Hi,
I made a sponge last night and it says to let it preferment between 65 & 70 degrees. I made the sponge at 10PM last night and right now it is 8:37AM. My house temp right now is almost 80 degrees. I don't think I should wait any longer to start mixing my bread, but am not sure. Any help on this would be appreciated.
The heat this summer is turning breadmaking into a challenge. What used to take 9~10 hours to double is now doubling in 3~4 hours. For my part I am ignoring the time and going with the looks of the sponge/dough. I have also cut down a little on the water since I feel the moisture in the air (and perhaps the moisture content in the flour) is throwing things off.
Just this week I experimented and baked a loaf of bread in my BBQ and it turned out so well..I'm doing it again today :)
Hopefully your loaf today is well on it's way and you didn't 'go by the time'....
Watch the sponge and when it appears to fall/recede it'ready. Getting warm? Try cooler/cold water.
Jim
for the replies. Bread is almost done, and it looks ok. Suggestions have been helpful.