How to Adjust Bulk Fermentation Time

I would love more FREE recipes and tips straight to my IN BOX!

This is the 6-12 hour window of time while you are letting the cultures do their work and make the bread rise. During this step you are building the gluten strength in your dough, which will give you height and oven spring. It is the time from when you first mix the dough to the time you put it in the refrigerator for the cold retard. After you perform some stretch and folds, lamination and some coil folds, you will let the dough rest. Your total bulk fermentation time will depend mostly on two factors - 1) Amount of starter used in the dough 2) Temperature of the dough.

Amount of Starter Used in the Recipe

The more starter you use, the faster the bulk fermentation will be. If you mix your dough at night and want it to bulk ferment overnight for example, you may only use 50 g of starter. This will allow the dough to bulk ferment slowly so when you wake in the morning your dough is not over-proofed. To the same loaf, if you mix it in the morning, you may choose to use 125 g of starter so the dough will bulk ferment quickly and you could then bake the loaf in time for dinner. (The flavor would not be as sour since you will only be able to cold retard it for 1-2 hours.)

Temperature

This variable is multi-factored. Here we could be talking about the temperature of the room or the temperature of the dough. The colder your room temperature, the longer your bulk fermentation will be, because it will make your dough colder. Short bulk fermentation is achieved in a warm summer kitchen.

The temperature of the dough is affected by the temperature of the water you use to make the dough and the room temperature. To cool the dough temperature and thus slow the bulk fermentation time, add 1-2 ice cubes to your water when making the dough. This could help considerably in very warm summer climates to keep your dough from fermenting too fast. If you want to raise your dough temp, warm the water you will be adding to the dough to about 90º F. It is the dough temperature that is important during bulk fermentation.

Proper fermentation is key — not enough or too much will result in a dense bread. Do NOT go by time when deciding if your bulk ferment is done. In warmer temperatures, if you go by time alone, your dough may get over-proofed and thus be somewhat "soupy."

Bulk Fermentation Time

Time varies greatly on your bulk fermentation so you should not go by time, but rather how the dough looks and feels, what percentage rise it has and temperature of the dough. If your dough is warm (above 70º F/21º C)., it will continue to rise in the refrigerator, so you do not proof it to full double (100% rise). For example, if your dough temperature is 73º F/23º C, you would only proof it to 75% percentage rise as it will take the dough some time to cool in the refrigerator before the fermentation process stops. Your warm dough will continue to rise in the refrigerator. (See chart below.) If it rises too much during the cold retard, you will not get much oven spring.

(If you accidentally let your dough rise too much during bulk fermentation, cool it quickly by throwing it in the freezer for 30 minutes.)

Bulk Fermentation Guide

This guide can be found at www.thesourdoughjourney.com

Share with Your Friends!

Feel free to share this newsletter with your friends and family, and invite them to join our Facebook group Sourdough Living and subscribe to our newsletter at www.sourdoughliving.com.