Switched my sourdough from a 12 hour cold bulk to an 18 hour one and the crumb went from tight to wide open

Keith Singh · 2026-10-19T16:30:04.847638+00:00

So here's my debate. Two months back I was doing a 12 hour cold bulk in the fridge at 38 degrees, and my loaves were coming out with a tight, gummy crumb that I kept blaming on my starter. Then I pushed it to 18 hours on a whim, same 68 degree kitchen, same 20% starter, and the crumb opened up like I'd changed flour, which is wild because nothing else moved. My theory is the extra time is letting the enzymes do more work and I'm getting a better breakdown before the bake, but my buddy swears I'm just underproofing and the longer bulk is covering for it. Where do you all land on cold bulk length: does the extra time actually build flavor and open crumb, or is it just masking a proofing problem I should fix at room temp? Curious if anyone has done a side by side with the same dough split into two bins.

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Switched my sourdough from a 12 hour cold bulk to an 18 hour one and the crumb went from tight to wide open | Bakers - Pinecone Attack