If you have been making sourdough bread as long as I have, you will be able to guess the temperature of your kitchen by what you see happening with your dough and how fast it happened. This works in real-time but doesn’t allow you to determine ahead of time how fast your dough will grow. However, knowing the room temperature, allows you to control how your dough behaves. When you’re working around children, work and beach lazing… you want to be the boss of timing!
The BLME Sourdough process removes most of the timing guesswork by working with the temperature of your kitchen. The only thing you need to know is what temperature range your kitchen is when you’re making BLME sourdough.
5 Ways to find out your room temperature
1. Purchase an inexpensive room thermometer.
I bought mine from ebay. Digital is super easy to read and some come with magnets to stick on your fridge or a small stand to sit on a shelf or bench.
2. Use your air conditioner.
Air conditioning units have a thermostat that is constantly measuring your indoor temperature. Check the screen of your remote control or the control panel.
3. Let your sourdough tell you
No matter the season or temperature, it takes 3 feeds for your BLME Sourdough flakes to become active for bread making. How long between feeds is determined by the temperature. The timing is written into each recipe, based on how cool or warm your kitchen is at the time. However, there is another way to work out when the next feed should be and when to make your dough.
Your sourdough will tell you by its level of activity and how long it took to get there.
Use an elastic band on your jar or a whiteboard marker to mark the original level so you can see when the sourdough has doubled
| FEED 1 | All kitchen temperatures | After 24 hours | there is no noticeable change |
| FEED 2 | Your kitchen is Moderate or Warm if after | 12 hours | your sourdough becomes bubbly on the surface/sides or doubles in size |
| Your kitchen is Cool if after | 24 hours | your sourdough becomes bubbly on the surface, sides or doubles in size | |
| FEED 3 | Your kitchen is Warm if after | 9 hours | your sourdough doubles |
| Your kitchen is Moderate if after | 12 hours | your sourdough doubles^* | |
| Your kitchen is Cool if after | 24 hours | your sourdough doubles |
^ Sometimes, if you’re using the Moderate or Warm recipes and you have a cool day, your Sourdough may need the extra time to double. This is not ideal if you are following the recipe timeline because your dough may be made late at night and left to rise overnight which is too long in this temperature range. If you know the day will be cooler than expected, place your sourdough somewhere cosy like next to your internet router to maintain the warmer temperature range and keep to the schedule. If it’s unavoidable and your sourdough needs the extra time, and your schedule is pushed into the night. Make the dough before you go to bed and place it in the coolest part of your house to rise overnight. Shape it first thing the next morning. Don’t let the dough exhaust (and deflate) by leaving it too long.
* Sometimes, if you’re using the Cool recipe and you have a warm day, or heat house for a few hours, your sourdough may respond by doubling within 12 hours of Feed 3, instead of the recommended 24 hours. This is how much temperature can change things! If this happens, don’t leave it for the remaining 12 hours, it will exhaust itself and deflate, rendering it unable to rise bread. Instead, bring the schedule forward and move straight on to the Dough & Rise. If you can, check your dough after 9 hours to see if it’s doubled faster due to the warm temperatures too.
4. Use the weather
Below is a rough guide of what your kitchen might look like throughout the year depending on the season. It’s not foolproof but if you don’t have a thermometer to tell you exactly what the temperature is, this will help. What it exactly looks like for you will depend on where you live and how you manage the temperature of your home during that season.
| Season | What’s happening inside | General temperature of your kitchen & which recipe to use Click through to recipe |
| Early Spring | You’re not heating or cooling your house | Cool |
| You’re heating or cooling your house some of the time | Moderate | |
| Late Spring | You’re not heating or cooling your house | Moderate |
| You’re heating or cooling your house some of the time | Moderate | |
| Summer | You’re cooling your house most of the time but not below 18°C (65°F) | Moderate |
| You’re cooling your house some of the time | Warm | |
| You’re not cooling your house | Warm | |
Early Autumn | You’re not heating or cooling your house | Warm |
| You’re heating your house some of the time E.G at night | Moderate | |
| Late Autumn | You’re not heating or cooling your house | Cool |
| You’re heating your house some of the time E.G at night | Moderate | |
| Winter | You’re heating your house some of the time E.G at night | Cool |
| You’re heating your house most of the time day/evening | Moderate | |
| You’re heating your house all of the time but not above 23°C (74°F) | Moderate | |
| You’re heating your house like you’re in the Tropics – above 24°C (75°F) | Warm |
5. Use your body.
This is in no way accurate!! But if you really don’t know the room temperature and which recipe to use, your sourdough will likely be feeling like you are. Cool, warm or just right! Try these indicators:
Cool – You’re wearing a jumper or dressing gown etc and you’re not hot
Moderate (Most) – You’re wearing a T-Shirt or light long-sleeved top and you’re neither hot or cold
Warm – You’re wearing a TShirt and you’re feeling a bit warm
This method works best when combined with point number 3 above: Let your sourdough tell you
Once you start to pay attention to the temperature of your kitchen (you didn’t before hey?!😊) and get used to the rhythm of your BLME Sourdough you’ll be able to play with the timing and temperature to suit you. You will be the boss of your sourdough and we wouldn’t want it any other way!
