Cold proofing in the fridge is overrated for noobs like me

I kept hearing everyone say you gotta do an overnight cold proof for better flavor, but after 3 tries my dough was always flat and dense. I tried skipping the fridge and just doing a 2 hour room temp proof instead, and my loaf actually held its shape and doubled right. Anyone else find cold proofing more trouble than it's worth for simple white bread?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricianguyen10d ago

lol I feel this on a spiritual level. I tried overnight cold proofing like three times and ended up with these sad little frisbees that could double as doorstops. My fridge is basically a kill zone for yeast or something, I swear. Room temp proof for a couple hours and suddenly I'm a bread genius. I think some of us were just meant to be lazy bakers and that's fine lmao.

terryrobinson10d ago

lazy bakers" is a perfect way to put it. @patricianguyen I used to be all about the complicated methods, but you just made me realize I've been overthinking this whole thing.