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Like it or not, a little math can be handy, whether you need to resize those embedded videos (cross-multiplying!), or bake a loaf of bread.

Last month, a Year in Bread posted a mathematical formula for cold fermentation that was located in the comments section of The Fresh Loaf. Specifically, determining how much yeast you should use when adapting from warm to cold.

Why use cold fermentation when you can throw those little yeasties into some warm water and get started pronto? As Year points out, cold fermentation is a longer and slowing process that allows flavors to fully develop. Beth described in an earlier post: "Normally, with bread rising at room temperature or warmer, these sugars [from broken enzymes in the dough] are gobbled up by the yeast so you only get a hint of those flavors in the resulting bread." With cold fermentation, they don't eat, and the flavors remain in-tact.

To figure out how much yeast your cold fermentation needs, you figure out how long you want to ferment the yeast, and divide that number into the original amount of yeast called for in the recipe multiplied by the original fermentation time. Yes, the fermentation takes extra time, but when you can plan how much time and when it's ready, it's not any more difficult than immediate satisfaction.