Avoid over-fermentation of your idli, dosa batter; here’s why

Overfermentation of batter is indeed a risk, especially in recipes that rely on the production of gases (like carbon dioxide) through fermentation for leavening, such as in bread or certain types of pancakes, said Dr Nirupama Rao, nutritionist, Rejua Energy Centre, Mumbai.

Yeast-Based Batters: In yeast-based batters like bread dough, overfermentation can occur if the dough is left to rise for too long. The yeast consumes all the available sugars, and the dough becomes overinflated, losing structure and flavour.

Baking Powder/Soda Batters: In batters that use chemical leavening agents (baking powder/soda), overfermentation can result from excessive gas production before baking. This can lead to a batter that collapses and produces undesirable textures.

According to Dr Das, there is a “great difference between eating fresh fermented and stale/rotten food”. “The good fermenting bacteria in big numbers is unacceptable for human consumption. It can lead to acid reflux, indigestion, stomach infection too,” she added.

Clinical dietitian Garima Goyal also mentioned that this batter should be consumed within 24 hours of its full fermentation and not anytime later. “If the batter is over-fermented, it may either be too thick or too thin. Either way, the texture of the food cooked will be undesirable. Supposing the dosa batter is over-fermented and too thick, the dosa will be hard and spongy and if the batter is too thin, it will be hard to fold that dosa and unpalatable to taste too. The batter is of no use if you don’t get the desired food texture.”

Using stale batter can affect your digestion (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

How to know the batter is rotten/stale?

*Foul smelling
*Too much sourness to taste
*Oil-like thin film deposited over the batter

According to Goyal, causes of overfermentation include:

– The temperature used to ferment was too high.
– Too much salt was added to the batter.
– The batter wasn’t refrigerated post-fermentation.

Dr Das further said that although some practices like putting mustard oil on top and changing the storing utensils are practiced, none is so fruitful as a fresh batter.

So, what is your takeaway?

Prepare a fresh batter, ferment it overnight, and consume it within the next 24 hours to get the best results, Goyal mentioned.

 

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To avoid overfermentation

Dr Rao said:

*Check the dough or batter periodically during fermentation. It should double in size for most recipes. Once it has reached this point, it’s usually time to move on to the next step.

*Set a timer to keep track of fermentation time. This helps prevent forgetting about the dough or batter and letting it over-ferment.

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