Sourdough Neapolitan Pizza - CF

[odi92]

Hey,

I'm trying to figure out my sourdough Neapolitan pizza.
I have been reading for the past year or so to understand better the process, so the following article summaries pretty much the direction I went in to - https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10375/lactic-acid-fermentation-sourdough

my goals are:
- a more flavorful sourdough 
- a good yeast activity (of course)
- a not too acid sourdough for 2 reasons - flavor and strong gluten.
- To understand the benefits of CF

So I changed my sourdough to be 90% bread flour, and 10% rye&whole wheat (it was before 50/50). I raised the hydration from 80% to 100%. I feed the sourdough more often, in bigger ratios, so I give it between 12-20 hours of fermentation before using (waiting for double to triple the size).
Now, I wonder how the way I treat my sourdough affects the dough, and what affects does it have if I treat the dough differently? Especially if I’m thinking of a CF.
For example:

- If I try my sourdough to rise in a high temp to try and get more LAB rather than Acetic acids, but then my dough would be mostly cold and not in room temp, how would it affect the bacterias in the dough?
- In general, if there is no bacteria’s activity under 10 degrees celsius, and a very low yeast and enzymes activity – then my basic question would be what a CF really bring to the dough? And according to that (yes I know it’s a lot of testing) - how should I treat the dough? Should I give it 1-2 hours in room temp before the long cf, and why? And how much should it be in room temp in general, lets say in a total fermentation of 72 hours? How much should I aim the dough to rise before dividing into balls?

[graystones11]

Did you ever get any of your questions answered through testing? It looks like you were using fairly high hydration. Was there a reason behind that? Higher hydration should be increasing the LAB, particularly the lactic vs the acetic, if it follows similar sourdough starter methods (more water = more lactic; more flour = more acetic).

The premise that no LAB production will happen below 10 degrees C is a misnomer. Just leave your starter in the fridge for a few weeks and taste it - it will be considerably more sour.

All of your additional time before the CF is going to increase the population of yeast and bacteria. You would play around with that based on how much you inoculated the dough. A small inoculation would need more time before the CF and would likely increase how sour it is; a big inoculation would not need as much time and likely be less sour.

All of this will also depend on how you built up your starter during the previous couple of generations, so you have a lot of personal variables to account for.

[TXCraig1]

The OP hasn't been on the site since September 07, 2022, so you may not get a response.

I agree with the points made in your post.

[Yael]

[...]
The premise that no LAB production will happen below 10 degrees C is a misnomer. Just leave your starter in the fridge for a few weeks and taste it - it will be considerably more sour.
[...]

Just to make a remark on that point, I read on one of the many very informative threads (in Craig's posts or in Omid's (member Una Pizza Napoletana)) that LAB production is slowed down under 14°C, so the acidity built during CF is mainly acetic. Besides, acetic acid is responsible for a more sour SD. I can't say I can confirm with my own experience, but that's what I read from many sources. 

[TXCraig1]

Anything that makes life tougher for the LAB (low temp, low hydration, more salt, etc.) shifts the balance of acids produced from lactic towards acetic.