Sunday Notes: The Fridge as a Second Baker

I used to try to squeeze a start-to-finish bake into a Saturday. Feed at 8am, mix at 1pm, bake at 8pm. It worked, barely, but it meant a full day tethered to the kitchen.

Now I mix Saturday afternoon, bulk into the evening, shape and cold-retard overnight, and bake first thing Sunday. The cold retard buys flavor and flexibility — I can bake at 7am or 10am, it barely matters.

The King Arthur schedule I stole this from calls it a 'cold-final-proof workflow,' and it's the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade for a working-week baker.