How to proof bread in winter!! (2024)

FAQs

How do you proof bread dough in cold weather? ›

To proof bread in the oven, place a glass baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven and fill it with boiling water. Stash your dough on the middle or top rack and shut the door. The steam and heat from the boiling water will create a warm and steamy environment for the dough—exactly what you want for a good rise.

It's hard to get bread to rise in a cold house. My favorite way to counter a cold house is to boil water in a small pot then place the pot on the lower baking rack of the (turned off) oven, place the bread on the top rack, and shut the oven door while the bread rises.

By all means, set out on a hunt to find the warmest spot in your house to encourage your dough to rise. Above appliances that give off heat — a dryer, dishwasher, refrigerator, water heater and even a stove top after the oven has been running — is a good option.

Cold drafts can't get through to your bread as easily, which will allow it to stay at the ideal temperature of 75 Fahrenheit or 24 Fahrenheit degrees, give or take. If you didn't already know, when your bread dough is exposed to too much cold, it takes far longer for it to rise.

In a toasty kitchen, your dough may proof in as little as an hour (or less!). When the temperatures dip, it can take much longer—upwards of two or even three hours.

Don't be afraid to leave your dough at room temperature a little longer to make sure it fully rises ahead of baking.

Winter can bring many challenges – not just for us but also for our bread! Colder temperatures mean that yeast will work more slowly, and your bread dough may not rise.

When professional bakers let dough rise, they often make use of a proof box: a large cabinet that holds the air temperature between 80 and 90 degrees and humidity around 75 percent—conditions ideal for yeast activity.

If you want to get a head-start on your baking, letting your bread or roll dough rise in the fridge overnight can be a huge help. Chilling the dough will slow down the yeast activity, but it doesn't stop it completely.

In short, dough will rise in the cold. However, it will rise much more slowly and it will create a slightly different texture in the bread. This type of bread is often known as cold-rise bread.

Do you cover bread when proofing in oven? ›

Keep the oven door closed for the duration of the proofing time according to your recipe. For example: 1-½ to 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size for the first rise and 30 minutes for the second rise. Some recipes require two or even three proofs before baking.

It is possible to leave bread dough to rise overnight. This needs to be done in the refrigerator to prevent over-fermentation and doughs with an overnight rise will often have a stronger more yeasty flavour which some people prefer.

Bread dough is time sensitive.

The warmer they are the faster they produce gas and therefore the faster the rise, and the cooler they are the slower it all happens.

Of course. It can be quite useful to do that if it is cooler outside and there is not enough room in the fridge. A slower rise improves the flavour of your bread.

Most doughs rise faster in a warm and humid environment. Here are some ideas on warm places to let your dough rise: 1. Oven – a) Turn on the oven for about one minute and turn it off.

Temperature matters

Nail the sweet spot — warm enough to rise at a decent rate, yet cool enough to develop flavor — and you're golden. Studies have shown that the optimum temperature for yeast to grow and flavor to develop is 75°F to 78°F.

How long can dough sit out on the counter? The maximum amount of time dough can sit out on the counter is four hours for yeast-made bread, six for sourdough. Temperature, the characteristics of the sugars in the flour, the amount of yeast and the humidity of the room alter the length of the rise.

Covering your dough with a plastic bag will stop it from drying out and delivers great results no matter how your fridge functions. But if for any reason you want to proof your dough uncovered, make sure your fridge doesn't get too dry and there aren't any fans circulating air which could cause the dough to dry out.

Look: Your dough should be about double the size it was when it started. If it's in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, then use a marker to trace an outline of the dough on the plastic — the dough is done rising/proofing when it stretches beyond that mark by about double.

Pizza dough that has been left to rise for too long, or has been over-proofed, can potentially collapse. The gluten becomes overly relaxed, and the end product will be gummy or crumbly instead of crisp and fluffy.

Will dough rise in a sealed container? ›

Place the dough in a tightly sealed container

This facilitates the dough's rising because it conserves temperature and humidity as the yeast's activities start. It is this humidity that helps keep the dough soft so that rising is quicker.

