autolyse temperature
I have been sourdough baking around a year and a half with results I felt could have been better but were generally OK. During that period I had put together a proof box I could control remotely which I had been using to basically speed up the rise of bulk ferments and starters. I have recently woke up to monitoring when to cut off bulk fermenting when dough temp is ~26-27C and rise post stretch and fold is no greater than ~15-20% after which I shape then cold retard. This greatly improved results (see pic above) but with ambient in our home ~20-21C it takes awhile in the PB to pull up to my desired temperature if dough is at ambient. I can adjust water, flour and starter temperatures when making my dough to get close to the temperature I want to bulk ferment at but can I start with an autolyse at a higher than ambient temperature?
An autolyse is just a rest and can be done at any temperature you like. And if it's without leavening, it can be as long as you like. Well, there are probably limits but some people do one for 12 hours or longer. If you want the most in flavor, a 12-hour rest will make you happy. The dough will feel great too.
TomP
Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking of a 30-60 min autolyse before adding salt and starter if not already on board. I can pretty much hold that temp in my PB during autolyse ... as with S&F and shaping the temperatureI will drop a bit kneading in salt but that seems to be about a 2C drop at most from whatever it was to start with.
When you do an autolyse, you mix water and flour and let them hang out for a bit, so the gluten can start developing, without adding any starter or salt. Usually takes about an hour at room temp. But if you warm up the water to a nice lukewarm state (say, 86-90°F), it'll help boost the dough temp, and the fermentation will get going quicker.