Cold Proofing Sourdough In The Fridge
You've probably heard that proofing your sourdough in the fridge (also called cold proofing or cold retarding) is one of the best ways to make a loaf with an incredible flavor and texture. You’ve heard right, and I’m gonna teach you exactly how to do it!
Craving The Article Details?
What it is: Cold proofing is the final fermentation period after shaping when sourdough rests in the refrigerator before baking.
Why you’ll love it: Cold proofing builds a more complex, tangy flavor and a beautifully blistered, crisp crust while also making the dough easier to handle and giving you total flexibility to bake sourdough on your schedule.
How to do it: Cold proof sourdough for 12-48 hours in the fridge. In my own side by side tests, 48 hours gave the best balance of flavor and structure.
Jump to:
- Craving The Article Details?
- What Is Proofing?
- So What Is Cold Retard, Cold Proof, Or Cold Ferment? Are They The Same?
- Why Proof Sourdough In The Fridge
- How To Proof Sourdough In The Fridge
- How Long To Proof Sourdough In The Fridge
- My Preferences For Proofing In The Fridge (Tested Side By Side)
- Signs Your Cold Proof Has Gone Too Far
- Cold Proofing Sourdough FAQs
- My Takeaway
- Put This Technique to Work: Cold Proofed Sourdough Recipes From My Kitchen
What Is Proofing?
In both regular (yeasted) bread making and sourdough baking, proofing refers to the rise after shaping. During yeasted baking it’s often called the final proof or final rise and sourdough bakers sometimes refer to it as the second rise, but most commonly it is called proofing.
This is different from bulk fermentation, which happens before shaping. During the bulk fermentation, the dough ferments as one mass. After shaping the final proof allows each loaf to continue fermenting and developing before baking.
Final proofing doesn’t have a universal rise percentage or requirement to increase in size. How much the dough changes depends on the dough, flour, hydration, starter percentage, temperature, and how far fermentation progressed during bulk fermentation.
This step is critically important for all bread or leavened goods, to give them a light, airy texture, not to mention the flavor! Without proofing, our bread would be flat, dense, and taste bland.
If you’re having trouble with dough that’s not rising at all, you might want to check that whether your sourdough starter is active enough.
So What Is Cold Retard, Cold Proof, Or Cold Ferment? Are They The Same?
A cold retard is a powerful tool in your baker’s toolkit. At its core, it is simply the act of proofing your sourdough bread at cold, fridge temperatures. Because the low temperature slows the yeast activity in the dough, it is called retarding.
The terms cold fermenting, cold retarding, and cold proofing are often used interchangeably by sourdough bakers, but the important part of whatever you want to call it is when it happens in the fermentation process. For this article, we’re talking about a cold final proof after shaping.
The refrigerator slows fermentation, but it doesn’t instantly stop it. Your dough continues fermenting as it cools and throughout the cold proof, just at a slower rate.
The slowed fermentation rate is why I recommend storing your sourdough starter in the fridge if you're an infrequent baker!
Why Proof Sourdough In The Fridge
In most of my sourdough recipes, I give the option to prove the loaf at room temperature for 1-3 hours or place in the refrigerator for a cold retard. Whenever I have the option of choosing room temperature or proofing sourdough in the fridge, I always choose the fridge!
1. Better Flavor:
Dough that has been proofed in the fridge has a more complex, sourer flavor than room temperature proofed dough. When the bread is proofing at room temperature, I find that the dough develops faster than the flavor, by slowing it down and proofing in the fridge, we allow the flavor to develop in time with the dough.
This is a direct result of the temperature slowing down the yeast’s fermentation activity, but the bacteria in the sourdough starter are less dependent on the temperature and they are able to continue breaking down starches into lactic and acetic acids, giving us a boost of that sour tang we can’t get enough of!
2. Easier To Handle:
Cold dough is much much easier to handle. It’s easier to flip out of your banneton, it’s easier to score, it’s just easier to work with. Especially for new bakers.
