Bulk fermentation is a process in which the bread dough is fermented in a single piece (hence the name 'bulk'). It is the first fermentation that occurs in breadmaking, which often requires more than just one stage of fermentation. After the dough is worked, it becomes very tight and stiff, due to the high gluten structure, and in order for the dough not to break, it has to be left aside in a warm enviroment for the gluten to relax and the fermentation to occur. After the bulk fermentation, the dough can be shaped on the desired format, to go through a second stage of fermentation, called proofing.