Why did my load turn out so well?
So I have a strange one here... I make a white spelt loaf 2-3 times a week, about 80% white spelt, 15% white wheat, 5% whole meal spelt. I normally let it bulk ferment until it's about risen around 50-75%, if I let it double it usually looses its strength and is over proved. I then shape and leave in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning.
Yesterday I forgot to shape my loaf before I went out for the evening. When I got back the dough had risen to nearly 200%. I thought I'd bake it anyway and see what happened. To my surprise while shaping the dough lacked a little bit of strengthen but wasn't too bad. When I baked this morning it's risen really well, I was expecting a pancake!
So the only thing that is different is I have a sourdough starter home that keeps my starter at 12c all time. From doing this I have noticed my starter usually smells very fruity and that my starter (white wheat flour) generally has a strong gluten structure even after it's risen and fallen. I know that different temperatures favour different yeast and bacteria so I'm wondering if the colder temperature I keep the starter at now favouring a culture that does not break down the gluten very quickly and therefor allows longer bulk fermentation?
I'd be interested to hear peoples thoughts on this. I've included a picture of the loaf and the sourdough starter home. I've not cut the loaf open yet as it's still cooling.
That's a good looking loaf, all right, especially for spelt. What's the hydration?
About retarding the starter, the cooler temperature would reduce the activity of the various enzymes including ones that tend to degrade the protein (i.e., gluten). An extra long fermentation would also produce more acid, but I don't think it would be a factor in your case. It would take more time.
I think the hydration is about 65% at the moment, I haven't worked it out. Over time I've slowly increased the ratio of spelt flour but had to reduce the hydration from the 70% I was using before. Now that I have a colder starter I might try increasing the hydration to see if it can handle it with the stronger gluten it gives.