Warm dough tends to flatten once turned out of its banneton, giving you less time to flip it, score it, and transfer it to a dutch oven. I find my scoring lame also tends to stick to warm dough.
Cold dough is less urgent, it resists spreading for longer, it’s by far easier to score, and because it’s more sturdy, it’s easier to get into your dutch oven!
3. Adds Flexibility:
Sourdough is a process, a process I’ve come to truly enjoy, but it still takes a while.
Allowing your sourdough to cold retard in the fridge puts you back in the driver’s seat when it comes to baking sourdough.
Completing the second rise in the fridge extends your proofing window from 1-3 hours to days! You can bake that bread on your schedule, not the dough’s!
4. Better Crust + Crumb:
This one might be splitting hairs a little bit, but I feel that cold proofed dough usually has a superior crust and crumb to a sourdough proofed at room temperature.
Baking cold sourdough tends to give that delicious, blistered crust that’s somehow crispy but also delicate at the same time. It’s 12/10 perfect.
In my experience, the crumb improves with time as the dough continues developing strength, especially in recipes that don’t incorporate kneading. Gluten development isn’t dependent on temperature, though methods like autolyse can encourage gluten development earlier in the process.
How To Proof Sourdough In The Fridge
- Step 1: Follow your favorite sourdough bread recipe as written until you get to the final shaping stage.
- Step 2: Shape the dough as desired, in a boule or batard. Place the shaped loaf into a banneton basket or banneton alternative and rest at room temperature for 1-3 hours covered.
- Step 3: Place the covered banneton into the fridge for your desired length of time.
- Step 4: When ready to bake, simply preheat oven and dutch oven.
- Step 5: Once the oven is preheated, score bake the sourdough straight from the fridge as per the recipe.
Note: Photos above from my Sourdough Bread Bowls Recipe
How Long To Proof Sourdough In The Fridge
There’s no single “right” answer. It depends on your schedule, your taste preferences, and how your specific recipe is built. As a starting point, 12-48 hours works well for most sourdough loaves, but there isn’t a universal rule. The longer the dough has fermented before refrigeration, the less room it has for an extended cold proof.
| Factor | Choose SHORTER Cold Proof | Choose LONGER Cold Proof |
|---|---|---|
| Your Schedule | You want to bake tomorrow, or need bread soon | You’re prepping 2-3 loaves to bake across several days |
| Your Taste Preferences | You already stretched the bulk ferment for tang and want a milder second rise | You kept bulk ferment short and want more time for flavor and acidity to develop |
| Your Recipe | Higher starter % (>20%) and/or long room temperature bulk ferment | Lower starter % (<20%) and/or a shorter bulk ferment |
Notes From The Crave Kitchen:
While a short 2-hour cold retard will do nothing for the flavor, it can help if you have to pick up the kids from school while you should be baking! A super long 84-hour cold retard is likely too long for most doughs and will result in over-proofed bread that lacks energy for decent oven spring.
But preparing 2-3 loaves and keeping them in the fridge to bake over the next 3 days is an awesome way to maximize your efforts, minimize clean up, and keep your family in fresh baked bread. I often prepare a few loaves on Saturday, then I have a fresh loaf to bake off for Sunday dinner, one to get us through the Mondays, and one to bake on Tuesday!
Flour matters, too. Whole wheat and rye flours ferment differently than dough made primarily with bread flour, even with a cold proof. If your recipe calls for a meaningful amount of whole grain flours, around 30% or more in my experience, monitor your fermentation more closely than the clock.
