I tried a 72-hour cold ferment on my pizza dough and it turned into a sourdough starter
I followed a recipe from a chef in Chicago to the letter, kept it in my fridge for the full three days. When I went to ball it up, it was super bubbly and smelled like a brewery. Baked it anyway and the crust was way too sour, almost inedible. Learned that my fridge runs a bit warm, around 45 degrees, which basically started wild fermentation. Now I have to figure out how to control the temp better. Anyone have a good method for a true cold ferment without it going sour?
That warm fridge basically gave you a head start on natural leavening. You might try cutting the yeast amount in half for a long ferment at that temp, since it slows down the activity. A cheap thermometer in the fridge is your best friend here.
My fridge runs so warm it could probably proof a whole sourdough starter by itself! @derek_lee is right about the thermometer, because mine is basically a cozy little proofing box for leftovers. I found a jar of pickles fermenting extra fast next to the milk. At this point, I should just skip the oven and bake my bread directly on the bottom shelf.
...so you're saying your fridge is basically running at room temp or even warmer on some days? Have you actually checked what the temp is with a proper thermometer or just going by feel? Because if it's really that warm, your milk and eggs aren't gonna last long...