The acidic (vinegar) flavor is from over-proofing the dough. Retard the dough in the refrigerator AFTER kneading and before any rising - which is also called delayed first fermentation. See if the link below helps you out.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Sourdough Home - Retarding Dough

Time to check your refrigerator temperature.

dcarch

I don't think there is a problem with her fridge. All my doughs continue to rise in the fridge. Especially over the first 8 hours. Then it slows right down.

If your dough continues to rise in the fridge, just knock it down. Especially if the dough threatens to blow the lid off of your dough pail.

When you are ready to use the dough, just take it out of the fridge at least a couple of hours (depending on the size of the batch) so that the dough can come to room temperature and start to rise again. Then shape, rise and bake as you normally would.

~Ann

I agree with Grainlady--it sounds over risen. That acid taste is of the yeast getting ready to die.

All yeast dough rises in the fridge. It just does it slower. Once it starts to rise, it's hard to stop it. I've successfully slowed down a rise before it reached peak, but never prevented it.

I don't know if freezing would work. It would have to cool very fast. The take and bake breads you can buy are specifically crafted for the purpose. I'd think even if it slowed enough, it would be tricky to know how to thaw/bake it. If it just needs to stop long enough to pick the kids up from school, it might work. Or not.

My mother taught me to start bread before breakfast on laundry day. That way it's out of the oven before the school run, and the top of the dryer is a nice, warm, out of the way place for the rising.

Thanks all. Will try putting it in the fridge immediately after kneading to see if it makes a difference. Also, would it help if I just reduce the yeast ratio in the long rise dough (to be refrigerated)? Or does that cause a denser bread or a collapse in the oven?

I've gotten more blasé this Summer about messing with yeast doughs, but if I want a particular outcome, rather than an experiment, I try to stick to the recipe. While it's true that unless you wander into the deep dark forest, instead of slightly off the path, you'll have bread, it might not be the bread you're expecting if you muck around with it too much.

OTOH, yes, less yeast gives you a longer fermentation time, which you can then extend in the fridge. The collapse comes from over rise, where the yeast is exhausted, not from long rise where it's multiplying. After a certain amount of time, however, it's done feeding, burping and multiplying and then starts to die.

My pizza dough recipe calls for something like an eighth of a teaspoon of yeast, and is kneaded and divided, then sits in the fridge to rise. It's usable after one day, optimum after two days, and noticeably less springy after four. I don't go longer than that. If I did, however, it would bake up fine as flatbread. :)

I wouldn't reduce the yeast or you may find you don't have enough yeast activity to get good ovenspring.

According to Shirley O. Corriher in her book, "CookWise", when retarding (chilling) dough overnight or longer, it influences the bread in three ways:

-Enhances flavor. The cold temperature forces the yeast into dormancy so it is no longer gobbling up all the available sugars. The bacteria then can feed and produce some of their flavorful acids, which add subtle complex flavors and enhance keeping quality. Acids produced at cold temperatures 30-40-degrees F) are wonderfully flavorful, and even at cool temperatures are good.

-Reduces ovenspring and loaf volume. Chilling for a period as long as overnight reduces ovenspring (oven rise) and reduces loaf volume. Alcohol that was made by the yeast from the beginning changes to a gas in the hot oven and is a contributor to ovenspring. During a lengthy cold period, alcohol simply evaporates from the surface of the dough and some goes to vinegar. ...Chilling reduces the carbon dioxide in the bubbles, which contributes to a slight change in texture and possibly slightly reduced ovenspring and loaf volume.

-Opens texture slightly. Chilling dough retards the action of yeast and influences texture, though much more subtly than breadmaking method.

Another point about refrigerator doughs... Enriched recipes designed for the refrigerator (such as Betty Crocker - Potato Refrigerator Dough) include mashed potatoes (or instant mashed potato flakes). WHY? Lloyd M. Maxon, author of "The Baking Book" and a microbiologist who specializes in yeast biochemistry explains... Mashed potatoes - or any pureed vegetable - is vital for refrigerator doughs because it preserves moisture in the dry climate of a fridge. A regular yeast dough would dry and become unworkable more rapidly.

These refrigerator dough recipes are great when you want to make the dough ahead of time and the next day use a portion to make hot dog or hamburger buns, cinnamon rolls another day, and dinner rolls yet another.

-Grainlady

âÂÂ-----I don't think there is a problem with her fridge. All my doughs continue to rise in the fridge. Especially over the first 8 hours. Then it slows right down.-----âÂÂ

The problem is, most home refrigerators are not temperature accurate, they can range from 32F to 55F, that can make a big difference in proofing dough.

âÂÂ------All yeast dough rises in the fridge. It just does it slower. Once it starts to rise, it's hard to stop it. I've successfully slowed down a rise before it reached peak, but never prevented it.---âÂÂ

That is because once the dough starts to rise, the bubbles make the dough act like foam insulation, preventing external temperature changes from effecting internal temperature.

dcarch

Well regardless Dcarch, my doughs continue to rise, especially in the first 12 hours and even if I leave the dough in the fridge for three or four days, it still makes wonderful bread. The fridge rise doesn't ruin the final product.

Dessert, you can definitely reduce the amount of yeast. You are using 1 teaspoon in about three cups of flour? I use 4g (one teaspoon) or 5 g of yeast in 1000g of flour which is 6 1/2 to 7 cups of flour and it is more than sufficient. Try reducing to 3/4 teaspoon and if that works for you and you like the results, you can try reducing to 1/2.

~Ann

Thanks again grain lady and plllog.

Hi Ann,

Just to understand, you use 1tsp of fresh yeast per 6.5- 7 cups of flour, right? I actually used 1 tsp of active dry yeast and was wondering if I used up too much for the cold rise.

I use to think 1tsp of active dry yeast per 3-3 & 1/2 or 4 cups of flour is like a threshold below which the bread would simply not rise as the yeast have a limit to how much they can multiply before they die. I have read that the moisture and other leavening agents and techniques can also affect bread rise but I'm curious as to how much the bread rises in your suggested proportion.

I use this brand (http://www.lesaffre.com/en/yeast-baking/leading-brands/saf-levure.html) and have realized it foams up only as much as a small film in the top layer of the cup, it doesn't get as foamy as the picture (lets say). I suspected this was because I already used less than what most recipes recommend (something I started doing after my first bread turned up tasting very yeasty).

Now after reading all the answers here, I wonder if I used too little.... :-/

Here is a link that might be useful: saf-levure - the brand I use

Dessert_Gardener, yes, you understood correctly. I use 4g of yeast for 1000g of flour. Which is basically one teaspoon to 6.5 to 7 cups of flour.

I use a dry yeast that I buy by the kilo at Costco. I believe the brand is Red Star. I store it in a mason jar in the freezer. And I don't mix it in water, as you have shown in the picture. I know that it is fresh so no need to proof it. When I used the Magic Mill to do the kneading, I just tossed the dry yeast into the flour along with the water. Now that I am making all my breads by hand, I mix the yeast with 1 tablespoon of water, just enough to soften it and make it easier to mix in by hand.

I haven't had a problem with my breads rising.

Here are pictures of a 1000g batch of dough that I made last night and put in the fridge overnight.

1st picture - ready to go into the fridge.

And this is what it looked like this morning when I took it out of the fridge just before 4:30 AM.

I don't know if you can tell by this picture, but the dough had more than doubled overnight. It has been sitting on the counter for almost two hours and has started to rise more so it is almost time to shape.

I promised Moe, pistachio and cranberry baguettes.

~Ann