My Preferences For Proofing In The Fridge (Tested Side By Side)
I don’t like giving advice that I haven’t actually tested, so I spent months playing with cold proofing before writing this guide. For this article, I baked two identical loaves of my small loaf sourdough recipe from the same starter, at the same time – the only variable was how long each loaf sat in the fridge. Here’s exactly what I learned:
| Fridge Time | Crumb | Flavor | Oven Spring | My Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1- 2 hours | No real change from a room temperature bake. | The same as any recipe that hasn’t cold proofed | Same as a same day bake. | Useful as a scheduling buffer (e.g., picking up the kids), does not impact flavor |
| 24 hours | Large, slightly underdeveloped air pockets | Mildly sour, lacked depth and complexity, | Good, but not my best test loaf. | Workable in a pinch, definitely better than nothing |
| 48 hours | More open, more even crumb | Noticeably more complex, pleasantly sour | Best of the two photographed – bloomed more at the score | My sweet spot. Best balance of flavor and structure in this test |
| 72 hours | Holds up well if the bulk ferment wasn’t pushed too far | More sour, still delicious | Reliable, as long as the bulk ferment was on the shorter side | Great for batch baking a loaf a day across 3 days |
My findings may surprise you – I expected the 24 hour loaf to be a stronger contender against the 48 hour option, but it wasn’t. Going from 24 to 48 hours made a bigger difference than I anticipated when tasted side by side. The extra day gave a noticeably more complex but pleasantly sour loaf with better oven spring. The 24 hour loaf tasted fine, but lacked depth and texture that the 48 hour loaf had.
Look closely at the photo below and you’ll notice that the 24 hour loaf’s air pockets are larger, but that’s not a sign of better fermentation, it’s a sign the crumb didn’t fully catch up yet. The 48 hour loaf’s smaller, more uniform crumb is the one that’s actually more developed and consistent. This seems a little counter intuitive when you’re used to chasing wild crumb and looking for large holes, but it’s what’s around the air pockets that matter.
The 48-hour bread also had a better oven spring and bloomed more at the score, this is apparent in the overhead photos below.
Note: My 24 and 48-hour observations come from the side by side test described above. The results in the 72 hour timeframe come from years of baking experience rather than a controlled side by side comparison.
Signs Your Cold Proof Has Gone Too Far
Even in the fridge, fermentation doesn’t completely stop – it just slows down. If you’re worried you’ve pushed a cold proof too far, here’s what to look for:
- The dough looks flat and spreads instead of holding its shape when turned out of the banneton. Properly cold proofed dough should stand proud on your parchment paper, and if it flattens or puddles, this is a clear sign that the dough has lost some of its strength.
- Big, irregular surface bubbles or a deflated look along the top. Properly proofed sourdough will have a domed shape with a consistent surface texture.
- A sour, almost boozy smell instead of a pleasant tang. When combined with slack dough and poor structure, this can indicate that fermentation has progressed too hard and the dough is past its peak.
- Poor oven spring, even with a hot dutch oven and a well preheated oven. Over proofed dough just doesn’t have the energy left that’s required for a strong oven spring.
If you catch any of these signs, don’t panic. My motto is “bake it anyways”, so the loaf doesn’t rise as much, it’s still useful for something! Just score it a little shallower than usual, and bake as is.
Cold Proofing Sourdough FAQs
You can bake the sourdough straight out of the fridge, and I generally do so. This keeps the dough more firm, easy to work with, and easier to score.
Heck yes! Sourdough is super adaptable and doesn’t really need fancy tools or supplies. I actually baked sourdough for over a year without a banneton, using a pot, or a bowl. Here’s a list of banneton alternatives.
You’re totally able to proof at room temperature, it just occurs more quickly, so be prepared to bake within 1-3 hours after the final shaping.
Please cover your dough. Use a dedicated shower cap or even a recycled bread bag! The refrigerator’s dry circulating air can dry the exposed surface of the dough, creating a skin that can make scoring more difficult and affect the crust.
There isn’t a universal amount of time. I like to shape my dough, then rest at room temperature for between 1 and 3 hours before I toss it in the fridge, but this really depends on the dough itself, how far it has progressed during the bulk ferment, and how long I intend to cold proof. A dough that’s already well fermented may go into the fridge sooner than a dough that was shaped earlier on in its progression that may benefit from more time at room temperature.
Not necessarily, but it can happen! Cold temperatures slow fermentation considerably, so a cold proofed loaf may show much less visible expansion than it would during a room temperature final proof.
Don’t wait for a cold-proofed loaf to double before baking. Instead, consider how far fermentation progressed before refrigeration and watch for changes in the dough’s structure and feel.
