I tried a 72-hour cold ferment on my pizza dough and it turned into a sourdough starter

I followed a recipe from a chef in Chicago to the letter, kept it in my fridge for the full three days. When I went to ball it up, it was super bubbly and smelled like a brewery. Baked it anyway and the crust was way too sour, almost inedible. Learned that my fridge runs a bit warm, around 45 degrees, which basically started wild fermentation. Now I have to figure out how to control the temp better. Anyone have a good method for a true cold ferment without it going sour?

3 comments

3 Comments

derek_lee28d ago

That warm fridge basically gave you a head start on natural leavening. You might try cutting the yeast amount in half for a long ferment at that temp, since it slows down the activity. A cheap thermometer in the fridge is your best friend here.

skyler_robinson228d ago

Actually, a warm fridge sounds like a recipe for food going bad faster... I'd get that fixed before trying to bake in it.

kelly.patricia28d agoMost Upvoted

My fridge runs so warm it could probably proof a whole sourdough starter by itself! @derek_lee is right about the thermometer, because mine is basically a cozy little proofing box for leftovers. I found a jar of pickles fermenting extra fast next to the milk. At this point, I should just skip the oven and bake my bread directly on the bottom shelf.