The best place to let dough rise is a very warm place. On a warm day, your counter will probably do just fine. But if your kitchen is cold, your oven is actually a great place. Preheat oven to 200 degrees for 1-2 minutes to get it nice and toasty, then turn it off.

After about 30 minutes, you can do an oven check and feel for the temperature and humidity. A thermometer is a good tool for this. Rewarm the water if you still need more proofing time.

If you want to let you dough proof for longer, try bulk-fermenting it in a cooler place, but don't allow it to go longer than three hours or structure and flavor may be compromised. For the workhorse loaf, a bulk proof of approximately two hours gives us the optimal balance of flavor and texture.

Are you wondering how long pizza dough can sit out for proofing before you start making your most awaited pizza? The answer is, that the rise time for pizza dough can be as short as 6-10 hours at room temperature and as long as 1-3 days (24-72 hours) in the refrigerator.

Retarding and Proofing

Retarding is done during the second proof or rise. It is often done overnight when the dough is placed in the refrigerator, slowing the rise so it can be freshly baked in the morning, dividing up the labor and allowing you to have fresh bread at a chosen time.

When I write final proofing instructions in a recipe, I often suggest a time range or even two ranges: 1-3 hours at room temperature or 8-14 hours in the refrigerator.

In short, dough will rise in the cold. However, it will rise much more slowly and it will create a slightly different texture in the bread. This type of bread is often known as cold-rise bread.

Colder temperatures mean that yeast will work more slowly, and your bread dough may not rise. Whether you're using a sourdough starter or baker's yeast in your breads, read, and watch, on to get my top tips on how to get bread to rise in cold weather.

Proofing sourdough in the fridge is effective because it allows the dough to rest in its shaping container while developing superior sourdough flavor. Unlike bulk fermentation (which must be done at room temperature), proofing can be done in cold fridge temperatures.

Is it better to proof dough in the fridge? ›

Put simply, retarding dough is the process of slowing down the final rising in the bread-making process. This is easily done by proofing bread overnight in the refrigerator since the cold slows down the rise. It has its benefits, including adding flavor and allowing you to bake the bread at a later time.

Temperature matters

Nail the sweet spot — warm enough to rise at a decent rate, yet cool enough to develop flavor — and you're golden. Studies have shown that the optimum temperature for yeast to grow and flavor to develop is 75°F to 78°F.

Dough that's left to rise at room temperature typically takes between two and four hours to double in size. If left overnight, dough can rise so high it will likely collapse on the weight of itself, making the dough deflate. For best results always keep dough in the refrigerator when leaving it to rise overnight.

It Can Ruin the Texture and Taste of the Bread

The dough ferments as it continues to rise. If this process goes on for too long, you could wind up with bread that has a sour taste. Most people aren't going to enjoy bread that tastes even slightly sour.

Pizza dough that has been left to rise for too long, or has been over-proofed, can potentially collapse. The gluten becomes overly relaxed, and the end product will be gummy or crumbly instead of crisp and fluffy.

Doughs should be proofed at a warm room temperature, ideally between 75°F and 80°F. If your room is too cold, you can place the dough in a standard oven (that is off) with no pilot light and the oven light turned on, or in a microwave (also off) next to a bowl of very hot water.

Avoid stacking dough batches on top of a heated oven, for example, since they'll proof unevenly. Keep your dough in a food-safe container and cover it completely with an airtight seal. A well-made pizza dough box prevents crusting on top and encourages complete and consistent proofing.

When I write final proofing instructions in a recipe, I often suggest a time range or even two ranges: 1-3 hours at room temperature or 8-14 hours in the refrigerator. But giving an end point to the cold final proof feels a bit misleading, because bread can come out great after 24-hours or longer in the cold.

A dough will last approximately three days in the refrigerator; however, it is best to use it within 48 hours. This is the best way to refrigerate your dough. After the dough is kneaded, place in a lightly oiled, large mixing bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.