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c/bakerskeith943keith94322d ago

The week I nailed 8 perfect sourdough loaves in a row then burned 5 the next day

Last Tuesday I had this magical run where every loaf came out with that perfect ear and open crumb. I was feeling like a pro, texting photos to my cousin in Portland about it. Then Thursday hit and I forgot to account for humidity dropping in the kitchen and ended up with 5 bricks that could break a window. Does the weather mess with your bakes this bad or am I just not paying enough attention to my thermometer?
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lee.casey
lee.casey21d ago
...and that right there is why I started keeping a damn log on my phone. Temperature, humidity, even what time of day I mixed the dough. You think you're paying attention until the weather does a sneaky switch on you. I had the same thing happen last fall when the heat kicked on for the first time and dried out my kitchen overnight. My starter was acting weird and I couldn't figure out why until I checked the humidity meter and saw it dropped from 55% to 35% in one day. The thing that gets me is how fast it changes, like your dough can be fine one hour and overproofed the next just because the air got drier. I've started keeping my bulk fermentation in the microwave with a cup of hot water next to it, helps keep the humidity steady when the weather is acting up.
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claire999
claire99921d ago
Wait, are you saying I need to babysit my dough like it's a moody teenager?
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