When it comes to sourdough baking, temperature is key to your starter thriving and your dough rising. Whether you have a new or old starter temperature is crucial for fermentation and flavor development. From creating the right environment for your starter to understanding how temperature affects the stages of the baking process, this guide will walk you through temperature and how to control it.
What’s the Ideal Temperature for a Starter?
The sweet spot for your starter is between 70°F and 80°F (21°C to 27°C). This range promotes active yeast growth while ensuring that unwanted bacteria don’t thrive.
If your starter is too cold, it will be sluggish and the dough or starter will take longer to rise, ferment and peak.
At the same time, temperatures above 85°F (30°C) can be harmful to your starter. If your starter has been in a hot environment for too long, it could be a goner. While sourdough starters are very resilient to cold, high heat can kill the wild yeast, or foster an environment for undesirable bacteria and even mold. Higher temperatures can also lead to a more acidic starter, which is not ideal for making bread.
When leaving my starter at room temperature or after feeding it, I always aim for a room temperature spot, while avoiding direct heat to keep my starter happy and healthy.
Note: Your sourdough starter needs an ambient at room temperature to slightly warm, but never direct heat. Direct heat can cause the starter to cook and kill the yeast. The type of flour you use can affect the strength of your sourdough starter, but temperature is the most important factor.
How to Control Temperature of Your Starter
I’m going to be honest: most of the time, I don’t do much to control the temperature of my starter. First, because mine is very well established and lives in the fridge (I use it to bake only 3 to 4 times a week). My kitchen is constantly at the right temperature for it to be happy and bubbly after a feeding, as are many kitchens.
But during some winter months, I pay a bit more attention to it. The colder it gets, the lazier it becomes after a feeding. During these days, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to create the perfect environment for my starter:
- I place my starter jar in the oven with the light on — if you do that, just ensure the oven stays off!
- I find a warm spot in the kitchen, near a heater or on top of the refrigerator.
For making it warmer, you can also use:
- Proofing Box: A proofing box ensures an ideal temperature for your starter (which can also be good for the dough).
- Heating Pad: If you have one, this is an inexpensive way to keep your starter at a consistent temperature.
During hot summer months, I store my starter in a cooler, darker place after feeding it, like a kitchen cabinet, to avoid overheating.
What Temperature Kills Your Starter? Yeast dies at temperatures above 140°F (60°C). It's best to avoid exposing your starter to temperatures above 120°F (49°C) for long periods.
How Temperature Affects the Dough
Like any yeast, sourdough is highly sensitive to temperature. Ideal fermentation occurs between 76-78°F (24-26°C) for both the starter and dough.
Cooler temperatures (below 70°F/21°C) slow fermentation significantly. It might cause the dough to underproof, or take longer times to finish bulk rise.
On the contrary, warmer temperatures (above 85°F/29°C) can accelerate fermentation, leading to an overly sour flavor. It can also cause overproofing, as the dough will warm up faster and run out of food more quickly.
For example, during the summer, I never let my dough double in size before shaping it for cold fermentation: it rises to 50% max of its size before I shape it. This is because it takes time for the dough to cool down to the temperature that halts fermentation once it's placed in the fridge. As a result, it continues fermenting in the refrigerator and often overproofs.
Some of my tips for managing dough temperature are:
- Use Lukewarm or Cool Water: Water is the easiest ingredient to control in sourdough baking. Adjust the temperature of your dough by adding warm water (for a warmer dough) or cool water (for a slower fermentation), depending on your ingredients and room conditions.
- Track the Temperature: Use a thermometer to monitor your dough’s temperature. Colder dough will take longer to rise (a 65°F/18°C dough can take up to 16 hours to finish bulk fermentation), while warmer dough may ferment too fast (an 80°F/27°C dough can fully ferment in just 5 hours).
Maintaining the right temperature is essential for consistent sourdough results. With a thermometer and a little strategy, you can master fermentation and bake perfect loaves every time!
linda
ok i am day 2 into my starter, (using another website recipe but same basic equal parts water and king arthur bread flour) anyways it looks great, doubling in size beautifully, color is good but it smells like vomit! seriously and so sticky I can barely wash the jars, what have I done wrong? I’ve made sour dough many times but my other recipe had gotten so it would not rise, so I was trying this basic recipe, the other starter used sugar, instant potatoes, flour, water, instant yeast, it taste great but it’s hit or miss, I don’t know why I love that recipe anyway back to the vomit smelling starter, throw it away? but what went wrong? any help would be appreciated
Milk and Pop
Hi Linda,
Was the jar clean before starting? Did you leave it uncovered? It is sticky, that's probably normal. I can't really tell about the smell, mine was ok in the beginning but it does have a kind of sweet and sour aroma. I don't mind, but I have friends that find it disgusting.
Feel free to e-mail me if you need help!