Sort of a stupid question
I made up a pre-ferment using my just fed starter, but I did not have time to proof and bake (this was Tuesday night), I kneaded in the rest of the flour and salt and then let it rest for a while. When I realized that it was past my bedtime, I put the covered proofing bowl in the refrigerator and went to bed. Wednesday night - dough has spread out but had not risen, I had a meeting to attend and did not get back until much later while the dough still waited in the refrigerator. This morning, before leaving for work I turned out the dough and gave it a quck knead and a little more flour (it seemed to soft and sticky), then put the dough back in the refrigerator. I'm hoping to get home a little earlier than usual and try to proof the bread in my oven using the bread proofing setting and then bake a loaf or two. Will this work or am I just going to end up with an inert lump of dough???? I've never heard of stretching out the mixing-proofing-baking process over so many days.
Actually Peter Reinharts latest book is suggesting a similar format of managing dough for busy people. I suggest you remove the dough from the cooler and spread it out on the counter (lightly oiled) and do a nice gentle stretch and fold. After it has warmed slightly over an hour, divide and shape the dough and proof it as you suggested. You do have to wait for the dough to rise to double and then some, or your results will be dense. If you can be patient while it wakes, it should be fine.
Eric
That makes me feel so much better, this will be a very interesting experiment - hopefully with some tasty results. :)
to add some shape while it proofs, then by all means do so. Sounds like it will do just fine.
I tried the gentle stretch and fold and I tried a long, slow proof. I ended up with a slowly spreading wad of very salty (but very tangy) sticky gooey dough that just wouldn't do anything. I mis-read the measurement for the salt and added way too much, killing off anything that resembled a yeastie beastie. Oh well, off to try again and hopefully end up with a lovely loaf, at least I have some starter left. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone - they were definitely appreciated.