I have made sough dough bread using Peter Reinhart's recipes as a
basis for about 4 years now - mostly on a weekly basis. Recently I
have been having a lot better success and there are two possible
reason I think - probably both are significant. (Note I have adapted
the recipes based on other books and web postings I have read so
there are other variables too but these are the most significant.
1. I now feed my starter much better than I used to and ensure it is
really lively before using it.
2. I now keep the dough warmer during rising - I don't think 67F is
warm enough - maybe 75F would be better. It being summer here in NZ
right now helps a lot and bread tends to rise too rapidly.
What I am doing now is starting with 100gm of poolish I double it a
couple of days after the last use (from the fridge) and leave it in
the fridge. Repeat after a couple more days - warming for a few hours
to let it come to life properly first, then cool again. About 1/2 day
later I warm it to room temp, double it again when it seems really
alive and when it is really foaming again I use most of the poolish
for my loaf - probably it amounts to 70% of the total flour and
pretty much all the water. Add a little spelt or rye flour, knead,
rest, add salt, knead, rise, shape, proof and bake.
I do this about once or twice a week. I do sometimes make a wholemeal
miche or rye bread from the same starter but then I follow the
Reinhart recipe more closely - but I still think liveliness of the
starter and temperature are key.
Just my way.....
Jim