Hi. I've been drawn more and more into the world of sourdough and bread
making in the last few weeks, and been trying to learn as much as I
can, mostly from this newsgroup and the FAQ (and from making bread).

For most of the things (ok, not most, but some) I could understand the
reasoning. But one new thing I've seen which I didn't understand was
about reviving an old starter. In the doctor FAQ it says to refrigerate
the starter (for at least 12 hours) between proofs. What the
refrigeration is for? Is it use for some sort of rest for something?

Thanks
Ziv

On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 05:13:17 -0700, Connoisseur wrote:

> Hi. I've been drawn more and more into the world of sourdough and bread
> making in the last few weeks, and been trying to learn as much as I can,
> mostly from this newsgroup and the FAQ (and from making bread).
>
> For most of the things (ok, not most, but some) I could understand the
> reasoning. But one new thing I've seen which I didn't understand was about
> reviving an old starter. In the doctor FAQ it says to refrigerate the
> starter (for at least 12 hours) between proofs. What the refrigeration is
> for? Is it use for some sort of rest for something?
>
> Thanks
> Ziv

I don't have a good (chemical) explanation for it, but the fridge is more
important for me than the oven. After keeping the starter in the fridge
for one week I can make 100% rye bread and it is glutenous! I use wheat
flour starter and mix it into the rye (first a sponge then the proper
dough). I keep the finished dough for about 20h in the fridge and then
bake it. It doubles in size before baking. And the crumb is moist and
firm, not crumbly at all.

JB