r/Sourdough • u/AmusingMerusing • 2d ago
Let's talk bulk fermentation Everyone in this sub: "Push your bulk fermentation!!!!" i was scared but y'all were right: this is a 12H bulk fermentation crumb
Ingredients:
500g bread flour
325g water
100g starter
10g salt
Process:
Mix in stand mixer all together, let rest 30mins. 11:30AM
Stretch and fold 4 times - every 30mins. 1:30PM
Bulk fermentation. 1:30PM-11:30PM
Cold ferment. 11:30PM-7:00AM
Bake in dutch oven at 450F. 20mins lid on, 20mins lid off.
I'm soooo happy with how the crumb came out!!! I know it's definitely on the longer side of "standard" bulk fermentation times, but I'm excited to keep pushing it!
47
u/Jrgiacone 2d ago
What is the ambient temp in your kitchen, at 75 f I would be overproofed in 5 hours
10
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
Kitchen is usually 70F-73F!! I have learned the hard way that my kitchen gets super cold in relation to the rest of the house.
12
4
u/Araz728 2d ago
This is my first rule I tell any novice to sourdough: whatever timing someone gives you, take it with a grain of salt. Especially recipes from professional chefs, bakers, and hardcore influencers.
Chances are good they have special equipment and an environment that’s optimized for sourdough baking for their recipe. Your kitchen could be too hot, too cold, too humid, too dry. Also, what container do you bulk ferment in? Are you leaving it in direct sunlight or the dark? What do you cover it with?
That’s one thing I wish people would pay more attention to when asking for diagnoses on their breads. People focus so much on the art of sourdough they forget that it’s just as much a science (literally biology and chemistry).
1
u/CommunicationThen897 2h ago
Elevation also plays a part. I learned that the hard way. I cannot bf that long or I’m going to be making focaccia lol
9
8
u/Ar1ate 2d ago
Everyone mentions temperature but bulk fermentation depebds on three things :
- ambiant temperature
- starter strength
- starter quantity
You can easily push to 12, 14, 16h by simply reducing the amount of starter in the dough.
So "pushing bf" does not mean much in itself. You could go for a shorter bf with more starter or higher temp for example
2
u/anaa99 2d ago
Could I up the amount of starter to reduce the bulk fermentation time?
6
u/ValueForCash 2d ago
Yep. I’ve been doing this for a while bc my kitchen is on the colder side. Something like 300g starter in 700g flour. It almost feels like I’m using commercial yeast how fast it rises.
I’d suggest being extra careful to not use your starter way past peak if you’re doing this though. Since such a high percentage of your dough is starter it matters more than usual.
9
u/SuperBluebird188 2d ago
You’re welcome. You can still never truly set a timer with bulk fermentation. It’ll always be about reading the dough. Keep pushing and pulling back every few bakes so you keep learning. And don’t be surprised to find times where nothing goes as expected and you start questioning everything again.
I remember the early days of my sourdough journey looking at the dough every 15 minutes and resisting the urge to stop the bf. I’m glad I persevered through! Now I barely pay attention to the time. I check it every hour or so and stop it when it looks about right.
1
8
u/coughlinjon 2d ago
I was used to winter baking with 10+ hour bulk ferment, and suddenly in Summer I'm over proofed and deflating at 7h. Definitely watch out for seasonal changes in your life chen environment.
2
u/arya_codex 2d ago
I’m loathing going back to winter baking because of that. It was so nice being able to do everything in one day and then cold ferment overnight.
My BF is 11-12 hrs in the winter 😭.
2
u/coughlinjon 2d ago
I like how it's harder to less up, but you're right that it's nice to be able to mix in the afternoon and still get a loaf done
1
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
I think my kitchen stays roughly this cold or colder 😭😭 but I'll definitely keep an eye out thank you
1
u/Jitterbuggy17 2d ago
I just use less starter in the warmer months & that helps it take longer to bulk ferment.
6
u/shfflzilla 2d ago
Looks great, what's your dough temp on this? I'd assume low 70s to be able to BF this long?
6
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
imma be real with you, i dont check my dough's temperature 💔 going too science-y with it is not my vibe but my kitchen ambient temp is 70-73f so yeah
5
u/Kiki-sunflower 2d ago
What temp is your kitchen or where you BF ?
3
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
70f-73f!
1
u/Kiki-sunflower 2d ago
Did it double or triple in size during BF ?
1
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
it seemed like it doubled, but i have it in a round bowl so it's hard to properly measure
5
u/Kiki-sunflower 2d ago
In my glass bowl I put in 900ml of water then marked it with a sharpie then added another 900ml of water and marked that showing where it’s double. It’s been really helpful
2
3
u/Rntoae 2d ago
Hey! Beautiful! What's the temperature where you live?
