Yes, sourdough should be at room temperature before baking. This step is crucial for achieving a successful rise and a well-developed flavor in your sourdough bread.
Sourdough is a type of bread made from a fermented dough, primarily consisting of flour and water, along with a sourdough starter (a mixture of flour and water that contains wild yeast and lactobacilli bacteria). The fermentation process is what gives sourdough its distinct tangy flavor and helps with gluten development.
Before baking sourdough bread, it undergoes two fermentation stages: the bulk fermentation and the final proofing (also known as the second rise). During bulk fermentation, the dough is left to ferment at room temperature for several hours, usually 3 to 4 hours, or even longer depending on the recipe and the ambient temperature. This extended fermentation allows the wild yeast and bacteria in the sourdough starter to produce carbon dioxide, which creates bubbles in the dough, leading to a rise.
After bulk fermentation, the dough is shaped into a loaf and then goes through the final proofing stage. This step allows the dough to relax, rise a bit more, and develop its characteristic sour flavor fully. Again, the final proofing is done at room temperature, typically for 1 to 2 hours.
Therefore, it is essential to let your sourdough come to room temperature before baking to ensure that the fermentation process can continue and the dough can rise adequately. Baking cold dough will hinder the rise and may result in a dense and less flavorful loaf. By allowing the dough to reach room temperature, you are giving it the best chance to achieve the desired texture, flavor, and volume in the final baked bread.