Maison Fare - Sourdough Baking - Plan or Improvise?

Choose to Plan or Improvise

Like growing plants in a garden, certain parts of baking naturally fermented bread cannot be rushed. But unlike gardening, which can be disrupted by an unexpected rainfall or heat wave, a home baker has many tools at their disposal to create an environment that works with their schedule, rather than controls it.

Instead of starting with a recipe that only offers one timeline or way of doing things, we recommend looking at the baker’s available tools (see Equipment), environment, and goals and then adapting their path forward accordingly.

Nature cannot be rushed

In today’s supermarket, we can get certain fruits and vegetables any time of year. But have you found that oftentimes a supermarket tomato doesn’t taste like a tomato should? Similarly, there are ways to make bread in 30 minutes, but calling it bread is a stretch at that point.

With our method, the key constraints of natural fermentation mean that the minimum time to a finished loaf is 18 hours. However, depending on your environment and preferences, the process could be stretched out to as long as 60 hours.

Key drivers of planning are ambient temperature, your schedule, and flavor preference

Warmer temperatures mean your bread is done sooner (but, just like certain seeds simply won’t sprout if it’s too hot or cold, you must stay within the ideal range of 68°-85°F)

Since we are providing all ingredients, Maison Fare’s method allows for a high degree of predictability compared to processes that rely on a wild starter. For bakers who value precision and predictability, we have created a timetable of fermentation times based on ambient temperature.

Longer and colder fermentations mean a bolder, more sour flavor and more flexibility. After an initial 16-20h time spent at room temperature, the dough can go in the fridge and then go straight into the oven at any point within the next 2 days.

Schedule constraints can dictate certain methods - utilizing the refrigerator, a loaf pan, temperature control, and different kneading are some of the options offered in the Maison Fare process that allow bakers to find ways to make bread that work for their schedule.

Try letting go

While our method does offer many options for predictability and flexibility, we realize that over-thinking and over-controlling has the potential to lead to unwelcome stress. At the end of the day, sourdough means connecting with nature, and people have been baking bread long before thermometers and mixers were readily available.

Therefore, we highlight key points during the process to pay attention via smell, sight, and touch. Baking in this way allows the baker to worry less about the outcome and enjoy the process by connecting with the dough on a very grounded level. It might just offer the mindful break that we often crave in our busy world.

Choose to Plan or Improvise

Key principles of planning:

Nature cannot be rushed

Key drivers of planning are ambient temperature, your schedule, and flavor preference

Try letting go

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