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Cold weather, we see you 🥶

This past week it was cold here—like really cold.

When it's 5°F (-15°C) outside, stepping out the door takes an extra nudge of motivation. Now I know how my sourdough starter must feel even a few degrees under warm room temp.

This week, let's look at some underproofed loaves for once. No one wants to do it, yet it happens to all of us—usually when we're pressed for time or not registering the signs.

I hope pointing out a few things and some fixes might help you avoid my unfortunate fate (trust me, I still ate the bread; it was OK with soup!).

First, let's start with what that loaf looked like (😭):

But let's back up a moment and start from the beginning.

This week, I returned from a trip, took my starter out of the fridge, and promptly began feeding it to get it ramped up to restock the kitchen's dwindling sourdough supply.

If you know me, you know I'm a stickler for dough temperature. I'm almost maniacal about warming (or cooling!) the mixing water to ensure my dough reaches its final temperature (the temperature at the end of mixing).

Making sure to meet the final dough temperature will ensure the dough is on track during bulk fermentation, ultimately leading to a properly proofed loaf of bread.

But this week was different.

Even in my warm-ish kitchen, it was so cold that my dough cooled almost 10 degrees by the end of bulk—and it caught me off guard.

After my typical 3-hour bulk, I checked my dough before dividing, and instinct told me it needed more fermentation time, so I gave it another hour.

How did the dough look, you ask?

My dough was tight in the bulk fermentation container; it wasn't jiggling when I shook it; there were no bubbles—it looked flatter, lifeless even. Instead, I want to see a substantial rise (the exact amount isn't super important), smoothness, bubbles, and for the dough to jiggle when shaken.

Determining when to end bulk fermentation is a hard call to make (​I talk about bulk a lot here). But sometimes (like this week), it was clear that the dough needed more time.

After 4 hours, the dough looked better, but in my heart of hearts, I knew it wasn't ready. I had to proceed anyway due to time constraints. I divided the dough, preshaped, shaped, and popped it into the fridge.

The following day, I was again short on time—kids need to get to school, after all. I gave the dough a quick poke test, which confirmed my suspicion that it still wasn't quite ready.

But how could it be? The oven was hot; I had to leave in an hour, and in the dough went.

After 20 minutes I vented the oven of steam and immediately knew the dough was underproofed. The rise was explosive (especially since these loaves were 50% whole wheat), especially in the middle.

The resulting loaves look nice, but trust me, they're under. Check out the loaf in the back poking out above the table. Can you spot that super tall rise in the middle?

Here's another shot of the interior of another loaf. It's deceptive, but you can see tight spots around the open areas, and the open areas, well, are too open.

Now, the bread was still tasty, but it could have been so much better.

So what could I have done to save this dough after seeing it at the end of bulk, even in cold weather?

• Give the dough a 5-hour bulk fermentation, and pop it into the oven with the light on to keep it warm
• After dividing the dough, let it sit in preshape for longer to continue to proof (this would have helped less given the cold kitchen)
• After shaping, cover the dough and proof it in the oven with the light on for an hour to let it ferment longer
• In the morning, take the dough out of the fridge and let it proof for 2-3 hours on the counter before baking

Any of these would have helped, combining a few of them even more. This week, you can bet I'll be warming the mixing water even more, raising the final dough temp a few degrees to offset the cold temps. Additionally, I'll keep the dough in the oven with the light on!

Read on for a winter baking guide and a few recipes I'm making here when it's cold.

In this week's newsletter:

• Guide: How to bake in the winter (and not underproof your dough)
• Recipes: Fifty-fifty, 90-rye

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🥶 Guide: How to bake bread in the winter

Even more actionable tips to ensure your starter, levain, and dough are where they need to be when baking in the winter!

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GET WINTER BAKING GUIDE

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🍞 The 50% wholewheat loaf featured above

One of my all-time favorite recipes, this 50% whole wheat loaf has lots of flavor, a beautiful crust, and a light and open interior.

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Just be sure you properly proof it 🙂

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GET 50-50 RECIPE

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🍞 The perfect winter bread

This sourdough with almost all rye is my go-to bread when temps dip. I love it not only for the warming (spicy?) flavor but also because it has such a short fermentation timeline. This means that if you warm your mixing water, there's little chance the dough can cool significantly—even if your kitchen is on the cooler side.

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GET RYE RECIPE

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🛟 2 (More) Ways I Can Help You Today

• Read why dough temperatures are so important in baking.
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• In the dry, cold winter here's how I store my baked loaves to ensure they stay as fresh as possible for as long as possible.

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Stay warm and happy baking,

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Maurizio Leo

P.S. Many of you were emailing that my cookbook has been out of stock, it's finally back (and on sale again)!

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