Cold Fermenting and Flavor
I am a big advocate of Bulk Retarding and Cold Proofing. But recently I have been working to improve my baking of the San Juan Sourdough Baguette. The timing in the baking instructions have me working at odd hours of the night. So, I want to extend the Retarded Cold Bulk Ferment time. In practice I found that if I Bulk Ferment (step5) for 4 hours, the dough will rise rapidly and quickly in the refrigerator. So I did 2 1/2 hours of S&F and then placed in the refrigerator. It didn't rise much during the time in the refrigerator. I retarded for 2 days instead of the prescribed 18-24 hours. The dough rose and baked well.
Question:
Since I didn't Bulk Ferment the required 3-4 hours (sat out for only 2 1/2 hr and was S&F every 1/2 hour), does this affect the flavor of the bread? I'm thinking that the gasses that build during the original Bulk Ferment at room temperature will flavor the bread. And since I shortened the time and the dough didn't rise much, I may be losing flavor.
I did my best communicate this clearly. I hope I succeeded.
--Dan