Retarding dough which has milk

In the bulk ferment stage of a sourdough which has a high percentage of milk. I’ve already dropped the starter percentage for a longer bulk ferment to fit my schedule. I reckon the dough will be ready about 8-10 hours after the initial mix. Question is if I can get away with refrigerating the dough before shaping and final proofing tomorrow.

A smaller dough in the coldest part of your refrigerator will likely be close to paralyzed/dormant, especially if you refrigerate it in the first two-thirds of the bulk fermentation. A bigger dough will take longer to cool down but still may be fine. I do think the fermentation curve is harder to slow down the higher up you are on it. But then plenty of people refrigerate when the bulk is essentially over. It’s really hard to say, as evidenced by my unhelpful pile of words :upside_down_face:

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Thanks Melissa. I guess just try and see. I might have to do it anyway as I’ve missed the window to see it through to the end. I was more concerned about milk being out of the fridge for so long and not being baked till the next day even if I do now regard the dough. But hey, it will be baked so no harm I think.

The think the yeast and bacteria of fermentation prevent spoiling (yogurt!), and like you said, it’ll cook anyway.

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Thanks Melissa