Tried cold fermenting next to my regular dough, night and day difference

I ran a side by side test last weekend in Portland, same recipe, same flour, two batches. One proofed on the counter for 3 hours, the other sat in the fridge for 48 hours. The cold one had way more depth in flavor and the crust cracked better in my home oven. Cost me nothing extra, just time. Has anyone else noticed a huge jump after switching to overnight proofing?

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taylor.jessica1mo ago

OH wow, that timing thing is HUGE. But here's the part nobody talks about: your fridge's temp swings make a difference too. Instead of letting it sit at a steady 38 degrees, I started putting my dough on the TOP shelf where it's colder, and the bottom shelf is warmer in most fridges. That little temp change during the 48 hours does something to the yeast activity that you just CAN'T replicate on the counter. Try moving your dough around halfway through, it really wakes up the gluten in a weird way. Also, don't forget to let that cold dough sit out for like 30 minutes before you shape it, otherwise you're fighting a brick. Your crust crack probably came from the cold slowing down the outer skin while the inside still had steam going. That's my two cents anyway, enjoy the better bread!

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