My Takeaway
Cold proofing sourdough isn’t about a magic number on a clock. It’s another part of the fermentation process, and how long your dough can handle in the fridge depends on what happened before it got there.
That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve learned from baking sourdough for years: read the dough, not the recipe.
For the particular dough I tested in this article, 48 hours was the sweet spot. It gave me the structure and flavor I was looking for. If you’re looking to hone in on the sweet spot for your favourite recipe, I highly recommend running a side by side test like this to help you dial it in, and learn to read your dough.
Put This Technique to Work: Cold Proofed Sourdough Recipes From My Kitchen
The beauty of cold retarding sourdough is that it works across nearly every type of sourdough recipe, from simple rustic loaves to creative variations like pita bread. Below are some of my favorite recipes that showcase the cold proofing process:
- Sourdough Pita Bread
- Chocolate Walnut Sourdough
- Sourdough Pizza Dough
- Sourdough Bagels
- Cranberry Walnut Sourdough
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Babka
- Pina Colada Sourdough
- Rosemary Sourdough Bread
- Everything Bagel Sourdough Bread
- Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread
- Caramelized Onion & Gouda Sourdough
- Fig and Brie Sourdough
- Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
- Olive Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Bread Bowl Recipe
- Rustic Sourdough Bread
- Chai Sourdough Bread
- Apple Cider Sourdough
- Peanut Butter And Jam Sourdough
- Chocolate Swirl Sourdough
- Sun Dried Tomato Sourdough
- Sourdough Apple Fritter Focaccia
- Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
Do you put the shower cap cover on while resting on counter for an hour before it goes into the fridge?
As soon as the loaf goes into the banneton, I cover it 🙂
Hello Ally,
I have been using your recipe for about 3 years. I’ve never had a bad loaf.
Unfortunately, my starter of 10 years gave out this month (my fault). I’ve been researching recipes for sourdough starter. Lots of different types of flour, methods, and measurements. Could you let me know how you made your starter? Your logic and experimentation make sense to me.
Hey Caroline, you bet, I have an entire article on how I made my quick sourdough starter. It uses yeast to jump start the process, to get you baking faster – and it works, i am still using the same starter as I made in that article 5 years later!
Alternatively, you could try to revive your starter if you haven’t already?
I have been baking with my starter for over 7 years. I rarely get oven spring, maybe less than a handful of times. Putting in the fridge always seems to kill the starter. My starter appears with all the evidence that it is properly active and the dough always feels good and proper before putting it in the fridge. I have tried hundreds of different processes, and nothing has changed that fact. It is too warm to leave the dough out on counter, it then over proofs. The bread is always good, and the texture is also good, so I don’t stress to much about it, but it is frustrating.
Hey Bren. Let try to diagnose the oven spring problem!
What is your feeding routine? What is your bread making process? What does your baking process look like?
Hi, I pull starter out of fridge and start feeding for a couple of days or so before I want to start dough. It gets fed once per week, even if I don’t bake. Once starter is re-activated, I usually use 50g starter, 500g flour, 350g water 1 tsp salt. Mix, rest for 30-60 minutes, then start stretch & folding, try to get at least 3-4 30 minutes apart, by then dough has already doubled and then I shape and put in fridge. When I pull out of fridge, score and bake. Most of the time the dough holds it shape if I don’t leave it more than 12 hours in fridge. If I don’t get to it by then, it comes out deflated and loose, then I make flatbreads.
Hey Bren,
Ok, so your loaf doubles in size after only 3 hours from mixing with only 50g of starter? My basic recipe is very similar to yours; 100g starter, 340g water, 500g flour, 12g salt. You can see that recipe in action in my Fig and Brie Sourdough. That recipe has a fermentolyse (starter, water, flour combined) for 1 hour, then salt added and the stretch and fold process begins – 3 stretch and folds followed by a 60 minute rest. Then a final (fourth) stretch and fold, and a 3 hour bulk ferment. Then a preshape/shape, and a final proof in the banneton for 2-3 hours before baking or tossing in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
I went back to double check the timestamps on the photos for that recipe and it broke down as follows:
Mix 1040am
S&F 1140am
S&F 1239PM
S&F 145PM
S&F + BF 145-340pm
PreShape 340pm
Shape – 400pm
Bake – Next day 1pm
Unfortunately I don’t have the time when it completely finished the final proof but I’m guessing that it would have been 2 hours later. Though you can see in the photo how much it rose in the banneton.
