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.
Warm Bulk Fermentation 80F/27C Dough: Target Bulk Rise 30%
hours of bulk fermentation. During the shaping process it rises another 10%. Within the first few hours in the refrigerator, it has risen to 75% – the same point where the cool loaf exited bulk fermentation.
Bulk fermentation can typically last anywhere from 3.5 to 7 hours depending on the dough temperature, recipe, and amount of sourdough starter used. At 78ºF, bulk fermentation usually lasts about 4-4.5 hours for my typical sourdough bread.
Dough appearance should no longer be rough after sourdough bulk fermentation. It should be smooth looking and even a bit shiny. If you lift up a section, it should move together.
You most definitely can bulk ferment sourdough too long. If you leave the dough to ferment for too long, it will become "over fermented". Over fermented dough will lose its structure and become a soupy, sloppy mess that you will not be able to shape.
The timing for proofing sourdough can be stretched from 4 hours to even a few days! The smaller the amount of sourdough starter in the dough, and the colder the temperature, the longer the dough is able to ferment for.
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.
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).
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.
After kneading, shape your loaf, cover it, and let it proof for 4-24 hours, depending on your specific sourdough starter and ambient temperature. You can manipulate the sourness of the bread with a longer rise time.
The most common reason why sourdough bread is not rising is an immature starter, but if your starter is fully active, then it's likely that you've not given it enough time to ferment. Give your sourdough bread at least 4 hours to bulk ferment, plus a further 3-4 hour second rise before baking.
Can You Let Sourdough Bread Rise Overnight? 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.
If you've been following along with our guide to making a sourdough starter, you should have a culture that rises, peaks, and falls predictably. It should triple or even quadruple in volume as it peaks. While some bakers use starters that only double in volume at peak activity, I'll tell you straight up: Don't settle.
The more acid bacteria and wild yeasts that are added to the sourdough, the quicker the dough will rise. Just like adding more yeast to a yeasted dough makes it rise quicker, increasing the amount of starter used in your dough will speed up the sourdough fermentation process.
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.
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.
Overproofed sourdough dough loses all structure, so it's stretchy and slack when turned onto a work surface. The dough is also stickier than usual due to the lack of remaining gluten structure.
Can you bulk ferment sourdough in the fridge? No - bulk fermentation should ideally be undertaken at room temperature. The yeast and bacteria in your sourdough starter perform best in warmer temperatures so placing them in the fridge will put them into a sleepy state.
You must discard some of your sourdough starter each time you feed it. You'll discover that discarding is necessary to build a healthy and thriving sourdough starter - but it's not actually as wasteful as you might think.
If your sourdough starter forms hooch, mix the hooch back into the starter before you discard and feed. The only time I would consider pouring the hooch off your sourdough starter is if it has been stored in the fridge for a long time and the hooch is very dark.
The dough poke test is a technique performed during the proofing step of the bread-making process that helps you determine when your sourdough bread dough is ready to bake. Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed.
Properly proofed dough will be much more consistent in structure, with a soft and fluffy interior, and larger, but more evenly dispersed air bubbles present in the crumb. Over proofed bread is likely to have a very open crumb structure, due to the development of excess CO2 during the proofing stage.