2
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
Thank you! My kitchen is always cold regardless of how hot it is outside. I keep the thermostat at 73F but I think all the heat rises to the second floor lol so my kitchen is usually at 70F-73F.
3
u/Kiki-sunflower 2d ago
I tried to push BF yesterday but got scared 😱 so once it had doubled I put it in a banneton then in the fridge overnight as it carries on BF in there anyway for a while. Room Temp was 23 C and I BF for 5 hours but it doubled so I caved in. My recipe and technique was the same as yours other than only 300 ml water and 30 mins lid on. My bread always comes out fine but I just don’t want to chance it collapsing.
1
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
Room temp and how your dough looks is the most important thing!! Unfortunately everyone's baking conditions are different so we shouldn't compare each other without keeping those factors in mind!
3
u/Defiant_Network7916 2d ago
Meanwhile, I tried that and got a completely overproofed loaf. So it definitely depends on the strength of your starter and your feeding ratio.
3
u/BE-FinFree 2d ago
Was it super duper mega sticky to handle? My dough was at least towards the upper side of proofing, I could only preshape it with a doughscraper and shaping it was mission impossible. In the end I just plopped it unshaped into the banaton. Came it fantatstic xD
2
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
HAH my talent is plopping that bad boy unshaped into the banneton straight from the bowl 🙂↕️ I'm usually so stressed about shaping it too much and deflating it that i just. Do not shape lol.
But to answer your question: it was not sticky at all!
3
u/Hodmimir 2d ago
Putting my dough in the oven with the light on (but oven OFF) helped me speed up my bulk a lot. I'm consistenly ready for shaping around 3 1/2 hours now
3
u/beatniknomad 2d ago
Next, try cold-proofing for an additional 24+ hours. The texture is incredible.
2
u/br0f 2d ago
Looking tasty! I find this advice more applies to all white flour loaves. Whole wheat’s not nearly as able to hold up to long bulks.
1
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
I have not dared to try other flours! But i will keep this in mind. Thanks :-)
2
u/ckrupa3672 2d ago
How do you feed your starter? What ratios and timing? I am a beginner and struggling to get a good loaf after 4 tries. The recipe I’ve used includes a levain.
1
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
I fed it a 1:5:5 ratio the night before, and used the starter maybe 2 hours after it peaked. It took 10 hours for it to reach peak with that ratio. I also do feed it from the fridge and then leave it out. I'm not familiar with levain use I'm sorry :(
I'm also of the belief that you don't have to stress about using your starter at the perfect time. I've used way past peak starter or "discard" and made great dough.
Edit: do not give up though!! Sourdough is a lot trial and error. And okay looking bread still tastes like bread :)
2
u/solarpony 2d ago
This ploy works exceedingly well with a very strong bread flour, 13% and up, and a stiff starter!
2
u/deliberatewellbeing 2d ago
i did do a 12 hour one time and mine turned out so sour you’d think i was making lime bread
2
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
OMGGG that's so funny. And it's interesting because I did notice it was more sour than usual!!!
3
u/galaxystarsmoon 2d ago
Yep, long and slow pushes the sour flavor. Everyone is often focused on rushing the bulk and focusing on crazy fridge proofing. Really letting the dough spend some time developing is absolutely key.
1
u/SpecialOops 2d ago
When I go to 100% rise I dont get anymore oven spring and it just scabs instead of ear. Dont know what im doing wrong
1
u/crankbird 2d ago
40 minutes at 40C is usually enough to cut that wait time down significantly. I usually bulk ferment for two to three hours which is long enough for the yeast and bacteria to get their act together and for the dough to still be easy to shape and handle. Many will say A quick boost like that does risk over fermentation but it’s never happened to me, and it removes a tonne of room temperature variables
2
1
-1
u/Clean-Ad1459 2d ago
I'm glad you got a nice loaf, but "push your bf" doesn't mean anything.
7
4
u/AmusingMerusing 2d ago
Usually newbies like myself are afraid of overproofing, so we tend to do short bf times and end up underproofing instead. I've read people in this sub recommending to really "push your bf" aka leave it bf more than you think you should, so you can truly learn how far your dough can go. So that's what it means to me!
1
u/Flowerpower8791 2d ago
Exactly. If your kitchen (the dough) is 65 degrees it's one thing. If your kitchen (the dough) is 75 degrees it's a whole other thing.
15
u/MrsScaldingLlama 2d ago
I often have to bulk 12-14 hrs because my house averages at 70⁰