In the two years I have been working with my bread coach (does it have Martin Philip), one question has plagued me more than any other: In my cold, drafty house, how can I make the dough rise faster?
My cold fingers have typed that question into a text message to countless coaches, but I've always been reluctant to hit send. I realized there was no problem with my dough. The problem was my (lack of) patience.
Turns out I was right. “Housewives chronically underestimate bread,” Martin told me when I finally confessed my problem. For bakers like me, he said, patience is really a problem: We get sick of waiting and put our loaves in the oven before they're really ready. The result is lumpy bread and a dense crumb—still edible, but far from ideal.
Can My Bread Coach Make Me a More Patient Person? (Can anyone?) Nope. But the coach had a few other solutions for the slow-rising dough.
For better correction, measure everything
David Tamarkin: When people come to you and say their dough isn't rising, what's your first tip?
Martin Philip: First and foremost, I wonder if and how they measure their ingredients. And when I say “measure ingredients,” I also mean measure temperatures. What was the temperature of your water? What is the temperature of the dough? Measuring the temperature is just as important as measuring the amount of salt or the amount of yeast.
Two, what is the quality of your yeast? Are you using a sour culture with poor health? Are you using rtype eight yeast?
If you've checked the temperature and checked the fermentation, you should be on the right course. The only thing you want to think about is the room's ambient temperature. If it's cold in your house, your dough will be sluggish, so you'll want to find a warm place for it to rise.
When you control the temperature—dough and room temperature—you can get your dough into the Goldilocks zone for optimal fermentation.
DT: Measuring the temperature of the ingredients and the room is all in the service of achievement Desired dough temperature (DDT). But many recipes don't give you a DDT to aim for. Is there a general range that people can look for that will put them in that “Goldilocks zone” for raising dough?
MP: There are many variables, but in broad terms we aim for between 75 and 80 degrees. This is our sweet spot.
DT: And this is true for one sourdough country breadAND challahand a white sandwich bread …?
MP: Yes. We could have a lot more regrets about this, but if you're aiming for the bread dough in the 75 to 80 degree zone, you're off to a good start.
Maurizio Leo
If you can't adjust the temperature, adjust the time
DT: Let's say I mixed my dough, took the temperature with one instant read thermometer, and found that it is doing well – 70 degrees. My house is very cold – 67 degrees.
MP: Unfortunately, dough likes an ambient temperature that is higher than room temperature. If your room is between 70 and 72 degrees, you should be fine, as long as your dough is in that 75 to 80 degree range. But if you have fresh dough, a cool room won't do anything to warm it up. You will need to make some adjustments: either you will reduce the fermentation in the case of a warm dough, or, in the case of a cold dough, you will prolong the fermentation.
DT: In other words, if the dough is slow and cold, we just need to let it rise longer.
MP: Exactly. If you can't control the temperature, you can control the time. So you may want to increase the length of the bulk fermentation from 25% to 50% of the time indicated in the recipe.
Help your bread dough rise faster with these tricks
DT: Let's just say I have somewhere to be, or I'm just feeling impatient. Is there anything I can do to speed up the fermentation?
MP: Yes. You can do anything to increase the temperature of the dough by adjusting the ambient conditions. The problem is that it is very difficult to get the warmth into the dough. It is much easier to chill a dough than to heat it. But if you have Brod & Taylor Proofing Boxthis is a pretty good way to warm it up.
DT: Everyone loves that thing! What temperature do you set it to to speed up a slow dough?
MP: 80, 85 degrees. It should be like a warm hug, you know? Bakeries use about 85 correction boxes.
But almost as good as a fix box is to take a Mason jar half-filled with water, heat it in the microwave for two minutes, and then microwave the bowl of batter with the jar to rise.
The next thing you can do is place your lidded dough bowl or bowl in a second, larger bowl of warm water. The water is, say, 105 to 120 degrees. Just make sure your dough is water tight!
Photography by Kristin Teig; styling by Liz Neily
DT: What about using the oven? People often recommend placing the dough with the oven light on…
MP: I think the oven causes more trouble than it's worth. Because someone is likely to turn on that oven. So yes, I think you can use the oven. But you have to be careful. Put a sign on it that says “Do Not Touch!”
DT: No thanks, I think you've successfully scared me away from him. What about heating plates?
MP: The heating plates work. Or if you are a gardener and have one of those heated seed mats for germination, that will work too.
Or you can just take your own Thermapen get out and start walking around your house, looking for warm spots. If you have a refrigerator with cabinets above it, it is often a warm place for puff pastry.
But with all these options you have to be careful not to overheat the dough. Otherwise you'll end up with a dough that's too stiff.
DT: Which is another fear of home bakers. How can they avoid it?
MP: If you keep your dough at the right temperature and check it as it rises, you'll likely catch it before it gets too firm. But if, despite your best intentions, you I DO secure your bread, you have learned something! And that is progress in itself. The only way to improve as a baker it is through repetition. You need to get an experience. You should get some reps. But really, I think bakers tend to over-resist rather than over-resist. (Ed. Note: if you end up proofing your dough, here are some ways to save it.)
At the end of the day, aim high
DT: What if I'm an hour into bulk fermentation and the dough doesn't rise at all? Can I cook less yeast?
MP: I mean, you can, but that opens up another can of worms. Instead of doing this, I would look into extending the fermentation if your dough is not rising quickly. Or just go ahead and bake your own bread. Admit that you did the best you could that day and try again tomorrow.
DT: Oh.
MP: Hey, it happens. But when you come back tomorrow, knowing your house is cold, aim high. Aim for a dough temperature of 82, 83 degrees, which may mean starting with hotter water at first and using some of the other tricks, such as heater or microwave because you know the temperature of the dough will drop quickly in your cold house if you don't do something to maintain it. I think this is my main advice on this whole problem. Aim high! Good advice for life, but especially for bread.
Cover photo by Mark Weinberg; food styling by Liz Neily.
