All you must do is adjust the final dough temperature and the amount of yeast in the recipe. I follow the same guidelines and it has always worked for me well. 1% yeast and a 24C – 25C (75F – 77F) final dough temperature.
With this method I ferment the dough for at least 12 and up to 24 hours. It can be fermented for longer, but I have never needed to do so. It seems to become less practical the longer it is fermented.
Of course, these are not rules and the dough temperature and amount of yeast will depend on the temperature of your fridge and the type of yeast you use. My fridge stays around 6C (43F) on the bottom shelf and gets warmer on the top shelf. I use instant dry yeast. You would need around 1.2% active dry yeast and 3% fresh yeast. Some yeasts do better in the cold than others. With some adjustments you will find the right amount.
There are other methods in which the dough is left to ferment for half an hour before being refrigerated. I prefer the instant refrigeration and the amount of yeast I use works well with it. If you were to leave the dough out for a while before refrigerating, you would need even less yeast.
The hydration of the dough affects fermentation rate similarly when cold fermented too. So, a high hydration dough will ferment more rapidly. Ingredients work the same way too. A dough with a lot of sugar will ferment more slowly, so you will need more yeast. Same goes for dough made with cinnamon.
If you would like to use diastatic malt powder, then stick to 1% of it or less.
It is not all hands off though.
There is a little more to it than just throwing the dough in the fridge and forgetting about it. While it can be done this way, there are a couple of things to think about.
Folding. Most of the time we give our dough a fold of a few folds during bulk fermentation. It helps tighten the dough and it equalizes its temperature. The same principles apply when cold bulk fermenting. There is a huge temperature difference between the dough and the inside of the fridge. The surface of the dough will cool down a lot more rapidly than the middle, so a fold or two will help with distributing that temperature evenly throughout the dough. Equal temperature will ensure equal rate of fermentation.
I usually do a fold after 30 minutes for a low hydration dough. For higher hydration doughs I add a couple more folds at the same 30-minute intervals. If your dough came out too warm, then you can shorten the intervals and fold more often to cool the dough down sooner.
What happens after the dough comes out of the fridge.
The recipe continues as per instructions. If you are making more than one loaf, then divide the dough, pre-shape it, let it rest, do the final shaping, final proofing, and baking. There is no need to let the dough warm up. Divide it right from the fridge. It will take longer to final proof because it is cooler. Count on the final proofing time to double.
If you are making one loaf, then either pre-shape, rest, final shape, etc., or just do the final shaping right after it comes out of the fridge and proceed to the final proof. This is what I did with the pizza and focaccia in the video.