I’m wondering if you’re under-fermenting – especially with a smaller amount of starter and a shorter time in the bulk ferment. What does the crumb look like?
It usually ends up around 3-4 hours by the time I am done with stretch and folds and it has doubled. I am in high altitude, have gone down to 15 g of starter at times and I have tried bulking on counter longer, but even after doubling, when it goes in fridge, it doesn’t move anymore and stays whatever size it is when it goes into fridge. I have the best luck on humid rainy days which we have maybe once a year if lucky. It is a fickle business making sourdough, but every time, it is still good to me and it is how I meditate so it is all good. Thanks for the replies. I will keep trying different things and enjoy it on the way.
Ahh I did not realize you were a high altitude baker! I do not have experience with that, but Pantry Mama has a fantastic article on high altitude baking adjustments for sourdough – exactly as you suspected, a shorter BF and even more water may help (as you experienced on humid days)!
Hello. Newbie to your page. I found this post on Pinterest and had to give it a read. I have a few friends who have never tried proofing in the fridge. I realize I’ve been calling it the ‘bulk fermentation’ when it’s actually a second rise or proof lol. So thanks for that tip haha. Anyways, I’ve been making sourdough for a little over a year now. I’ve learned so much. My loaves used to be flat more times than not and my scores were garbage(they’ve gotten better). My loaves and boules now have a good rise and taste so yummy. I only get compliments, thank God. But I didn’t know all these things about a cold ferment I just knew it worked for me and the flavor was always so yummy, even when I had flat boules/loaves. So thanks for explaining those amazing details about why cold ferments work. It makes sense why the loaves I’ve made have such great depths of flavor, yum! Now I’m going to send this article to my sourdough lover/baker gals, so they too can know why.
Hey Gianna, love it! Getting nerdy about the process is so fun!
Chan I cold proof a sour dough soft sandwich bread recipe as well? For 3 days? I’ve made it today, Thursday, and would like to bake on Sunday. Would this work?!
Hey Jan, it should be fine, but I would like to know a bit more about the recipe – what is the ratio of starter to flour, and how much has it risen at room temp during the bulk ferment? Some sourdough sandwich recipes have a high proportion of starter which can make the bread really sour if proved too long!
After shaping the dough and placing it in the banneton, how long should you wait before putting it into the fridge?
It depends. Which is the worst answer, I know.
It depends on the recipe you’re using – some call for a long proof in a banneton because they have low proportions of starter, others call for a shorter proof because of higher starter percentages. Some days your dough seems to develop more quickly and needs a shorter proof, other days, a longer proof is ok. It also depends a bit on how long you want to leave it in the fridge – longer room temp proof usually results in a shorter fridge proof, but I personally like a long cold retard – so I tend to shorten the room temp proof and stretch out the cold retard.
I kind of judge my room temp proof on the dough – it’s usually 1-2 hours. I’ve done as few as 0 hours and as many as 4. I look for the dough to grow a bit and look lighter, but I don’t want it anywhere near fully prooved because the dough takes a while to fully cool down in the fridge right into the center and it will continue to prove during that time.
All that to say, my sweet spot with most of my recipes is 1-2 hours on the counter and then 2-3 days in the fridge. Hope that helps.
Thank you! Plans changed and I won’t be able to bake the bread tomorrow that I already started this evening. Thanks to your post, I now know it will be fine in the fridge until I can bake it the day after tomorrow. Whew!
Love it! Baking sourdough is simultaneously so inflexible but also so flexible. haha. I appreciate using the fridge to really fine tune my baking to fit my busy schedule better, I’m sure you’ll love it too!