Sourdough Bread Refrigerator Method
Posted on April 14th, 2020
Today I want to share with you my sourdough bread refrigerator method. Letting your sourdough prove in the fridge is a way of slowing down the rise, so that you can bake it when you are ready. Sourdough bread can be time consuming to make, and it can be difficult to fit it all in in just one day.
Leaving it to rise in the fridge overnight means you can just pop it into the oven the next morning. This can be handy if you don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen, or simply need to go out during the day.
It gives you more flexibility over timing. If you’re an early bird, you can bake your bread first thing in the morning and enjoy it for breakfast. Or cook it later in the morning and have it with your lunch.
Sourdough Sponge
You can make sourdough bread directly from a starter, however I prefer to make a sponge (also known as pre-ferment or levain) as this gives more consistent results. It improves the rise of the bread, gives better elasticity to the gluten, and reduces the amount of kneading required. It also helps to develop the flavour of the loaf.
To make a sponge you simply mix a small amount of your starter with flour and water, and leave it out, covered with a wet tea towel, overnight. Yes, this means that the refrigerator method of making sourdough is actually a 3-day process:
- Day 1: In the evening, create your sourdough sponge.
- Day 2: Make and work the dough. Leave in the fridge overnight.
- Day 3: In the morning, bake and enjoy!
Autolyse
If you take a peek at the recipe, you’ll notice that in the first step, you do not knead the dough. This is very important! You just mix the ingredients and leave them to rest for up to 2 and a half hours. This is a baking technique known as autolysing. This extra time gives the flour the opportunity to absorb the water gradually. This then allows the gluten to relax, which makes the dough easier to work with. You will find this gives you a better loaf of bread – and is less work for you!
If you want more hands-on help with your sourdough then take a look at my Sourdough Made Simple workshops, where I’ll also teach you techniques for working the dough, and how to know your dough is ready by look and feel. But I’ve shared my recipe here so you can still experiment at home, even if you’re not ready to book a class yet. I’d love to see how you get on – share your baking photos on social media and tag me @canterburybakingschool!
Sourdough Bread Refrigerator Method
Here’s a video showing how to make sourdough bread using the refrigerator method. The recipe at the end of the video is slightly different to the one below, but it still follows the same method. You can see how I work with the dough. I will also show you how the dough should look and feel at each stage of the process.
Sourdough Bread Refrigerator Method
Ingredients
- 300 g sourdough sponge
- 250 g water room temperature
- 10 g salt
- 500 g flour
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix well until it forms into a loose ball. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for up to 2 and a half hours.
- Lift, fold and rotate in the bowl for around 10 minutes. Re-cover with the damp tea towel and leave to rest for another 30 minutes.
- Repeat step 2 another 2 - 3 times, waiting 30 minutes in between.
- Lightly coat your work surface with oil and dust your hands with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and pull out, fold in, roll and tuck the dough to create tension.
- Place in a well-floured banneton, or other suitable container. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
- In the morning, pre-heat your oven to 200C. Turn the bread out onto a tray and score.
- Once the oven is hot, place your bread inside. After 10-15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 190C and bake for a further 30 minutes, until golden brown.
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