Room Temperature Ferment

[Banchero]

Hello friends;

I have been doing 3-day CF for a while now. My question is, assuming you make a lean dough and are careful with the amount of yeast and room temperature variations, is it possible to do a RT ferment for more than 24 hours? Is 2-3 days possible or even safe?

TIA

[foreplease]

I recently over-fermented a dough in just 36 hours at RT then 12 hrs CF (if I remember correctly) and at just 0.04% IDY. It really surprised me and not in a good way. There was a 25% poolish that had 12 hrs RT on it, also at just 0.04% IDY.


Good luck and welcome to the forum.

[Banchero]

I recently over-fermented a dough in just 36 hours at RT then 12 hrs CF (if I remember correctly) and at just 0.04% IDY. It really surprised me and not in a good way. There was a 25% poolish that had 12 hrs RT on it, also at just 0.04% IDY.


Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for that information. I have the feeling it would be hard not to over-ferment at RT, especially in the summer months, without babysitting the dough constantly.

It was more of an idea, experiment if you will,  to compare the end result of a CF vs a RT fermented dough.

Cheers

[Pete-zza]

Banchero,

You are correct that room temperature is critical to making a dough that can ferment at room temperature for more than a day. The finished dough temperature and the amount of yeast used also are critical.

Some time ago, I tried to make long room temperature fermented doughs and saw the criticality of the above factors. You might benefit from reading the following posts:

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=7225.msg62332#msg62332

Reply 58 at https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=7225.msg78689#msg78689

Reply 127 at https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=7225.msg92094#msg92094

You might also check out these related posts by others:

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=9029.msg78053#msg78053

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=9053.msg78277#msg78277

Good luck. And if you proceed further, feel free to report back on your results.

Peter

[TXCraig1]

It's not hard if you can control the temperature to within a couple degrees.

[Banchero]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Lots to read and learn!

[QwertyJuan]

NO problem at all. I actually made a dough a few years ago with literally a couple GRAINS of IDY. That is it. A couple grains. The dough was almost completely dormant for almost 30 hours. Around 40 hours it had risen enough for me to form it into two dough balls. And I think it was around the 60 hour mark that I used it. Had a VERY tangy flavour to it(think sourdough). But the dough was nice and puffy and super crispy in the oven. I seriously need to do it again sometime and take some pics for just giggles.

[scott r]

That sounds very similar to the outcome of a dough I made once with zero yeast!  I can't remember how long it took to rise but it eventually did and the pizza was great.  It was for sure a few days at 70 degrees, maybe even close to a week before I baked it.

[Pete-zza]

That sounds very similar to the outcome of a dough I made once with zero yeast!  I can't remember how long it took to rise but it eventually did and the pizza was great.  It was for sure a few days at 70 degrees, maybe even close to a week before I baked it.

Scott,

Several years ago, your old friend Marc (widespreadpizza) and I both made room temperature fermented doughs that contained no yeast in any form. It turned out to be a great learning experience for both of us and we both ended up with some nice pizzas. We both assumed that it was wild yeast in the flours or in the air but later this assumption was challenged (see, for example, the thread at https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=73811.msg705399#msg705399).

You can read about our experiments and the results we achieved starting at Reply 62 at:

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=7225.msg78700#msg78700

Peter

[scott r]

I love it Peter... Marc, I hope your doing well!

[Alleypizza]

I have A/C so my basement is fairly cool, maybe 67-69F. I do a poolish with 50% of the flour and all the yeast that I use. 0.6g/kilo.
I leave the poolish downstairs for about 24hrs then mix the final dough and take it back down for about 20 hours. I ball 2 hours before pizza night and only bring them outside about 30 min before baking.

I love a cold ferment but had no room in the fridge for 25-30 doughs. So I needed to come up with a new recipe. Pizza is older the refrigeration so you can find a way to be happy with the results.

I have had to drop the hydration. 73% was too high for this recipe. I dropped to 70% but with this heat wave it’s easier to stretch the 65% I tested on the weekend, but 1 tester noticed it wasn’t as good.

[GR22NY]

What are your thoughts on room fermenting in a warm garage in August? Here in NY it must average 82° in there. Or should I just do in 72° house for longer? Newbie here using 1000gm flour, 700gm water, 20gm salt and .08gm IDY