For this recap (see this post for more info on Instagram Recaps) I’ve consolidated 6 posts that I made back in January of 2020. They were centered on the topic of delayed fermentation. That’s not some sort of technical baker’s term or anything, it’s just the term I use when describing fermentation methods specifically designed to induce a long lag phase in the dough — and by “lag phase” I mean the time from inoculation with the leaven to the time when you first begin to see visible signs of fermentation (i.e. the dough is starting to rise).
I’ve included this collection of posts not so much because I think delayed fermentation is some wonderful technique that everyone should be using, but more so because it demonstrates a certain way of thinking about how we can approach the bread baking process. It’s about adopting a mindset that allows us be flexible and adaptable in our methods , a mindset that allows us to handle whatever fate might throw at us.
If you are sufficiently familiar with all the variables in the baking process then you can see “down the line” to the second and third order effects that result from your choices. This allows you to be much more creative when dreaming up solutions to whatever problems you currently face or whatever difficulties might arise as you go. Unique problems call for unique solutions, and delayed fermentation just so happened to be the unique solution I chose to solve a certain set of problems. So without further ado, here is the recap . . .
Link to Instagram Post (1/15/20)
Delayed Fermentation Part 1: The point of this post isn’t to share a specific recipe or anything. Rather, it’s to discuss some thoughts that happen to coalesce nicely with this loaf. Let me explain….
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Delaying fermentation is any process which lengthens a dough’s lag phase. For purposes of this discussion, I consider the “lag phase” to be the duration between the end of mix and the beginning of visible fermentation during the bulk. So basically, the time until the dough is noticeably starting to rise. A long lag phase indicates a lengthy time until the dough starts to rise (please note, I’m not referring to the lag phase of the fermenting organisms here – – that’s a separate issue, though it can certainly be a contributing factor to delayed fermentation). For this dough, the long lag phase was intentional. In order to delay the start of fermentation, I used a very small amount of starter (2.5% as a percentage of total *dough* weight) and cold water for the mix. So why would I want to extend the lag phase of this dough?
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My main reason was to encourage full hydration of the whole grains in this loaf. As I’ve mentioned before, I often like to use more coarsely ground whole grains due to their ability to retain water and improve crumb texture (not openness). One of the (many) things I like about home-milling is the ability to control the grind of the flour. For this loaf, I used coarse-ground whole rye and medium-ground soft white winter wheat. They made up 20% of the flour (the rest was bread flour). The long lag phase extended the whole grain’s exposure to water (80% in this loaf, by baker’s percentage) thereby helping to ensure full hydration.
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Regarding this dough, I used a “direct mix” – – everything mixed at once. No autolyse. A long autolyse could have accomplished the same thing as delayed fermentation, but since my starter was very stiff (50% hydration) it was easier to mix in at the start, rather than try to add it after an autolyse. I mixed by hand for only a minute or less. No gluten development. The lag phase here was 4 hours (no folds). After the 4 hours, I then began coil folds. Out of space, to be continued….
Link to Instagram post (1/16/20)
Delayed Fermentation Part 2: If you missed my last post then check that one out first for context. Now then, picking up where I left off….
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I chose to develop this dough via a long lag phase coupled with coil folds. I did not mix this dough to any degree of real development. I merely stirred it up by hand to make sure everything was evenly incorporated. Probably not even a full minute of mixing. In the last video of my last post, you can see the level of development after a 4 hour lag phase. The gluten was clearly starting to form, but it was far from fully developed. After the lag phase, I gave the dough a fold to help release it from the bowl and then transferred it to this container for the remainder of bulk (much easier to coil fold in this than in the bowl). You can see how loose the dough is during the 1st coil fold, but by the last fold it has come together quite nicely. All it took was time and a few coil folds to turn that mess of dough seen in my last post into the smooth supple thing you see here. No real mixing required. Not too bad, eh? 💪😎
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Since I didn’t have enough space to say all I wanted to say in my last post, let me clarify a few things. 1) My main goal using dalayed fermentation was to hydrate the whole grains. Because I used a coarser grind than typical flour, they required more time to fully hydrate. 2) There are plenty of other ways to hydrate coarse-ground whole grain. Since I decided to make this loaf at the last minute, I did not have time to plan the soaking in advance. Delayed fermentation solved that problem. 3) And since I knew the dough would be sitting for a long time, I figured I’d just let time and folds develop the dough for me, rather than put much effort into mixing. 4) This really isn’t all that far removed from “No Knead”. I certainly could have skipped the folds, though that would come at the cost of dough structure and reduced shape, height and volume. But delayed fermentation is useful for making “No Knead” sourdough since the long lag phase helps lower the risk of dough degradation that can sometimes be a problem with such long fermentation time. To be continued…. #opencrumbmastery
Link to Instagram post (1/17/20)
Delayed Fermentation Part 3: Preshape and shape. These 2 videos are fairly self-explanatory (please forgive the poor lighting – – the sun set so I lost my natural light). So let’s continue the discussion from the last 2 posts….
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As previously mentioned, my main goal with delaying the fermentation here was to extend the lag phase of the dough in order to help fully hydrate the coarse-ground whole grains in the recipe (the coarser the grain, the longer it takes to hydrate). There are several different ways I could have done that.
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I could have soaked the whole grain overnight – – except that I decided to make this loaf at the last minute.
