overnight dough rise question

[stock]

when letting my dough rise over night in the refrigerator, do i let it rise for an hour or so after kneading it, punch it down, and then put it in the refrigerator, or do i just go straight from the kneading to the refrigerator?  thanks.
-scott

[Pierre]

That's is a matter of opinion.

Take a look at this thread for some info:

http://www.pizzamaking.com/yabbse/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=93

Some Experts claim that an intial rise (fermentation) at a temperature of about 80° F is recommended for yeast and dough development.

After that, refrigerating the dough is absolutely the best way to go. You'll notice a bit of a difference in texture when working with the dough the next day and an improvement in the flavour, compared with a dough used a few hours after mixing it.

Some others refrigerate right off the dough hook.

Pierre

[DKM]

I normally put right in the fridge.  Honestly though I haven't been able to tell that big of a difference.

DKM

[stock]

just some information that seemed pertinent:

i've been reading peter reinhart's american pie, and pages 103-104, where he talks about the fermentation process, has led to me think that maybe it would be best to put the dough directly in the refrigerator, rather than let it rise, and then punch down and refrigerate.  that is to say, if indeed it is the goal for bakers to "let enzyme activity draw out the maximum natural sugar converted trapped in the starchy carbohydrates while controlling the amount of sugar converted by the yeast," then it seems that the refrigerator would be the place for the dough to go right away (reinhart 104).  

this also makes me wonder if perhaps, say, 90-100 degree water would, in conjunction with refrigeration, help retard the fermentation process as well, since that would slow down yeast activity, i should think. (that range of 90-100 i just arbitrarily pulled out of my head, and have no basis for choosing it other than it's cooler than 105-115 which is what i usually see called for.  also, i could wholly wrongheaded in my idea of the correlation between water temp and yeast activity--i'm looking into that currently).
-scott