Hi Sara, the overnight rise at a warmer room temperature could definitely lead to the difficulties you experienced. This is because at warmer temperatures the dough is going to ferment faster and may have been over-fermented by the time you were ready to shape it the next day. As dough over-ferments the gluten structure starts to break down and release water. This leads to a very wet dough that rips easily and won't hold its shape. During baking the dough won't rise as well because the gluten isn't able to hold the fermentation bubbles in place as successfully, and the wild yeast isn't likely to be at optimum activity level either. If you're not able to stick your dough in a cooler spot, you might want to cut the bulk rise time down significantly, and keep an eye on the dough rather than letting this rise occur overnight.
June 4, 2023 at 3:18pm
In reply to I’ve tried the recipe twice… by Sara Henry (not verified)
Hi Sara, the overnight rise at a warmer room temperature could definitely lead to the difficulties you experienced. This is because at warmer temperatures the dough is going to ferment faster and may have been over-fermented by the time you were ready to shape it the next day. As dough over-ferments the gluten structure starts to break down and release water. This leads to a very wet dough that rips easily and won't hold its shape. During baking the dough won't rise as well because the gluten isn't able to hold the fermentation bubbles in place as successfully, and the wild yeast isn't likely to be at optimum activity level either. If you're not able to stick your dough in a cooler spot, you might want to cut the bulk rise time down significantly, and keep an eye on the dough rather than letting this rise occur overnight.