Has anyone else had this experience ? Last night, while I was asleep, the plastic lid on my pre-ferment bowl blew right off. When I awoke, the lid was sitting on the counter next to the poolish.
34 gram W.W. flour
34 gram Unbleached bread flour
68 gram of water
(to use the absolute minimum of yeast, I take 1/4 cup of water, add 1/8th tsp of dry yeast and stir. Then I use ONLY 2 tsp of the yeasted water for my poolish. discarding the remaining yeasted water.)
Sir until well combined, cover and let ferment 10-12 hours.
Well, as I said, I was very surprised to find the plastic lid had blown right off and was sitting on the counter.
Certainly it was the result of a build up of carbon dioxide gases.
Has it happened to you ?
This has probably occurred to most bakers at one time or another. I found that using a small sheet of plastic wrap over my fermentation container and a rubber band to snug it down keeps dust out and prevents drying out. The gas will occasionally cause some doming of the plastic wrap but the seal isn't so tight that gas can't escape.
You might also use the plastic covers with elastic bands at the edge that people used to cover picnic dishes before plastic wrap became so cheap. Those can be washed and reused several times. As a last resort, the single use shower caps from hotels can be used in a pinch.
the "pop" from the kitchen. :(
Try this: slip a narrow strip of paper between the lid and the bowl section to keep the lid on and let gasses escape. Or repeat during the day and listen for the "pop." Chances are good it deflates at the same time.
Find a cooler spot?
There's an older post: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/57537/i-need-some-help-how-much-yeast-poolish
and article: https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/more-artisan-bread-baking-tips-poolish-biga/
I read these much too late at the time, after following a recipe using 1/8 tsp instead of a pinch, I had a pool of poolish around the bowl, soaked through the tea towel cover and kitchen smelling rather "fruity". This could've been prevented if I just mixed it all up in a large mixing bowl though. Well, we learn from these experiences :)
- Christi