fermentation container is too large, can that inhibit fermentation?
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Maybe this will help:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/07/26/trail-of-gooey-dough-on-interstate-proves-once-again-that-yeast-rises-in-heat/?utm_term=...
Are you trying to tell me to use a large container or a small one?
Yup - if a truck isn't too large of a container to impede fermentation, then I don't think any bowl one of us has will do it!
Quite seriously, though, it IS actually possible that a very large and heavy ceramic bowl might be able to impact the temperature of a small amount of dough. Ceramic is a material that will react to temperature much differently from plastic or stainless steel or glass - and a higher mass will have a bigger impact. If the bowl started out as significantly cooler than the dough, and didn't have any heat acting on it, then it could conceivably cool the dough itself down to match temperature - and thus slow down fermentation. I'm thinking of a very large ceramic bowl in an air-conditioned kitchen, where the bowl temperature might be in the mid-60's when the little bit of dough goes in to it. The additional cooling on the outsides of the dough mass might also contribute to uneven fermentation. That mass of ceramic is going to take a long time to change temperature, so even putting it in to a proofer set in the mid-80's might take a couple of hours to increase the temperature of the container, and thus the dough.
On the other hand, if it were warmer than the dough, and the room temperature were also warmer, then it could contribute to the warming of the small amount of dough and speed up fermentation. It would also slow the cooling of the dough if you chose to do a retarded fermentation, since the refrigerator would have to cool the bowl as well as the dough, which could allow the dough to over-ferment before it cools down.
The only way to know for sure would be to check the temperature of the bowl, and monitor the dough temperature throughout the ferment to see whether there is an impact.
Personally, I prefer light-weight clear, or at least translucent, plastic, so that the container will allow for faster cooling if I should choose to retard the bulk fermentation or even warming if I should choose to use a proofer, and so that I can see the activity on the bottom and sides of the dough. That it is significantly lighter in weight and easier for my poor old arthritic joints to handle might be a contributing factor, too ;)
volume. A container round or square with straight sides and a flat bottom can be used just like a large measuring cup, some even come with marks up the sides. I do sympathise with ceramic bowls and over the years have had my favourites. First filled with warm water in a cold room to heat it up for rising dough, can't beat it for cozy. Covered to prevent moisture loss and wrapped in a big fluffy towel, it's great along with any nostalgia and lovely glazes. It hurts more to loose one. I have a few relegated to the herb garden because I couldn't part with them.
I have to agree with the weight problem and tricky volume estimation when working with new recipes. Clear plastic containers with lids fit in my refrigerator better and I can stack them. I also write their dry weight on them and use them on my scale, a bit tricky with a heavier bowl. For nostalgia, I have a choice of favourite towels to cover or wrap around them. A plastic container can also be set inside a larger bowl and covered for draft free rising. :)