WOW--More snow. And a bread rising question.

B

barbara-in-va

Well-known member
It's quite unbelievable for this area. Adding to the challenge are high winds. I have some pics. Will post them shortly. I spoke to our friends in Juneau who called and asked for us to send the snow their way, they have none. At work I spoke to an artist in Mass who was longing for snow, he has none! How did we get so lucky!

Anyway, home another day. I have plenty of work that needs to be done but I want to make some focaccia and let it rise while I am working. I am not a bread maker but really want to learn. When it is this cold where do you let your bread rise? Where is it warm enough? (I have an electric oven and gas stovetop.) Do I fill the sink with warm water and sit the bowl into the warm water?

 
If you want it to rise while you are at work you can put it in the fridge.

The worry about a warm spot really isn't necessary now that we have active dry yeast.

 
A couple of thoughts on that: bread that rises at room temp, even if the temp is lower than...

...say, 72 degrees, will still rise, but at a slower rate. I often use room temperature ingredients in my bread making instead of warming the liquids to 105 to 120 degrees.

The bread that rises slower tends to have more flavor development and is less "needy"! My window of opportunity to punch down, shape and let rise again is longer due to the slower rise. I like that, especially if I'm multi-tasking.

I don't know what you have your thermostat set at in your home, but if you're comfortable, you can bet the yeast will be too.

Or, alternatively, turn your oven on and let it heat up for 3 minutes, then turn it off. It should be warm enough to let the dough rise and not too hot to kill the yeast. Leave the door open slightly (2 or 3 inches) to be safe.

The bowl you use for the first rise can be warmed by running hot water into it and allowing it to sit until needed. Dry the bowl and butter it according to the recipe. I use a thick, earthenware bowl for the first rise so it will hold the heat.

That should do it!

Michael.

Oh, and as for all the snow, can you say El Nino? We're expecting the umpteenth rain storm here today. That's typical El Nino pattern for us.

 
What Michael said. Slow rises are better. But if you're in a hurry, a high shelf in the kitchen,

or a spot near the heater will help speed things up.

 
I keep my house pretty chilly (low to mid 60's). Sometimes I turn the oven on

to the lowest for a few minutes, turn it off, then open the door until it feels like warm room temperature. Then I put the bowl in the oven and leave it for a while. Michael and Joe are right though-slow is good-I only do this when it's something I can't wait on all afternoon..

 
I keep a cold house - and use the heating pad for rising my dough

I don't know where I learned this but - I have a heating pad, I put it on the counter with a tea towel over it (to protect it) - I then put the bowl on top of that and I have a large rubbermaid cake container - and put that over all. It kinda makes a micro-environment for it - keeps it a little moist, and I set the heating pad to the lowest setting.

 
Well, sometimes I am not very bright--my oven has a proof setting! I tried it.

The dough seemed to rise beautifully. I baked the focaccia and it turned out pretty good. I definitely need more practice.

We also keep a pretty cool house, low 60's, and I did not realize that it would still rise at that temp. Thank you to those who told me that yeast can rise at cool temps. I had no idea. I could just let it sit out on the counter to rise.

Thank you all for your answers!

 
I boil some water in a small saucepan or in the microwave, then put the pot on the bottom of the

oven with the bread on the shelf above. rises just fine that way. also, if your microwave is above your stove and has a light that shines down on the stove, put your dough in the microwave and turn on that stove light---it warms up the microwave just a bit. My Mom used to set the bowl on top of the little TV in the kitchen with the TV on. just enough heat in those older TVs.

 
The microwave idea is great for speed although I'm moving to the slow-rise method as a concept >

Just finished a round of doughs that started with a sponge, prefermented at room temp, first rise in the fridge overnight (although apparently it could have stayed for several days) then shaped, second rise at room temp, then baked.

I'm reading the Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart, which is LOADED with great bread info. I've been making bread for decades but this is the first time I've realized how little I actually knew about it.

Looking forward to creating huge carbs.

 
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