Normally I run a pretty standard 72-hour cold ferment using 100% 00 KA flour at around 67–68% hydration, ~2.5% salt, 2.5% oil, and 0.1% active dry yeast. It’s been consistent for me and usually gives me a dough that opens easily and bakes well in my home oven. This time I decided to experiment. I switched to a 60/40 blend of KA Bread Flour and 00, introduced a proper poolish, shortened the total ferment to about 48 hours, and kept hydration at 67%. I wanted more flavor complexity and a bit more structure from the bread flour, thinking the poolish would boost the crumb and overall character.
The result wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what I’m aiming for. The dough relaxed too much laterally (I think), was hard to shape cleanly, and the rim inflated thicker than I prefer. It felt slightly over-relaxed but also uneven in tension when opening. I’m realizing a major factor is that I don’t have a proper airtight proofing tray. The balls are spreading and losing structure before I even start shaping. I think that’s ruining consistency more than anything else. Next round I’m going back to a straight 72-hour cold ferment, dropping hydration to ~65%, lowering oil to 1.5%, doing 60% 00 / 40% bread flour, reducing ball size slightly, and most importantly getting a dedicated airtight dough box. Curious if others think the proofing container alone could be the biggest fix here or if you’d tweak something else first.
by Jzaharek53
1 Comment
This is my first time making sourdough, it’s been fermenting for three days now. So keep your fingers crossed, we’ll see.