34 minutes ago, Chris Hennes said:@paulraphael When you say "Highest relative activity of LAB is around 50–55°F" are you quoting the article, or reading that off the chart? From the image it looks like the whole low- and high-end of the temperature range is dominated by the LAB, with the yeast only becoming equally active around the middle of the range. It looks like a proof stage at 39°F (my preference for convenience) or 55°F (MB's preference, for taste) both yield a relatively high level of lactic acid production.
I'm looking at the chart. And yeah, you're right, the high and low end are dominated by LAB. I'm not paying attention to anything below 45F or so, because the resolution of the graph is too low there to really make anything out, and because all activity is quite low generally. I realize many people like to to delay fermentation in the fridge for convenience, and that that's the best temp control in the house, but I think to really know what's going on down there we'd need a higher resolution graph. I'm also pretty convinced that the organisms in my own starter just go to sleep by 40F or so. I don't see any activity.
Edited to add: I just noticed that the chart has ratios in the righthand column. At 40% it shows a very high ratio, but follows it with a question mark, which suggests that this is extrapolated data. There's a guy on the pizzamaking forum who's well-pickled in all the sourdough science, and in response to questions about refrigerator fermentation he just says the science isn't there—the studies focus on temperature ranges where the littel bugs are most active. So for now we may have to settle for empirical evidence.
