Lesson 2 of 5 · Bread Baking 101

Understanding fermentation

  • Free video
  • Beginner
  • Bread & Enriched Dough
  • 5 min
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Video by Baking Great Bread at Home on YouTube: “Sourdough Bulk Fermentation vs. Cold Retard — What Each Phase Actually Does” Watch on YouTube ↗

What you'll learn

Lesson 2 of 5

What bulk fermentation and a cold overnight proof each do to bread dough, and how to judge them by the dough, not the clock.

  • Bulk fermentation builds gas, strength and flavor
  • Temperature controls how fast dough ferments
  • A cold retard slows things down and deepens flavor

Ingredients for this lesson

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Lesson notes from VanillaGoods

Bulk fermentation

After mixing, yeast (or sourdough culture) produces gas and acids that raise the dough, strengthen it and create flavor. Warm dough ferments faster; cool dough slower. That's why recipes give a range, and why reading the dough matters more than the timer.

Read the dough

  • Yeasted doughs roughly double; sourdough often grows 50–75%
  • The surface is domed and you can see bubbles on the sides
  • The dough jiggles when you shake the bowl
  • Poked gently, it springs back slowly

Cold retard

Shaped dough rested in the fridge overnight ferments slowly, develops deeper flavor and is firmer and easier to score. This video uses sourdough, but the same principles apply to yeasted breads.

← Lesson 1Next: Shaping a sandwich loaf →

Tools for this lesson

The equipment that makes this easier. VanillaGoods vanilla is always our own; these tools are from Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate, VanillaGoods earns from qualifying purchases. We only suggest tools that fit what you're learning.

Put it into practice

Bake along with a VanillaGoods recipe that uses this technique.

Find bread recipes

Videos are embedded from YouTube with the official player and belong to their creators. VanillaGoods is not affiliated with these creators unless stated; lesson notes and product suggestions are our own.