Hot take: proving dough in the fridge overnight is overrated

I spent 3 months chasing that cold-ferment flavor everyone raves about, only to realize my loaves came out flatter and denser every single time. Room temp proofing for 2 hours gives me the same taste with half the headache. Anyone else ditch the overnight fridge method and get better results?

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1 Comment

sethanderson9h ago

and honestly the flat dense thing happened to me too until I realized my fridge runs cold and was basically stalling the yeast completely. once I moved the dough to the warmest shelf and cut the time to like 10 hours max it got way better, but still not worth it for a weekday bake. the real game changer for me was doing a bulk ferment at room temp for longer, like 3 to 4 hours with a couple stretch and folds, and then just shaping and doing the final proof in the fridge for only 30 minutes to firm it up. that gives me the tangy notes without the full overnight commitment and my crumb actually has some spring to it now.