"Mike Avery" > wrote in message
news:mailman.2.1177214051.89402.rec.food.sourdough @mail.otherwhen.com...
:
> The starter paper you pointed to put a lot of emphasis on temperature. I
> haven't found it to be very critical. Remember, historically speaking
> effective temperature control is a relatively recent technology -
> sourdough has been used since at least the time of the pharaohs. On that
> scale, thermometers are recent introductions. And yet, sourdough worked.
> Frequency of feeding is more critical.
:
> Mike

Well, either my "temperature therapy" or just a few weeks of vigilant
feeding have brought it back to life and I've managed to create a few decent
loaves lately. Unfortunately, I've also made one brick and one over-proofed
monster that looked a lot like something from "Alien." So my question for
the veterans is: how do you schedule this type of baking? If everything
works just right, I can sponge overnight, start the first rise in the
morning, the second rise after work, and bake later that evening. As often
as not, though, (recalling the numerous times I've gotten serious about this
and then moved on to other things after some frustration) the first rise
gets ahead of itself and I come home to the guts-eaten-out Alien, or it's in
a slow mood and I end up putting it in the fridge to stall the process. So,
who has figured out a rhythm that gets dependable loaves every few days
throughout the week?

A few times a month over the past 10+ years I make pizza using good old
commercial yeast. The timing works out just about right if I knead in the
morning, put it in the fridge, get someone to take it out at around 4:00,
and it's good to punch and form by 6:00. I suspect that the fridge may be
the answer to weekday sourdough, but haven't figured out a schedule yet.

Dave