On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:28:43 GMT, "Dick Adams" >
wrote:

>Some people are still saying that the way to get your bread sour is to =
>let it rise in the refrigerator.

Let the sponge rest in the refrigerator for several days (3 minimum)
after it reaches its peak of fermentation.

>Who can we believe?

Anyone you want.

But I am here to tell you that if I let liquid sponge (so named
because I use all the water for the dough recipe in the sponge, which
makes it somewhat liquid) rest in the refrigerator for at least 3
days, my final product is noticably more sour than if I used the
sponge a few hours after it activated.

I believe the reason for the sponge going to the refrigerator shortly
after fermentation has peaked is to prevent the yeast from exhausting
themselves. I suspect that if you let the sponge rest at room temp for
several days without feeding it, it would not produce as much rise in
the final dough. Just my guess at what could be going on.