Can I bulk ferment sourdough overnight at room temperature?
Overnight at room temperature works well if you use less starter, around 5%, so the bulk takes 10 to 12 hours. If your kitchen is warm, go even lower. The fridge is easier after shaping, where the dough can wait 8 to 24 hours.
Answered by Hendrik, The Bread Code
From the book
Depending on the temperature, your fermentation speed adapts. In a warmer environment, everything is faster. In a colder environment, everything is slower. This includes the speed at which your sourdough ferments the dough but also the speed of enzymatic reactions. The amylase and protease enzymes work faster, making more sugars available and degrading the gluten proteins. At around 22 °C (72 °F) in my kitchen my bulk fermentation is ready after around 10 hours. I use around 20 % of sourdough starter based on the flour. In summertime the temperatures in my kitchen sometimes increase to 25 °C (77 °F). In that case I reduce the sourdough starter to around 10 %. If I didn't do that, my fermentation would be done after around 4 to 7 hours. The problem is that the dough is quite unstable when fermenting at this high speed.
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