1. Ideally, your dough should be proofed in a draft free and humid area that will have a consistent temperature. 2. Humidity levels of 60 – 80% work best for dough proofing.
The temperature in which you proof sourdough, not only affects how long you need to ferment it for, but it also affects how well the yeasts and bacteria consume the sugars and in which proportions.
When yeasts are fermenting efficiently, they produce very little byproduct. BUT, these byproducts are what give sourdough bread it’s wonderful sour flavor. 1. Yeasts tend to ferment most efficiently at 80F – 90F (27C – 32C). 2. Bacteria strains tend to ferment efficiently at temperatures outside of those ranges