I frequently get into situations where I have dough on the counter and I will be out of the house at the time to do a step, and this makes me wonder if you can substitute time for final proofing with time for bulk fermentation and vice versa.   For instance, if I will be gone when it is time to end bulk ferment and shape into loaves, and so leave the bulk ferment to go long, can I make up for this by cutting short the proofing.   In practice I have done this several times, and sometimes my bread comes out badly but many variables other than this in particular may account for that.   I am talking about naturally leavened bread that might have a combined bulk ferment, rest, proof period of say six hours.   I know this must be wrong, wrong, wrong (if sometimes unavoidable) but I would like to understand the theory.  Thanks.  -Varda