Using Dough Temperature to Calculate Desired % Rise

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One of the best tips in making sourdough bread – taking the temperature of your dough during bulk fermentation is important to prevent over- or under-proofing. When you finish your last set of coil folds or stretch and folds, take the temperature of your dough and target the percentage rise according to Tom Cucuzza @ The Sourdough Journey.

This is important because a warmer dough takes longer to get down to the cooler refrigerator temperatures, which stops its rise. Until it gets down to the lower temperature, it will continue to bulk ferment (and rise) even though it is in your refrigerator. So if you put it in the refrigerator too late, your dough will overproof.

With a dough temperature of 75º F, you want to shoot for a target rise of 50%. This means you don’t want your dough to completely double or it will be over-proofed once it cools to the refrigerator temperature during the cold ferment. Once you’ve taken the temperature, transfer it to a straight-sided container with measurements on the side so you can tell how much rise you have. 

Shown here, I was making a baguette dough. In the recipe, you mix, do your folds, then bulk ferment until desired % rise. After that, put the dough into the refrigerator overnight and shape the baguettes in the morning. I stopped the bulk fermentation once I achieved the 50% rise. You can see how much it rose in the refrigerator overnight as the dough continued to ferment until it got to the refrigerator temperature.

Bulk Fermentation Time

Time varies greatly on your bulk fermentation, so you should NOT go by time. Rather, go by how the dough looks and feels, what percentage rise it has, and the temperature of the dough.

(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:

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