Sourdough flop ~~~

I have company, so needed some fresh bread. I decided to mix some up yesterday so I could have fresh sourdough today. Things did not go the way I had planned. I forgot that I had to run a child to a dental appointment and husband had a job interview and we were going to shop… too late…I had already mixed up the bread! I went ahead with the bulk fermentation (first rise) then I shaped the loaves and just put them into the freezer.

I knew that the loaves wouldn’t make it in the refrigerator overnight and until late afternoon the next day. So I put them in the freezer and decided to see what would happen. In the morning I got the bread out of the freezer at 6:00 a.m. and it was frozen like a stone. I left for town at 7:30 and the surface was barely thawed. I had a dilemma because I didn’t think I would make it home before the dough was ready to bake, and if I put it into the refrigerator, I would probably be baking at 12 midnight. So I left it out. I got home a little after 2:00pm and it was already slightly overproofed. That means it was overproofed at 8 hours out of the freezer.

 

And don’t forget, I had to preheat the oven still! If I would have taken it out just before I left at 7:30am it probably would have made it just right. So I am guessing that if you freeze the dough right after shaping, and let it warm up for around 6 -6.5 hours, it would have been about right. But you would also need to be there for preheating the oven so figure on 5.5 hours until you need to be home so you have time for heating the oven. That is for a 1.5 – 2 pound loaf.

Anyway, my bread was overproofed and it flopped. Not much oven spring and a whitish cast to the dough from overproofing and a dense crumb. However, the taste is fantastic!! I am still using the San Francisco starter for these experiments. Here is my freezing experiment flop:

 

So there you have my flop for today. I am planning on a One Night Sourdough starting tonight and baking tomorrow, I hope it fares better!!

northwestsourdough

Teresa L Greenway - Sourdough bread baker, author, teacher, entrepreneur. Join my baking classes at: https://tinyurl.com/nbe3ejd

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