Learned the hard way about bread proofing in cold weather

I was reading this baking blog from a guy up in Minneapolis and he was talking about how his dough takes almost 4 hours to proof in winter because his kitchen is around 60 degrees. Tried his tip of putting the bowl on top of the fridge where it's warmer and it cut my proofing time by nearly an hour and a half. Has anyone else had to adjust their rise times when the seasons change?

2 comments

2 Comments

shah.evan2d ago

Flip your oven light on and stick the bowl in there with the door cracked an inch. That little bulb puts out a steady 75-80 degrees and keeps drafts away, way better than a fridge top. I've been doing that all winter and my dough stays consistent even when my kitchen feels like a walk-in cooler.

miles_jackson92d ago

Haha YES my buddy Pete tried this exact trick last winter. His dough got so warm and puffy it actually climbed out of the bowl and onto the oven rack. He texted me a photo and I couldn't stop laughing.