Dough – How to “cheat” on dough maturation

doughfocacciasourdoughsourdough-starter

I found a good balance between leavening and maturation while using my favourite flour, my oven and my sourdough starter, the only problem is that the whole process, from mixing the ingredients and producing a baked dough/focaccia requires more than 24h, about 1 day and a half.

I know at least 2 ways of "cheating" on the leavening, with some fructose/easy to digest sugar or a warmer temperature, but maturation is harder, it looks like there is no real answer or shortcut to that.

My main problem here is to shorten the amount of time required while getting the same or a really similar result.

Best Answer

The easiest method, and most common in a commercial setting, would be to add a small amount of yeast in addition to the sourdough starter. You will probably have to reformulate a bit, as the dough will mature faster leaving the starter less time to develop flavor. This is usually overcome by also increasing the proportion of starter (and adjusting the final dough's hydration based on the hydration of your starter).

For instance, if your original recipe included 30% starter (in baker's math), the faster version might have 40% starter and .5% yeast. If you use a liquid starter, you may then cut the water by 5% or so, and if you use a solid starter no further adjustment may be needed.