The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

for the final proof, should dough rest uncovered?

koloatree's picture
koloatree

for the final proof, should dough rest uncovered?

i think ive been covering the bread during the final rest. i guess this would inhibit the bread in forming a skin that makes scoring easy? which in turn creates the nice bread bloom?

Soundman's picture
Soundman

Hi koloatree,

You've been doing the right thing by covering (lightly, with plastic wrap or lightweight tea-towel) your dough as it proofs. (Maybe I'm being a little picky, but it's not really "resting" at this point, but proving that it will rise in the oven, hence "proof".) Uncovered the dough will dry out some, which will hinder the oven spring you want.

The "skin" you're talking about is a surface-tension layer that develops from proper shaping. Watch a video of a baker forming a boule and you'll see what forming a skin is about. (The tight surface tension of a skin allows for scoring your loaf without deflating it, just before loading it into the oven. Scoring in turn allows some gas to escape in the oven, allowing the dough to spring up without exploding.)

Once shaped, the outer layer of your dough needs to be kept humid, not dry, so that the crust doesn't set too soon after loading in the oven. This is why we "steam" our ovens, or use a covering lid -- the longer it takes before the dough takes on color, i.e. reaches a high enough temperature to begin crust caramelization, the better your chance for a good oven spring. Hope I didn't make this too complicated!

David

 

koloatree's picture
koloatree

thank you David, that makes sense. so tension is very important....

the other day i gave a boule a final shaping ~1.5 hrs before baking. when it was finished, i didnt get much oven spring.i was expecting that maybe if the bread sits out a bit longer than i usually do, i would get a slightly thicker bread skin that would make a nice crusty ear. however, that was not the case.

last week, i baked another boule and final shaped it around ~45mins before baking. that time, i got a really nice spring. the best for me thus far, i didnt even want to eat it, lol. this week i will focus on more steam and a better score and keeping the final shape < 1 hr before baking. how long do you let the dough proof after the final shaping?

 

thanks!

Soundman's picture
Soundman

Hi koloatree,

Proper proofing is, in the end, more a matter of feel than clock-timing. Since the yeast quantity and activity varies, dough to dough, the rule of thumb (well, finger) many bakers use is this: when you think your dough may be ready to load, give it a gentle poke with a finger. (Yes, really.) If the dough comes back, fills in the indentation slowly, your dough is ready to bake. Feel the dough before you load it so you get an idea of what it feels like when it's proofed.

Proofed dough should show significant expansion, but you don't want to wait too long, or your dough will look good on the bench but be overproofed, and won't give the oven spring desired. On the other hand, underproofed dough (which will fill the indentation back in more quickly, i.e. is more elastic) tends to rise too much in the oven, may explode even, because the gas will expand very quickly and uncontrollably. Some say you want to load your dough when it has expanded 85 or 90% of its capacity.

Try the finger poke test, after a while you'll find yourself knowing when your bread is properly proofed just by looking at it and touching it.

Hope this helps.

David

 

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Sometimes I cover the loaf during the proof, but other times I don't cover it. It depends on how long it will take and how wet the dough it.

--Pamela

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

I always do my final proof in the oven with a pan of warm water.  The moisture in the oven is enough to keep my dough from drying out.  When I first started baking bread, I used a plastic wrap to cover my dough for the final rise.  Once, l I probably didn't put enough oil on the plastic, the dough got stuck to the wrap and when I peeled the plastic wrap, the dough got deflated.  That terrified me enough that till today I still do the final proof without covering my dough.

Janknitz's picture
Janknitz

I  often work with highly hydrated doughs as well and I rarely cover them.  As long as I will be scoring the bread, there will be room for the oven spring and I've never had a problem with that.  I get amazing oven spring (using a cloche) even though there is a real "skin" on my dough.  In my humble opinion, I think the skin makes the scoring look more defined and attractive. 

When I make a dryer and enriched dough like challah, I usually cover, though, because this bread will not be scored and there will definitely be expansion.  But  my challahs usually have an stretchy looking part in baking that is not glazed or covered with poppy or sesame seeds because the "ropes" that made up the braid sprung up a lot in the oven. 

I decided I didn't like that look so much, so the last few times, I did not cover my challah dough.  Instead, I glazed it with an egg wash right when I set it out to proof, and then re-glazed it just before putting it in the oven.  That worked great!  Even with significant oven spring, the entire "rope" is evenly browned and lovely.  So I guess I'm not doing much covering these days ;o)