If you would like to shape your dough beforehand and then refrigerate it, consider buying a dough retarder. Your household refrigerator should be set at 41 degrees or colder. The temperature for retarding dough should range between 46 to 50 degrees, depending on the number of hours you want to retard your dough. In addition to my refrigerator being too cold, I have also found little room inside for my expanding doughs.

Of course, a commercial dough retarder, which runs thousands of dollars and takes up huges amounts of space, is not appropriate for the home bread baker.