Purpose of Bulk Fermentation
I've been baking naturally fermented breads now for the last 6 months or so and a question came to mind over Bulk Fermentation. Forgive me if this has already been answered -- please just point me in the right direction in that case.
My understanding behind the purpose of Bulk Fermentation is two-fold: building up the gluten structure and giving the yeast a chance to leaven the dough a certain amount -- average amounts range from 25-50% or even doubling the volume. The two timing can sometimes be tricky for both goals to be reached at the same time. Perhaps in one case, the volume has increased but the window-pane test still fails. The opposite situation could also occur. Is there any "rule-of-thumb" as to which goal to prioritize? Does gluten development outweigh achieving a certain desired increase in volume? -- i.e. is it important to extend the Bulk Fermentation until the gluten is ready, or could that potentially cause the dough to over-proof? If the gluten structure is fully developed but the volume increase is sluggish, is there any danger in the gluten breaking down if you wait until the dough has finished increasing in volume?
Thanks!