I had mixed up the dough and completed my 4 stretch and folds when I got called into work. I placed the covered bowl into the fridge.
What is the process I should follow in the morning when I take the dough out of fridge? Should I allow the dough to get to room temp, then shape and rise for a couple of hours before baking? How would you handle this?
It all depends on what you are baking and how much more time you were planning to give it to ferment. -- Rob
Baking sourdough. Typically I do a bulk rise on counter top then throw in fridge for 12 hours.
The dough will have continued to ferment in the fridge for about an hour as it cooled down. If this hour added to the bulk time already is less that you expected, let the dough warm up for a few hours and then continue to ferment until it's fermented enough. So the remaining bulk time would be something like (planned time - first bench time - 1 hr + warmup time). Then continue as usual with shaping, proofing, and baking.
That time is only a guide, though. You will need to check with your dough about what it wants to do.
I think that the exact point in the overall cycle when you refrigerate the dough is not of much importance. OK, for demanding breads it might be more important but mostly not, IMHO.
TomP
If it has risen roughly to the point you would have ended bulk fermentation and gone on to shaping, then I will do exactly that - shape it directly from the fridge, and let it proof to your desired volume, noting that this will take much longer than normal since the dough is cold.
If it has not risen enough in the fridge, then let it continue bulk fermentation at room temperature till desired then proceed as usual.
In the morning - the dough is cold (which I'm not a fan of) and should be warmed to room temp. Do as you please from there. Enjoy!