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Sourdough and bread in the summer heat

Author Elena Zheleznyak, 🔗

By the middle of summer, I still found a way to ferment the dough to the desired correct condition, preventing it from peroxidation, dropping and even creeping to the peak. And all this to avoid excessive acid, which is the scourge of summer bread. Starter cultures have similar problems - they tolerate the heat hard, ferment quickly and acidify, and the usual “feed” is enough for only half a day.

Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread

I now have two leavens in my kitchen - wheat and rye. Rye is the one that is loved and obedient, and millet - according to Chad's recipe. They both live in a dressing gown, not in the refrigerator, I feed them twice a day. Although, in a good way, rye could be hidden in the fridge, because I don't bake rye bread now, but it's a pity if she lives in the fridge, then every time I take her out into the light of God, she is so sluggish that I involuntarily doubt whether he will get better. In addition, I observe it and compare it with wheat, and observations, as you know, are a very valuable source of information and knowledge. And that's what I came across.

First, a few words about weather conditions. I have a fever now, in the afternoon in the shade more than 30 degrees, at home about 30 - for sure. At night, somewhere around 20, sometimes less. Both starter cultures are fed at the same time - morning and evening, but in different proportions. I keep wheat with a moisture content of 100%, rye is thicker - 65%. Moreover, for each new top dressing I take quite a bit of starter - about 3 grams of rye, and even less wheat - I just dip a spoon into the sourdough, without even scooping it up, and stir it in “new” water.

Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread

I already wrote about the proportions of feeding, but just in case I will repeat: starter (1-3 gr.) + Water (30 for wheat and 25 for rye) and 30 gr. flour for both leavens. If your place is very hot, you can increase the amount of flour and water, leaving the same proportions and take, for example, not 30 water and 30 flour, but 50 water, 50 flour and one or two grams of starter.

Of course, I won't write anything new, but it's still interesting. With these initial data, these starters behave completely differently. 6-7 hours after feeding in the indicated proportions, the wheat already asks for new food, and it smells accordingly - sour, a little unpleasant, and then, if you wait and do not feed it, it is sour with alcohol notes. And the second (rye, thicker) after the same period of time smells freshly fermented, vigorous and active. Moreover, they taste about the same sour.

Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread
(Rye on the left, wheat on the right)

It is clear that wheat ripens and falls off faster, it is more liquid and less acidic, therefore it ferments faster, it contains more yeast than lactic acid bacteria, so it is more vulnerable. To help her hold out a little in the heat, I began to use very little starter and she really began to ferment a little longer and look and smell a little more cheerful with each new feeding. I did the same with rye - I began to take not 10 grams for feeding. starter, as before, and 2-3 grams. With such proportions, I still feed wheat twice a day, but I can feed rye once a day, it doesn't do anything bad to her.

I began to use the same method for dough, because it also had a tendency to ferment in the heat and therefore sour bread was obtained on it. For many, this is a problem - baking sourdough bread in the heat, but if you use this method, this problem is easily solved with the help of young sourdough. To get a young non-acidic dough, it must be used before it is fully ripe and rises to the peak, especially since it should not be allowed to fall. How fast the dough will ferment is most influenced by two factors: the fermentation temperature and the amount of starter. And if we cannot influence the temperature (more precisely, we can heat it, but it is unlikely to cool to the required 18-20 at 35 real ones), then we are free to put whatever amount of starter we want, including a very scanty one, so that the dough wandered more slowly and managed to get up just in the morning. Thus, I began to take less and less starter for dough and now I have come to the fact that 200 gr. flour and 200 water I use 2-3 gr. wheat or rye sourdough, I put it to ferment at 20 degrees for 12 hours and in the morning I have the good fortune to contemplate a magnificent, but completely non-acidic dough with barely hatched bubbles.

Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread

I have repeatedly checked: a small amount of starter does not affect how the dough is suitable - just like a larger one (in this case, I compare the use of 2-3 grams and 15 grams of sourdough per 100-200 grams of flour in a dough). It is the same with the density of the dough - the thick one fits just as well as the liquid one, only it looks different due to the thicker consistency. Here, for example, a dough from 100 gr. flour, 60 gr. water and 1-2 gr. starter. Fermented for 12 hours at a temperature of about 20 degrees plus or minus.

Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread

If anyone is wondering where I get such a wonderful temperature - on the balcony at night, our nights are almost always cool (compared to the heat of the day), almost always slightly below 20 degrees, just what is needed for a good brew. If you are unlucky and you are still hot, use the same 1-2 grams, but add a pinch of salt to them, it will slow down fermentation and allow you to get the dough of the desired condition.

But the bread that I baked in thick dough, which I showed earlier, was trying to remake the city bun into a leavening way. The dough fit perfectly

Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread Summer Sourdough Behavior and Bread

Ah, and, before I forget, instruction) while the summer is hot, watch your jars of yeast, do not leave them in the sun, otherwise they will cook. I keep mine in a locker, it's dark and calm.

Good luck

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