Should You Cover Dough When Proofing?

Whether to cover the dough during proofing is a question of personal preference. From my experience, it doesn't make a huge difference in how your bread turns out, but there are reasons to try various covering methods.

This article focuses on the cold retard method. It differs from countertop final proofing, where you should cover the dough with a clean tea towel, as room-temperature proofing can take up to 2-3 hours.

Cold proofing involves placing the dough in a cold environment, such as a refrigerator set to 39°F (4°C), to slow down fermentation.

Should you cover the dough in the fridge?

Covering sourdough during final proofing in the fridge helps prevent it from drying out or forming a crusty skin. It retains moisture, so the dough stays soft and hydrated as it ferments slowly.

But what if you decide not to cover the dough during cold proofing? Leaving it uncovered can cause a thin, dry layer to form on the surface, but this will not ruin your bread.

When you turn the dough out of the basket to bake, the dry layer becomes the base of the loaf, which will still bake into a delicious loaf.

Many bakers, including me, have tried leaving the dough uncovered during cold proofing and still got great results with perfect crusts and soft crumbs, even when baking over 100 loaves at once, like in Cottage Food businesses.

Ways to cover dough during final proofing

There are several ways to cover the dough during cold proofing, but the material you use matters.

• Plastic bags or shower caps are popular options, but they sometimes cause problems. Condensation builds up inside the plastic, making the dough stick to it. The warmth trapped inside the plastic also leads to overproofing. In addition, plastic is not the best option for being eco-friendly.

• Clean tea towels or banneton liners are a better option. These materials keep the dough's surface moist and support balanced fermentation. As a beginner, you can use flour sack towels. There is no need to invest in specialized sourdough baking equipment yet.

• Another interesting option is disposable non-woven liners resembling hairnets. You can use the edges of the liner to cover the dough, allowing the surface to dry just a little. This won't affect the quality of baked bread, but make sure that the liner is food-safe.

As you can see, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to whether to cover or not cover sourdough. Each fridge has a unique microclimate, too, which can impact the dough in various ways.

In the end, it is your choice. Both methods work well, so try them out and see which one you like.

Let's talk sourdough

Do you cover your dough while proofing, or let it rest uncovered? How has it affected your loaves? Share your experience in the comments.

Ready to keep learning?

The next step is knowing when proofing is complete. Learn how to tell if the dough is proofed by noticing its volume, texture, and how it responds to the poke test.