yeast + summer temperatures = oh oh!!
This year, our spring was very cool. We really didn’t have anything approaching summer temperatures until the official first day of summer a couple of days ago. Now it’s 30C outside and last night’s temperature was in the teens.
I just can’t seem to remember that in the summertime, bread dough takes much less time to rise. I made two pre-ferments late last night and foolishly left them on the counter overnight. This is what they looked like early this morning. The one on top is supposed to be a biga.
The poolish is in the larger bowl and the bottom was completely liquid: a veritable pool. (I did not take a photo of that. I’d already put the camera away.)
I made the bread anyway. And practiced my kneading slack dough technique. Oh my. You should have seem me chasing the porridge-like dough around the board. If my hands hadn’t been covered in goo, I’d have taken a video of the thrilling activity.
It seems to be doing okay. I just shaped it into one round and two baguettes and put them in the fridge to rise overnight. I can’t bear the idea of turning the oven on tonight!
I went out to admire my potted herb garden and … horrors!!! The dill that was doing SO well has collapsed. Apparently, it doesn’t care for hot weather.
edit: Does anyone else think that this looks like a self-satisfied alien spewing slime? Are those its eyes staring at me?!!??
I am stunned that you were baking in the heat or at least planning to bake.
Heat makes yeasties work over time and me melt which is what I’ve done. Guess that puts me in the same category as the dill.
Eeep, I would never have thought that yeast would do that in the heat. At least now I know should I ever try to make a REAL loaf of bread. I hope it all turns out okay!
Yes, it is a bit mad, isn’t it, MM? I contemplated baking the bread in the barbecue, but then I decided there were already too many experimental factors.
Tanna, I too am in the same category as dill. In fact, I have to wonder why on earth I live here. There are only about 12 days per year when the temperature is perfect. The rest of the time it’s either WAY too cold or WAY too hot.
Pretty exciting, isn’t it, Joanne. At least it wasn’t rising in the oven with the light turned on (one of my friends said she came home after picking the kids up at school to discover that the bread dough rising in her oven had escaped to drool through the racks and fill the floor of her oven. She said it wouldn’t stop breathing as she cleaned it up.)
As for the bread I made with the escaped preferments, did it EVER turn out okay!! See the rave review here: and we have oven spring!!
-Elizabeth