Serious question, does anyone actually proof bread in the fridge overnight?

I've been baking for about two years and always proofed my sourdough on the counter. A guy at a local bakery told me his bread got way better flavor from a 12-hour cold proof. I tried it last week with my usual recipe and the crust was definitely crispier, but the crumb felt denser. What's your take on cold vs room temp proofing for a standard loaf?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sean2d ago

That thing about the dough tightening up is exactly what I ran into. I read somewhere that the cold slows down the yeast but not the bacteria, so you get more of that sour tang while the gluten structure weakens a bit if it's sitting too long. I tried doing an overnight cold proof with my usual 72% hydration dough and got that same denser crumb you mentioned. Next time I'm gonna try bumping the water like you said, maybe up to 75% or so, and see if it keeps the oven spring better.

felixhenderson2d ago

Gotta jump in here and say the cold doesn't really slow down the bacteria more than the yeast, it's actually the opposite. Lactic acid bacteria (the ones that give you that tang) slow way down in the fridge, but yeast keeps chugging along at a slower pace. I did a side-by-side with my 75% hydration dough and the cold proofed loaf had way more of that mild sour tang, not a punchy one. The density you're feeling is probably from the gluten relaxing too much over that long cold rest, not from the bacteria outrunning the yeast. Try dropping your fridge time to 10 hours max and see if that fixes the structure.

wren_mitchell2d ago

I once left a loaf to proof on the counter for 18 hours because I forgot about it. That thing tasted like a sourdough science experiment gone wrong. Anyway, my take is cold proofing gives a better crust and a more complex tang, but you gotta watch your hydration. If your dough is already on the stiff side, that cold proof will tighten it up and give you a denser crumb. I bumped my water up by 5% for cold proofs and it came out way more even.