Same Day Bake vs Next Day Bake

Here is a research I recently conducted on the same day bake vs the next day bake and wanted to share my findings with you:

Dough

• 74% hydration, 
• 90% bread flour
• 10% whole wheat flour
• 20% levain
• 2% salt

You can learn how to make sourdough bread from scratch here.

I started with the whole piece of dough. Performed 4 stretches and folds every 40 minutes, then 30 minutes final warm proof (up to 40% rise), then split 2 equal parts, preshaped, left to rest 30 minutes, then shaped and transferred into a proofing baskets.

The two dough pieces were treated differently:

Loaf #1

It was left to proof for 40 minutes at a room temperature, then it was moved to the freezer (for 45minutes).

The freezer part was supposed to help with scoring.

While the dough was still in the freezer, I preheated the oven (500F for 45 minutes).

Then right from the freezer dough was scored, and baked in The Challenger Bread Pan at 500F for 15 minutes with lid on, then at 450F for 20 minutes without the lid.

Loaf #2

After shaping, it was moved to the fridge (40F/4C) for 18 hours. Then right from the fridge the dough was scored, and baked in The Challenger Bread Pan at 500F for 15 minutes with lid on, then at 450F for 20 minutes without the lid.

Here are the results:

Loaf #1 

• didn’t get any ear, I still find it hard to score the loaf even after the freezer. Most likely it’s just my lack of experience scoring the soft dough.
• didn’t get any blisters 
• The crumb was open , but still tighter than we used to see after cold fermented dough.
• The crumb got soft faster after baking, lost its crunchiness.
• No sour flavor at all, had rather bold flavor.

Loaf #2 

• Ear ✔️
• Blisters ✔️
• Open even crumb ✔️
• Crusty crust ✔️
• Deep flavor ✔️

Conclusion

• Both loaves turned out great, my kids loved loaf #1 for the bolder flavor and soft crust. Also they liked the crumb with less holes, so Nutella could be spread evenly 😁

• For me, of course, loaf #2 was the winner.

It took more time to make, but it was definitely worth it.

I know that in order to do a proper scientific test you have to perform at least 3 trials. This was my first one and more to come 😊