The volume change of partially fermented dough exposed to refrigeration has been investigated. Lean dough pieces (70 g) were exposed to pre-fermentation at 30 degrees C during selected time to reach expansion ratios of 2, 3 and 4. The pre-fermented dough were exposed to cooling at 4 degrees C for 2 h. Dough pieces were then frozen, thawed and baked. The evolution of the volume of the dough during the different stages of the time-temperature history has been measured. Image analysis (cell distribution), of both pre-fermented dough in frozen state and baked bread obtained with these dough, were carried out and used to assess the impact of the degree of pre-fermentation on the stability of the dough and of the baked bread. Results showed that increasing the degree of pre-fermentation results in a reduction in the final dough and bread volume. Freezing applied to pre-fermented dough resulted in a baked bread with larger and less numerous gas cells. However, it was observed that applying a chilling step (4 degrees C for 120 min) before freezing the pre-fermented dough minimized the loss in bread volume (-40.5% vs. -27.5% in comparison to reference bread - direct baking). (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.