Hi all,
First post, so here goes...
I've been turning out a loaf a week since my first in February, with varying degrees of success. Best results have been a with a room temp ferment, shape and then a long proof in the fridge. Particularly, the scoring is so much easier on a chilled loaf. However, with a rare day off today I was looking to hurry things along a bit and so my question is this:
If I follow my usual method up until the shaping, is it of any benefit to do the final proof to 60-70% at room temp and then fridge for the remainder?
My thinking/total guess is that the cold temperature would barely penetrate the loaf in 1-2 hours, meaning the proof should only be slowed slightly but I'd gain the benefit of a cold skin to make scoring easier. Am I off my rocker?
Only you can tell us that! Give it a try and report back. There are very many helpful people here.
Have a look at a_warming_trend's post from a couple years back (here), in which she reported enhancement of oven spring by shoving her 1.5 hr room temp proved doughs in the freezer for 15 minutes before scoring and baking. Hard to deny - she did post consistently Tartine-airy bakes. As elusive as rationalization for her Freezer Effect may be, chilled high hydration doughs are indeed easier to score than warmer ones. And roger that: Bread dough is a phenomenal insulator. Typically 40 min @ 450-500˚F barely raises the internal temp above 200˚F, although evaporative cooling is probably a significant contributor. 15 min in the freezer wouldn't markedly reduce the dough's internal temperature. Give it a shot.
Tom
Thanks all. In the end I got caught out by a much faster-than expected proof and so the loaf had barely been in the fridge before I had to bake or risk severe overproofing. Scored poorly and as a result didn't get the spring I was after. I also think I didn't get enough tension in the boule and/or not enough bench-rest before final shaping.
Great shout on the freezer. Next time...