So here's a question about how heat and humidity affect rye breads.
I am in NYC and stultifying summer has arrived. The temperature is close to 90F (above 30C) and the air is saturated at 70-85% humidity.
I have recently made several attempts at Ilya's fantastic deli-style rye (https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/71592/easy-sourdough-deli-rye). In the past it's been foolproof. But this month my results have been less wonderful and I'm wondering why. The dough expands nicely during bulk and proof. But it seems to reach a limit and doesn't get the oven spring I'm used to.
So here are some comparison pictures.
These pix are from Tuesday's bake. It tastes wonderful, but it didn't rise or brown like usual.
And here's almost the same bread from maybe 2 months ago.
For sure, there are a few differences beyond the weather that could account for the changes. For one, I've been away, with my starter in suspended animation in the fridge, and have refreshed it before using it. It could still be a bit needy.
Also, I've upped the rye percentage slightly and used up some slightly less strong flour in the recent bakes -- which also could be a factor.
Finally, I've found I've had to add maybe 15 g of water (+2% of total hydration) to get all the flour bits to hydrate and have also been wetting my hands as I handle the dough and this could have led to overhydration.
Still, I have a sense that ryes simply don't love the torrid summers here in NYC. I'm wondering if anyone can verify or deny this intuition.
Rob
I think the fridge - namely slowing down - is the culprit. Leave it as you normall do for a week or 3 and it'll be back to normal. Enjoy!
Thx, phaz. The prior, loftier bake also came after the starter had spent 4 weeks untouched in the fridge. BUT I refreshed it 2x at that time and only 1x now.
Rob
Have you noticed whether the starter rose more or less this time, or did it start collapsing already perhaps? And the same with the overnight preferment? Did it smell different? Or the bread - does it taste more sour, perhaps?
Generally such high temperature and high humidity is perfect to ferment high % ryes :)
I fed it 1:4:4 and it more than doubled in 8 hours. The bread does taste more sour, though.
I think at this temperature you need to use a higher ratio, and/or reduce fermentation time, and/or reduce inoculation... For overnight feed of my starter at 28C for around 8-9 hours, I feed a higher ratio. I don't really weigh how much starter is left int the jar, but it's just scrapings on the bottom. I feed with 50g flour and 50g water...
Anyway, more sour bread = more fermentation => potentially overfermented.
thanks, Ilya! I'm gonna re-feed my sourdough and then try once more.
thanks, Ilya! I'm gonna re-feed my sourdough and then try once more.
so I reconstituted my starter, feeding it extravagantly for several days (I followed your route of scrapings + 50g each of flour/water) & changing to a fresh jar & tried again and:
no change.
The bread's delicious but isn't rising like it did and the crust isn't carmelizing like before. I'd post a picture, but it would be meaningless as it looks exactly like the prior bread.
I'll make some changes and try once more and report back
Have you tried reducing inoculation in the bread or fermenting less?
I cut back on the proof by 20 min (1/3) and dropped the innoculation slightly.
so I changed 5 things
--20% less starter and slightly more water in the levain
--cut the rye from 39% to 35% of total flour
--used stronger flour
--reduced the hydration slightly
--cut total fermentation time by 1/2 hour
And it looks and tastes great!
Rob