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I'm trying to experiment with cold fermentation. I've put dough in the fridge and I see that it slowed down. However how long should it ferment afterward before final kneading - is ~10 hours out of the fridge good enough (this way I can put it out before I go to work and bake after I return)?

If it makes a difference it's sourdough whole wheat/white/rye in equal proportions fortified with nuts and seeds.

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  • @Stephie sourdought.
    – Maja Piechotka
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 10:16
  • Warm up before doing what?
    – GdD
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 10:30
  • @GdD before final kneading and baking.
    – Maja Piechotka
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 14:52
  • I've found that when I made cold-risen rolls, I can do the final rise in the fridge, and then only need the 30 min of pre-heating the oven to let 'em get back to room temp. See cooking.stackexchange.com/a/33133/67
    – Joe
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 18:23
  • I'd personally recommend experimenting -- I find that if you try to shape while it's too cold, it'll tear rather than form a nice skin. Wet doughs (higher ratio of water) tend to be easier to work when cold, but you often need to add a fair bit of flour to them when shaping just to get it out of the container. (see the book 'Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day', or look for other discussions of 'no-knead' bread made in the fridge).
    – Joe
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 18:27

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...as long as it needs to, depending on a wide variety of factors.

You can shape it for baking, put it in the fridge, let it rise, pull it out of the fridge and put it in the oven - no warming up time at all.

If you are going to punch down/knead/form after it comes out of the fridge, you can do all that cold, and let it rise as long as it needs to before baking - which will depend on the dough and the room temperature.

Or you can let the bulk dough warm a while.

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  • But surely ten hours is much longer than most if not all breads need to?
    – Cascabel ♦
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 20:42

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