January 17, 2006 - 7:35pm
Cool rise question
After reading the articles by SourdoLady I have a question about using a cool rise in the fridge after shaping the loaves:
Would a rise at a cool room temp, say 50 degrees F, be food safe and achieve the same long, flavor developing rise as in the fridge at colder temperatures?
I simply don't have room in my refrigerator to store two loaves of bread rising on a large sheet pan. But I have an unheated laundry room off the kitchen that stays between 40 and 50 if I don't leave the door open to the kitchen.
Any advice is appreciated.
Teresa
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Yes, you should get great flavor out of a long, slow rise at 50 degrees.
I might think twice about leaving out a dough enriched with a lot of daily or eggs, but a dough consisting of grains, water, salt, yeast, and perhaps a little oil should be quite safe left out overnight. At least I've never heard of anyone running into any problems from such a bread.
Sourdough is naturally acidic and therefore it inhibits the growth of bad bacteria which would cause spoilage. There is no worry about leaving it in a 40 or 50 degree room overnight. I don't do this with doughs that contain eggs, as Floyd mentioned, but I have done it with doughs containing milk in the powdered form before mixing.
Yes, the cool room rise will develop the flavor just as it would in a refrigerator. You are slowing down the yeast activity in order to allow the flour and liquid time to ferment and that is where the flavor comes from.
Thank you for your prompt replies. It helps to have confirmation from those with more experience. The usual bread recipes that I make do not contain eggs. I'll try this soon and report back my findings.
Today I attempted to bake two loaves of gahtan's sourdough recipe but met with distinct failure. I don't think it was the recipe, I think I didn't add "enough flour to make a nice workable dough" as the recipe stated.
I was aiming for a chewy bread with nice big voids and what I got was a very, very, slack dough that rose nicely in the mixing bowl, but didn't hold it's shape when I attempted to form it into loaves.
I'll chalk this up to experience. Was too ashamed to take photos.....