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I could have given the dough a long autolyse – – except that I only had a small amount of stiff starter available at the moment (because I wasn’t planning on making this loaf). It can be difficult to evenly incorporate such a small amount of starter into a wet dough by hand. And the dough would still rise slowly because of the low percentage of leaven (long autolyse + slow fermentation = late night).
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I could’ve made a young liquid leaven with my starter that would have been ready in 2-3 hours, while letting the grains soak in the autolyse during that time (or even using them in the leaven), but that would take just about as much fermentation time as the delayed fermentation while requiring more work (mix autolyse + mix leaven + mix dough).
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It seemed to me that the simplest solution was to just use the small amount of starter I had on hand, use a quick direct mix for ease of incorporation, and let time and folds do the work of gluten and dough development rather than put much effort into mixing to windowpane. And another benefit of delayed fermentation (at least to me) is the additional flavor and tang that develops from small starter inoculations and long fermentation times. Seemed like a win win to me. 😎 More to come next time…. #opencrumbmastery
Link to Instagram post (1/18/20)
Delayed Fermentation Part 4: If you look closely, you can see bits of cracked grain from the coarsely ground flour I used. I love that! Because the delayed fermentation allowed sufficient time for these sandy bits of grain to more fully hydrate, they were not hard or crunchy, they were soft and tender, and they retained moisture without creating a gummy crumb. Now to be fair, I also ended up refrigerating this loaf overnight – – that also extends soaking time. But even if I hadn’t, these grains soaked long enough to achieve the effect I was looking for. Had I ground them coarser then I might’ve needed more time, but the grinds I used here only required the long lag phase to hydrate sufficiently.
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For breads such as this – – those with whole grains ground fairly coarse, but still fine enough to resemble gritty or sandy flour – – I often use delayed fermentation to ensure a full soaking of the grain. Like I said in my last post, there are plenty of other ways to hydrate the grain – – and I also often use a long autolyse instead – – but delayed fermentation offers a level of flavor development that I really enjoy. Plus, I’m lazy and so I like “set ’em and forget’ em” methods. If this were a stiffer dough, I wouldn’t have even bothered with the folds.
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I also use delayed fermentation for overnight bulk of stiffer dough – – where bulk might run 10 or more hours. I don’t like overnight bulks for wetter dough because it can be a bit risky – – dough quality might suffer if you misjudge things. Stiff dough, on the other hand, offers more room for error (though things can still go wrong, of course). In the cooler months, simply using a small seed and cold water can be sufficient. During hotter weather, I might mix the dough and immediately stick it in the fridge for a few hours to delay fermentation. Then take it out to bulk when I go to bed. It can take some trial and error to figure it out just right. The point is that the 2 main tools for delaying fermentation are cold temperatures and small inoculations. Sometimes a combo of both. Stay tuned for Part 5….😎 #opencrumbmastery
Link to Instagram post (1/19/20)
Delayed Fermentation Part 5: Final loaf. Fairly pleased with this loaf considering the low effort I put into it. I wasn’t aiming for any particular style of crumb – – so long as it was light and well-fermented then I was happy. Apart from a few air pockets, this crumb turned out quite lovely – – especially considering the coarser grind of whole grains I used. This loaf was 20% whole grain: 15% medium-ground soft white winter wheat and 5% coarse-ground rye “pumpernickel”. These well-hydrated coarser whole grains added some nice texture to the crumb of this loaf (not to mention the wonderful flavor that comes from fresh home-milled flour). Delayed fermentation ensured they would be tender and moist, not dry or crunchy.
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As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of using coarse-ground whole grains. They add qualities that you can’t get with more finely ground flours. Though I don’t often post these higher-percentage whole grain loaves (since they don’t really fit in with my open crumb focused gallery) I do enjoy making (and eating) them. Perhaps I should start posting a few of them every now and then…. 🤔 #opencrumbmastery
Link to Instagram post (1/21/20)
Delayed Fermentation Part 6: Last post in this series. See previous posts for context. Key points in making this loaf….
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Recipe: 80% bread flour, 15% medium-ground soft white winter wheat, 5% coarse-ground rye “pumpernickel”, 80% water, 2% salt. Starter was 2.5% of total *dough* weight (15g for this 600g loaf), 50% hydration, and mature (approx. 10hrs old).
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The small amount of starter, combined with the cold water I used when mixing resulted in a long 4-hour lag phase before the dough started to noticeably rise – – thus the delayed fermentation.
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The main purpose for extending the lag phase of this dough was to provide additional soaking time for the coarser ground whole grains in this loaf.
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This loaf was mixed via a “direct mix” method (all ingredients included at once) – – no autolyse. The dough was only stirred together by hand long enough to evenly incorporate the ingredients – – a minute or less. There was no gluten development during the mix (see 1st post in this series for videos of the dough). Gluten and dough development were accomplished entirely through the long rest time during the lag phase and using hourly coil folds once the dough finally started to rise (after the 4-hour lag phase).
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So that’s it for this loaf. From the comments in some of the earlier posts in this series, it seems there are plenty of folks that would like to see me post a bit more often about higher-percentage whole grain breads. I like to make them, but I rarely post them since they are not typically open-crumbed style loaves – – I figure if I’m selling a book called “Open Crumb Mastery” (link in profile) then my gallery should be full of open crumb. But if folks would like to see more whole grain breads then I’m happy to oblige. It should keep things interesting. Cheers! 😎 #opencrumbmastery
Good luck.