How Long Do I Ferment My Sourdough?

I have just finished reading Michael Pollan’s Cooked and really enjoyed it.  Maybe it was all of the Berkeley and Bay Area references (Oak Barrel, Chez Panisse, Tartine) or my appreciation for his hilarious take on the world of us fermentos, but both he and the Sesame Bread I recently purchased at the place itself, inspired me to break out my sourdough starter and tackle the 40 page Tartine Bread recipe once again.

Let me first say that one reason I don’t really enjoy making bread is the mess.  Flour everywhere.  Wet flour is worse.  And wet flour all over your hands every 30 minutes as the Tartine recipe instructs just pushes me over the edge, not to mention the waste of water needed to wash it off in drought ridden California.

But more than that is the problem with temperature control.   One day it’s foggy and cold, the next 90 degrees.  How do I plan my day around 4 different rising events when I can’t control the weather and I don’t really want to have to sit around my house all day poking and prodding my dough to see if its done?  So I did an inventory – I have 3 devices that offer temperature control: the fridge (40 degF), the Sous Vide (>86 degF), and a bread machine (82.4 or 100.4 degF).   I am determined to figure out a formula for my leaven to pass the float test on queue, with awesome bread to boot.  I will certainly share it with you if I am successful.

In the meantime, I needed a starting point for timing given my constraints.  I found the Sourdough Rise Time Table published on the Fresh Loaf website for 100% whole wheat bread.  And, as I’m a visual person, I went ahead and converted the mind bending table into 2 graphs that I find more useful.

Data from http://www.wraithnj.com/breadpics/rise_time_table/bread_model_bwraith.htm

The model behind this can be seen in all of it’s glory on this Google Doc that Mr. Wraith has generously shared with the world.

First, one must use this with all the caveats of  wild fermentation as well as the fact that this model doesn’t include acid production or other variables you might like to use.  Still, the data is a great start as you have lots of wiggle room to manage bulk fermentation time by adjusting your inoculation percentage or temperature.  Variables that might make a fermentation go faster are higher hydration, higher percentage whole wheat flour, active yeast, and less salt.  The Tartine bulk rise calls for a 20% inoculation at 78-82 degF for 3-4 hours.  This is for their 90% white flour bread, and white flour ferments slower than whole wheat, so that might explain why they occasionally need more time than the graph would predict.  This graph seems to work for production of your leaven – but more on that later…

The final proofing time looks to be all about the temperature.  The data suggest that a final 12 hour proof in the fridge overnight with a flop directly into the oven may not be a great idea, and one should count on an hour or 2 before or after to get the bugs going again.

In any case, a nice starting point.

Footnote – I tried making the Country Rye in Michael Pollan’s “Cooked” book and, well, I’m not sure if there has been a erratum I missed but that recipe is >100% hydration and a real mess to deal with.  If you do go for it, back off on the liquid I tell you!

Other posts on sourdough on Garden and Eats.

• Ode to the Sourdough Starter

• Sourdough Starter Uses – Buttermilk Waffles and Pancakes

• Tartine Bread