How to cover bread dough the right way

In recent weeks I have seen many containers of raised bread dough covered only with a towel. While many of you (including my mom) rely on this as your go-to method (who can blame you, cookbooks even describe it), trust me that covering your dough with something better than a tea towel can pay huge dividends in taste and growth. . Let me explain myself.

Why you should never cover rising bread dough with a towel

During the first rise in bread production, our goal is active fermentation. That is why we carefully measure OUR yeastpay attention to the temperature of our water, sometimes even calculate it desired dough temperatures. These steps support an even and healthy rate of fermentation, producing high-rising bread and baking flavors. Good fermentation = great bread.

Covering your dough correctly is a crucial step here. For best results, we want a non-porous, tight-fitting lid that will keep the dough from getting too cold or forming a skin. And a towel doesn't cut it: The porous material allows heat to escape, causing the dough to lose temperature. As the dough cools, fermentation stops, resulting in slow, weakly fermented dough. (You may have read ours The bread coach lump in slow dough and resulting problems. (Add towels to the list of things to avoid.) Additionally, the porous material that lets heat out also lets air in. IN, drying out your dough and creating a skin that inhibits rising, forming and, ultimately, baking. Outcome? Lightly fermented dough that bakes as dense, dense bread.

To demonstrate the difference between a well-covered dough (anything that forms a non-porous, tight UNCOVERED will work, such as bowl cover or a tight lid) and a dough covered with a towel, I mixed a double batch of Classic sandwich bread. I put half of the dough (one noodle) in a bowl covered with a towel and the other half in a bowl with bowl cover. I put them in the same place in my cold kitchen.

During the first rise, the dough in the towel-covered bowl dropped from 78˚F to 65˚F, while the bowl with the bowl cover over it only dropped to 74˚F. While it may seem like a small difference, this greater temperature drop means that my towel-covered dough rises much more slowly, resulting in an airtight loaf with a tight crumb and low overall volume. .

Indeed, the two doughs looked like different mixes after the first kneading. One was perfect—marshmallow-y and active—while the other was slow and dense.

Two doughs in bowl, rising — Dough well covered (left), and covered with a towel (right). The dough on the right has a skin, while the dough on the left is lighter and has more volume.

The differences did not end there. When I rolled out the doughs to shape them, another problem appeared: a tight skin had formed on the surface of the towel-covered dough.

Dough with dry spots — Towel-covered dough with a crusty outer skin.

The leather proved problematic during shaping: The dry patches on the outside didn't stretch or develop tension like my well-covered, springy dough. Sections of leather snapped and cracked. And further, the dry skin resisted sticking to the rest of the batter, leaving me with a cracked surface and a dough prone to bursting or falling apart instead of rising evenly during proofing and baking. In contrast, well-covered dough was set up for success. Its wet surface adheres to itself during shaping, creating a good final lift and a beautiful shape.

And remember how the towel-covered dough was slow? The difference in volume is clearly visible during shaping, with one noodle the size of a well-fed twin and the other struggling to rise.

The elongated bowl-covered dough on the left versus the dry, narrow, towel-covered dough on the right — Bowl-covered dough (left) vs. towel-covered dough (right) – active and stretchy vs. slow and dry.

Hoping for some improvement during the final rise, I placed the two loaves on the baking sheet and placed them in a warmer location to encourage the towel-covered loaf to a come-from-behind victory.

I stretched a bowl cover over one and used a towel for the other. I also lengthened the final rise, trying to give the slow dough a fighting chance. But, as with the first rise, the towel-covered bread formed another skin. Well!

After baking, the story continued with the flabby, crusty bread and our beautiful, open halls.

Two loaves, side by side — A high-rise covered loaf (left), versus a towel-covered loaf (right).

So what can you do? Do you need to buy bowl covers? This is certainly an option. I use them to top my oven baked loaves that come out banners, as well as in bowls of risen dough. I have some more 6 quart containers which are perfect for larger herds like us Country bread.

But you don't have to buy anything. I often just grab a large pot lid and use it over a bowl of proofing dough. A sheet tray works too – just make sure the seal is tight enough to prevent any air movement. For particularly large batches, I often use a food-safe garbage bag, placing the entire bowl of batter inside the bag. After a few uses, I use it as a trash bag so it doesn't go to waste.

So cover those bowls, bakers, and get ready for the higher and tastier days ahead!

Use your knowledge of covering bowls The easiest bread you will ever bake: