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I've been watching tons of videos on making sourdough recently, and quite a few say to let the sourdough loaf do its final proof, or rise, in the fridge. Is this necessary? Would it speed up if I just let it rise on the counter? Thoughts?

Adventurous Pallet
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Speed is not the point. Speed is the opposite of the point. Refrigerator rising makes for a long, slow rise and flavor development - it's not unique to sourdough, it's very common in pizza dough (though not usually the "final rise" in pizza, as that would be very difficult to arrange enough fridge space for.)

You can do it, or not, or try both and compare.

Ecnerwal
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  • I agree. In my experience, having worked at 4-5 different pizza places over my life. Typically you make the dough, break it up into dough balls of the appropriate weight for the size pizza, and stick it in the fridge overnight. Then the next day you pull the trays out, punch down the dough, and let it rise again in racks outside the fridge. When you get an order, you pull a dough ball of the rack and roll/spin it out (depends on the place) to prep the pizza. A longer proof time results in a more flavorful bread. – user132278 Apr 01 '16 at 19:45
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Two reasons to final proof in the fridge...

  1. Flavour
  2. Convenience

Time = flavour. Increasing the fermentation time helps bring out more flavour.

If you are too busy to follow the recipe through then you can use your fridge for convenience.

Abe
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