Just figured out why my bread was always dense finally

I been baking sourdough for like 6 months and kept getting these hockey pucks instead of fluffy loaves. Tried different flours, longer proofs, even bought a fancy Dutch oven. Then I realized my kitchen temp was way too cold for the bulk fermentation - like 62 degrees instead of 75. So I started putting my dough in the oven with just the light on and it doubled in size in 4 hours instead of 12. First loaf came out with actual air pockets and I nearly cried. Any other home chefs here struggle with temp control for proofing?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas_johnson3516h ago

Wait did you check your dough temperature or just the air temp? Because I've been down that road thinking the oven light trick was the fix but my dough was still cold from the counter. Had to switch to using a proofing box I made from a cheap cooler and a seedling heat mat. Way more consistent than guessing with the oven light. That light can actually get too hot if you leave it on for hours and kill your yeast. So what temperature is your actual dough hitting now? Might still be off by a few degrees and that makes a bigger difference than people realize.

evand6515h ago

@thomas_johnson35 totally nailed it with the dough temp being the real issue. I learned that the hard way too when my bread came out dense even after babysitting the oven light for hours. Now I just pop a cheap instant read thermometer right into the dough ball and wait until it's consistently around 78F before I even bother with any proofing tricks.