Unpopular opinion: Letting dough rest overnight is way overrated for most home bakers

I tried that long cold ferment for my sourdough last weekend, left it in the fridge for 18 hours like the blogs say... my loaf came out flat and gummy. I've been baking for about 4 years now, and I find a good 2-hour counter rise gives me a better texture every time. Maybe it works for fancy artisan shops with controlled temps, but in my 70 degree kitchen? Not so much. Anyone else find that long rests just don't deliver the hype?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_barnes976h ago

Oh totally @the_viola nailed it with the 3 hour room temp rise thing. My kitchen sits around 70 and I swear the longer I let sourdough sit in the fridge the more it just collapses on itself. I tried doing a 14 hour cold ferment last month and the dough was so slack by morning it basically pancaked in the oven. The whole overnight thing started making sense when I realized those bloggers probably have pro grade fridges set to like 38 degrees and proofing boxes. Meanwhile my regular fridge kills the yeast activity and gives me that dense gummy crumb every time. So yeah, shorter counter proofs are where its at for normal people with normal kitchens.

the_viola8h ago

Honestly, I'm with you on this. The whole overnight rest thing is so hyped but my kitchen is like 68 degrees and it barely does anything for flavor. I get way better oven spring from a 3 hour room temp rise.