I recommend using a see-through cambro for bulk fermentation which also has indicators for the volume by liter and quart measurements. Dough appearance should no longer be rough after sourdough bulk fermentation. It should be smooth looking and even a bit shiny. If you lift up a section, it should move together.
For a typical sourdough bread recipe, I let bulk fermentation play out at room temperature over 3 to 5 hours. But this time period is ultimately dictated by the bread you're making, what the recorded desired dough temperature is, and the temperature at which you keep the dough.
You most definitely can bulk ferment sourdough too long. If you leave the dough to ferment for too long, it will become "over fermented". Over fermented dough will lose its structure and become a soupy, sloppy mess that you will not be able to shape.
Over fermentation is a cause of wet, sticky dough. This is really only an issue once you've done bulk fermentation and you are trying to shape your dough.
When the bulk fermentation goes too long — often when the dough more than doubles or triples in volume — the dough can over ferment. You know the dough has over fermented if, when you turn it out to shape it, it is very slack — if it's like a wet puddle — and very sticky and lacking any strength and elasticity.
After read all of this, some people may say, “but so many recipes say the dough should double?” I have baked hundreds of loaves of sourdough bread and my best loaves have never been produced by letting the dough double. And some of my worst loaves have.
Can You Let Sourdough Bread Rise Overnight? You can absolutely leave sourdough bread to rise overnight - but as always - there are some things you'll need to do to make sure that your bread is successful with an overnight ferment.
You'll end up with a loaf that doesn't expand or bake well, and that is also misshapen and very sour. While some people (including us) like that biting flavor, others may find it too sour. Mistakes are inevitable when it comes to proofing bread, but there's no need to throw out dough if it proofs too long.
Good fermentation = great loaves. Covering your dough correctly is a crucial step here. For best results, we want a non-porous, tight-fitting cover that will keep the dough from becoming too cool or developing a skin.
The timing for proofing sourdough can be stretched from 4 hours to even a few days! The smaller the amount of sourdough starter in the dough, and the colder the temperature, the longer the dough is able to ferment for.
After bulk fermentation, the next step is to shape your dough into a loaf. That's the last thing you need to do before the final proofing step.
Most bread recipes have two rises, a first rise (also called bulk fermentation), and a second or final rise. You can chill your dough during either the first or second rise. Your yeast won't give you much love if it's asked to do both rises in the fridge, so it's best to do one or the other at room temperature.
If there are still bubbles in the airlock after 14 days let it sit for another few days, or at least until there is no bubbling for at least a minute or two. Once there is no activity in the airlock, fermentation is complete.
You really only need to handle sourdough minimally. Each set of stretch and folds should consist of 4 stretches and folds. You should aim to do around 4 to 6 sets, but you may need less depending on the dough strength.
A 24-hour rise time will produce much more sour bread than a 4-hour rise time. If using a shorter rise period, 4-12 hours, a second rise is optional. If desired, punch dough down, reshape, and proof a second time.
The target bulk fermentation temperature range is 78-82F / 25.5-28C. Use a proofing chamber, if necessary, to keep a consistent dough temperature throughout bulk fermentation and continuously measure the dough temperature every 30 minutes at minimum.
In my experience, the shortest final proof (at room temperature) that I prefer to do is one hour. The longest final proof (at room temperature) is about 3 hours. When going past 2-3 hours in a final proof, the crumb tends to get very gassy and opens up large gas bubbles with a longer countertop proof.
While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed. Instead, the overworked dough will result in a hard loaf that will likely not be eaten. It's important not to overwork your dough and continually check for overworking throughout the kneading process.
Properly proofed dough will be much more consistent in structure, with a soft and fluffy interior, and larger, but more evenly dispersed air bubbles present in the crumb. Over proofed bread is likely to have a very open crumb structure, due to the development of excess CO2 during the proofing stage.
If the dough isn't mixed or kneaded to full development (e.g., full windowpane), adding in sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation will help continue its progress toward a stronger, more cohesive dough that's able to trap gas and hold its shape all the way to bake time.
The proofing step is often confused with bulk fermentation. Generally, both steps are concerned with letting the dough rest and rise as fermentation continues. But the key difference is that the proofing step takes place after the dough has been shaped into its final form before baking.
Bulk Ferment
The speed and metabolic efficiency of the yeast depend almost entirely on temperature, with the optimal speed of fermentation occurring between 80–90°F (27–32°C). That temperature is optimal, but you can get a faster rise with warmer temperatures (to a point) or a slower rise with cooler temps.