Let’s get good at Sourdough Baking ⤵️
The hardest part of Sourdough Baking explained
Nailing down the fermentation of your sourdough bread is probably the most difficult part about baking sourdough.
Now there’s A LOT of sourdough bakers online teaching how to make sourdough bread, so there’s a lot of contradicting advice
I’m going to share with you what has helped me and so many other people finally master baking sourdough bread
The Fermentation Timeline
👉 When does it start?
Fermentation STARTS as soon as you combine the sourdough starter with the dough ingredients
👉What is called?
Fermentation has many names:
bulk fermentation*
first rise
cold proof
second rise
Bulk fermentation = fermentation
the word bulk is just a carryover term from brick and mortar bakeries, it literally means when you ferment dough in bulk (ie when you make a lot of bread)
*People also call Bulk fermentation
– the first rise
– room temp proof
The 3 things that control how fast the fermentation goes
1️⃣ Starter ratio
how much starter you use
2️⃣ Hydration ratio
how much water you use
3️⃣ Dough temp
the temp of the sourdough dough
Starter ratio
How much starter you use
- less starter = slower
- more starter = faster
In most recipes, the starter ratio sweet spot is usually around 20%
Once you know how long a dough with a starter ratio of 20% ferments, you can kind of have a picture of how long a dough with 10% or 30% ferments
Hydration ratio
How much water you use
- less water = slower
- more water = faster
From experience, you will feel a noticeable difference in dough texture around 72-73% hydration
That’s when the dough is noticeably more wet and elastic.
Dough Temperature
Probably the most important that controls how fast your dough ferments is dough temperature.
The first two do matter for sure, but dough temperature has the power to
- Kill your sourdough starter
- Under-ferment/underproof your dough
- Over-ferment/over proof your dough
Dough temp is also the reason why
Fermentation has so many names
- bulk proof
- first rise
- cold proof
- second rise
And why so many beginner and even advanced sourdough bakers find nailing down the fermentation of their dough to be the hardest part of sourdough baking
Dough temp is really your best friend, though
Why? Because you can speed up or slow down the fermentation speed however you like to fit your needs:
Put your sourdough starter or your dough in the proofer and increase the temp up to 90F if you need the dough to ferment right away
Put your starter or dough in the fridge to halt fermentation if you are busy, will be out all day, or want to sleep at night
That’s the reason why fermentation is called so many things
👉 Bulk proof / room temp / first rise
warmer = faster
👉 Cold proof / cold retard / second rise
colder = slower
👉 Important:
This is usually the order of events, first we bulk proof (room temp), then we cold proof…
But…
1️⃣ we don’t have to cold proof at all —after bulk/room temp proof, shape and then leave out at room temp then bake sourdough bread that day
2️⃣ we can also cold proof first, shape, then room temp proof as the second rise
3️⃣ we can also do the entire fermentation in the fridge (if you have the time, as this will take several days)
Recap
- Zoom out and look at the sourdough bread baking process into sizeable chunks –when you think about it, there’s really only 7 steps
- Wrap your head around what fermentation is and what it isn’t
- Familiarize yourself with what controls fermentation speed
- Starter ratio
- Hydration ratio
- Dough temp
Make sense?
Nailing down the fermentation of your sourdough bread is probably the most challenging part about baking sourdough bread.
Most, if not ALL the questions I get asked in Instagram or personal coaching about sourdough baking is rooted in fermentation issues.
From the poll I took on my Instagram stories, it looks like most of you understood everything I just covered today.
Still confused?
Ask your questions and leave your comments below!
P.S. I also recommend you checkout this post:
Why Are Flour Type and Hydration Ratios Important? And What Does It Mean For Your Sourdough Bread?
Hi. Thank you for all your tips! When you say the sweet spot for starter amount is 20% starter to flour, I don’t understand. In the sheet you had 100g starter and 400g flour. 400 x 20% is only 80. What am I missing?
Learning bakers percentages is areal eye opener for sourdough baking and allows you to adjust a thermostat recipe in volume.
Long story short: Your percentages are based on all of your ingredients. Flour, liquids, starter and any enhancements.
Fantastic!! Great explanation in easy to understand terms. Thank you!!
Thank you, Deb!
So when they say bulk ferment for 6 to 8 hours. Do I calculate that after my last stretch and fold. Or is that calculated from the time I start mixing my dough together.
Bulk fermentation STARTS as soon as you mix the leavening agent (sourdough starter) with your dough ingredients, NOT after any sets of folds –this is where a lot of people get confused, because now you’ve extended your bulk fermentation by X hours.
Whether or not the original recipe maker know this, is the real question, though.