Bulk Fermentation Outside Ideal Temperatures For example, if your home is under 20C (68F) then you could leave your dough overnight on the counter for your bulk ferment (as long as you use the correct amount of sourdough starter).
You can absolutely leave sourdough bread to rise overnight - but as always - there are some things you'll need to do to make sure that your bread is successful with an overnight ferment.
No - not at room temperature. If you leave your dough to bulk ferment at room temperature for 24 hours you will end up with a soupy mess (unless it's very, very cold in your home).
For a typical sourdough bread recipe, I let bulk fermentation play out at room temperature over 3 to 5 hours. But this time period is ultimately dictated by the bread you're making, what the recorded desired dough temperature is, and the temperature at which you keep the dough.
Proofing sourdough overnight in the fridge is a great option if you like to bake first thing in the morning. You could plan out your sourdough baking timeline so that your bulk fermentation finishes in the evening. You would then shape your dough and place it into the fridge to proof overnight.
A sourdough cold bulk fermentation is not recommended, as the cold temperatures will not proof the dough adequately. Instead, proof the dough in the fridge overnight after it has already been shaped.
When you put your dough in the fridge it slows the yeast activity down. It takes ten times longer for dough to rise in the fridge than it does at room temperature. This means you can put your dough in the fridge overnight or whilst you are at work and come back to it when you are ready.
A loaf bulk fermenting at 70F/21C may take 12 hours to reach a target rise of 75%. At the 75% rise, the dough is shaped, where it rises 5% more to approximately 80%. The dough then goes into the refrigerator where its rise curve flattens fairly quickly and it slowly rises to 100% over the next 12 hours.
Temperature Too Warm
If your kitchen is too warm, the dough can become a sloppy, wet mess. High temperatures can cause premature over fermentation, which will result in wet, sticky sourdough. You need to make sure that you keep your kitchen at a temperature between 24C - 28C (75F-82F).
Cover the bowl with wrap or a very damp kitchen cloth. Let rest in a warm spot to rise. The dough is ready when it no longer looks dense and has doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 3-12 hours depending on the temperature of your ingredients, the potency of your starter and surrounding environment.
If you leave your bulk fermentation at room temperature overnight it will likely overproof. You can put your dough in the refrigerator to slow things down until morning.
Bulk Fermentation Outside Ideal Temperatures
For example, if your home is under 20C (68F) then you could leave your dough overnight on the counter for your bulk ferment (as long as you use the correct amount of sourdough starter).
When the bulk fermentation goes too long — often when the dough more than doubles or triples in volume — the dough can over ferment. You know the dough has over fermented if, when you turn it out to shape it, it is very slack — if it's like a wet puddle — and very sticky and lacking any strength and elasticity.
Can you leave dough to rise overnight at room temperature? Dough that's left to rise at room temperature typically takes between two and four hours to double in size. If left overnight, the dough can rise so high it will likely collapse on the weight of itself, making the dough deflate.
Most dough will be bulk fermented in some kind of container. Be it a tub or a bowl. Containers often come with lids, so that is the first best way to cover your dough as it goes through bulk fermentation. If your bowl does not have a dedicated well-fitting lid, then you can try and look for alternatives.
The target bulk fermentation temperature range is 78-82F / 25.5-28C. Use a proofing chamber, if necessary, to keep a consistent dough temperature throughout bulk fermentation and continuously measure the dough temperature every 30 minutes at minimum.
The good news: We found an easy way to rescue overproofed dough. Simply punch it down gently, reshape it, and let it proof again for the recommended amount of time. In the test kitchen, these steps resulted in bread that tasters found acceptable in both texture and flavor.
While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed. Instead, the overworked dough will result in a hard loaf that will likely not be eaten. It's important not to overwork your dough and continually check for overworking throughout the kneading process.
You really only need to handle sourdough minimally. Each set of stretch and folds should consist of 4 stretches and folds. You should aim to do around 4 to 6 sets, but you may need less depending on the dough strength.
It was winter and cold in my kitchen when I filmed this. During this season, all of my batches of sourdough are fermenting on the long side. I usually let them bulk ferment 7-9 hours at room temp. Adding warmer water (70-75 degrees) allows me to shorten the timing slightly.
Most bread recipes have two rises, a first rise (also called bulk fermentation), and a second or final rise. You can chill your dough during either the first or second rise. Your yeast won't give you much love if it's asked to do both rises in the fridge, so it's best to do one or the other at room temperature.
In short, if all of the sugars have been consumed, the answer is yes. The longer the fermentation process takes, the more sugar is converted into alcohol. As more sugar is converted, the resulting beer will feature a higher alcohol content.
If you want to get a head-start on your baking, letting your bread or roll dough rise in the fridge overnight can be a huge help. Chilling the dough will slow down the yeast activity, but it doesn't stop it completely.
The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag. Below is an example of a severely overproofed sandwich loaf. The fix is to bake it or try to reshape and proof again.