Baking Sourdough in Cooler Weather 🍂
Fall is here, and at least where I am, the temperatures have definitely started to drop. That also means my kitchen is cooler, and I’ve started making a few small adjustments to my sourdough baking.
Temperature is one of the most important variables in fermentation. If you’re used to proofing your dough at room temperature, you might suddenly notice that the same recipe and schedule you used all summer isn’t behaving the same way anymore.
I’m dealing with this myself right now. I have a small proofer, which I definitely use when I can, but when I’m mixing larger batches of dough, they simply don’t fit. That means I’m back to fermenting at room temperature and paying much closer attention to dough temperature.
One of the first adjustments I make is increasing the amount of levain in my formula. I use my Excel recipes to make the adjustment, and a modest increase in levain can help keep fermentation moving at a similar pace when the room is cooler.
I’ll also start my autolyse or initial mix with warmer water. On my last mix, my water was around 35–36°C / 95–97°F.
Here’s another little trick that I use all the time.
After I mix in my levain, but before adding Water 2, I take the temperature of the dough. This gives me another opportunity to make an adjustment. Instead of blindly adding Water 2 at whatever temperature comes out of the tap, I can use its temperature to help get the dough where I want it.
Today, for example, my Water 2 was around 30°C / 86°F, which gave me a final dough temperature of approximately 29°C / 84°F.
That might sound warm, but remember: the temperature of your dough doesn’t stay where it started.
After about three hours of bulk fermentation in my cooler kitchen, that dough had dropped to around 26.5°C / 80°F, which is a great temperature for fermentation.
This is also where dough mass matters. A large batch of dough will hold onto heat differently than a single loaf. Smaller batches generally move toward room temperature faster, while a large mass of dough can retain heat for much longer. So you can’t necessarily take the temperatures and timings from someone else’s bake and expect your dough to behave exactly the same way.
And this is why I really recommend having a simple probe thermometer around when you bake bread. Don’t guess. Take the temperature.
If your dough suddenly seems slow, I wouldn’t just blindly add another hour or two to bulk fermentation. First ask yourself what actually changed. What percentage of levain did you use? What was your water temperature? What was your final dough temperature? How big is the batch? And what is the temperature of the room?
You can also make simple environmental adjustments. Keep your dough away from cold windows, exterior doors and drafts. Move it somewhere warmer in the house. If you use your oven with the light on as a makeshift proofer, just keep an eye on the temperature — some oven lights can make it surprisingly warm.
Even your equipment can make a difference. A cold mixing bowl or fermentation container will pull some heat from your dough, so in a really cold kitchen I’ll sometimes warm the container first.
There isn’t one final dough temperature that I think everyone needs to hit every single time. Your flour, dough size, fermentation schedule, room temperature and process are all different.
The important thing is understanding that temperature is another tool you can control.
A little more levain. Warmer mixing water. Adjusting the temperature of Water 2. Moving the dough somewhere warmer. Paying attention to dough mass. And, most importantly, actually taking the temperature of your dough.
Those little adjustments can make a huge difference and help keep your bakes consistent as the seasons change.
Buckwheat Milk Buns from Fogo Island 🌾
While I was cooking at Fogo Island Inn last week, I made a variation of my Tangzhong Milk Buns for dinner service that turned out so well.
I took my regular milk bun recipe and gave it a buckwheat spin. Instead of the seeds I normally use, I folded cooked buckwheat into the dough, and I also replaced the flour in the tangzhong with buckwheat flour.
They were epic.
The buckwheat gave the buns this really beautiful nutty, earthy flavour while they still had everything I love about the original recipe — incredibly soft, fluffy and perfect for pulling apart at the table. The team at Fogo loved them too.
With Thanksgiving coming up this weekend, these would be so good on the table with turkey and gravy. You can follow my original Tangzhong Milk Buns recipe and make them exactly as written, or try the buckwheat variation I made at Fogo.
I’ll definitely be making these again.
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My Favourite Sourdough Stuffing 🦃
I’ve been making some version of this stuffing for a very long time, and it’s still one of my favourite things on the Thanksgiving table. Honestly, give me a big pile of stuffing, some turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and I’m happy.
This one is made with stale sourdough, sausage, double-smoked bacon, apricots, walnuts and plenty of fresh herbs. The sourdough absorbs all of that stock and fat while it cooks, but you still get those crispy pieces around the edges — which are easily my favourite part.
The recipe also has a bit of history for me. I spent four and a half years working for Chef Daniel Boulud and cooked through more holiday services than I can count. A lot of what I learned about making stuffing properly came from those kitchens, and I’ve continued making it this way ever since.
The best part for Thanksgiving? You can make the whole thing ahead, refrigerate it for up to two days and bake it when you’re ready. One less thing to worry about when you have a turkey in the oven and twelve other things happening at once.
This Week in Muskoka — My Mother’s Pumpkin 🎃
We’re heading up to Muskoka for Thanksgiving this weekend, and there’s one dish I already know I want to make.
My Mother’s Pumpkin.
This is a dish I first learned while working for Chef Daniel Boulud, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: you take a whole pumpkin, cut a lid from the top and hollow it out. Then you stuff the entire thing and bake it until the pumpkin is completely tender, and the filling inside is hot, creamy and bubbling.
It’s honestly one of the coolest Thanksgiving dishes you can put on the table.
The version I remember making used toasted bread, bacon, cheese, cream, nuts and seeds, but this is also one of those dishes where you can really make it your own.
Start with a good edible pumpkin, not a carving pumpkin. Cut a fairly large lid from the top and scoop out all of the seeds and stringy bits. Season the inside well with salt and pepper.
From there, think of it almost like building a savoury bread pudding inside a pumpkin.
I’ll use some good sourdough that has been cut into large cubes and toasted until dry. Then you can layer in whatever you like: cooked sausage, bacon, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, herbs, roasted squash, toasted nuts or seeds. For cheese, Gruyère is incredible, but Comté, cheddar, Parmesan or a combination would all work.
Layer everything inside the pumpkin, seasoning as you go, and then pour in enough seasoned cream or half-and-half to soak into the bread without completely flooding it.
Put the lid back on and bake the entire pumpkin at around 175°C / 350°F until a paring knife slides easily through the flesh. Depending on the size and variety of your pumpkin, that could easily take 1½–2+ hours, so use the pumpkin rather than the clock to tell you when it’s done.
And because I’ll be in Muskoka, I think I’m going to finish mine in the wood-fired oven this year. A little smoke and extra colour on the outside should be pretty incredible.
When you bring the whole thing to the table, take the lid off and scoop down the sides so everyone gets some of the roasted pumpkin along with that cheesy, savoury sourdough filling.
Total Thanksgiving showstopper.
The photo here is actually from last year — I haven’t made this year’s yet. I’m heading north this weekend, and I’ll share how this version turns out!
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Happy Baking,
MJD
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