The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

how long can bread be proved?

PETER PEARCE's picture
PETER PEARCE

how long can bread be proved?

Hi I hope someone can help with a technical point. I recently made a dough at 6am and left it covered all day.When I got home at 6pm the dough had risen and dropped. I knocked it back and then shaped it, put it into a tin and it then took until 9 30pm to rise but it did not come up to the height that other doughs had that I have proved for less time. The appearance and taste was ok but the whole thing was about 1/2 to 3/4 of the size that I would normally get. I work full time so I thought that I could save some time in the evening by getting the 1st prove "out of the way" by leaving it all day. So is it possible to over prove the dough? The recipe called for 500g of strong white flour, a little olive oil, 10g of salt , 7g of active yeast. and of course about 300 Ml of water. I realize that 12 hours of proving is probably not ideal but wondered if someone could tell me why and explain the reason. I'm more curious than disappointed. Any advice would be appreciated.

Peter 

 

drogon's picture
drogon

Essentially with a recipe like that unless you put it in the fridge the bulk ferment will only take an hour or so. What happened (in very simple terms) is that the yeasts got to work, kept on working then the gluten got a bit "tired", flopped and it all went to a gooy pudding (well it might not have by the sounds of it, but it was heading that way). Re-kneading brought it back, but by then the yeast was more or less done. (or ran out of food, or the mix was a bit too acidic to sustain it)

Next time try doing the first ferment for an hour or so (ie. get up a little earlier!), then degas, shape and leave to prove in the fridge (covered) so you can go from fridge to oven when you get back in... (take it out of the fridge while waiting for the oven to warm up)

-Gordon

Edo Bread's picture
Edo Bread

One of the main reasons for commercial yeast is consistency and it's strong and fast activity. It was developed in part so people do not have to wait for hours and allow industrial bread to be pumped out quickly. 

Arjon's picture
Arjon

Among other things, you can extend the time by doing your proof at a lower temperature (any cool spot including a fridge as Gordon said), or by using less yeast. So, if you want to do a 12-hour proof to fit your schedule, you can (you might also notice more depth of flavor), but you'll have to find out through trial and error what combo of temp and amount of yeast works for you. 

Fwiw, at a room temp around 20-22C, I'd say no more than 2 gm of yeast, but note that this is a guess based on limited experience since I probably made less than 50 loaves w commercial yeast before switching almost completely to sourdough. And of those, no more than a couple used any kind of oil or fat. 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

and use  pinch of yeast in 100 g each of flour and water to make a poolish in the morning and,leave that out all morning to ferment,  Then when you get home you can mix up the rest of the recipe (minus 100 g of flour and water.  Let that prove and then knock back and final prove.  This uses less yeast and you get a better tasting bred to boot

 

PETER PEARCE's picture
PETER PEARCE

Thank you all for the advice and information. I will give it a try. It has helped me to understand the process a little better.

I have another question which I will start a new topic for.

Thanks again all

Reynard's picture
Reynard

That it's about 11 hours too long. Your recipe is pretty similar to my "bread in a hurry", which bulk ferments in around an hour at room temperature and then proofs in around 30 to 35 mins after I've de-gassed and shaped.

You could either massively reduce the amount of yeast if you're going to leave it to bulk ferment at room temperature for that length of time or make your dough and do the bulk ferment in the fridge. Even if doing the latter, I'd still suggest reducing the yeast some.

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

"How long can bread be proved" - I'll answer with what everyone experiences in their bread quest.

In the Beginning

Over proofed dough will always be discovered after it is baked. The human brain then enters into a fury of presuppositions in an effort to ascertain what possibly could have gone wrong.

TFL Help Line

Perplexed and now in a quest to recover their wounded bread making prowess our bread pilgrim realizes that time and temperature are really "that" important.

Bread Pilgrim to Bread Engineer

Armed with thermometer and timer our intrepid bread pilgrim begins their transition to bread engineer. Carefully measuring both time and temperature within the proscribed range they discover after some experimentation that 5 minutes at 70 dF is much different than 5 minutes at 83.4 dF. Eye, hand, and thermometer co-ordination is one tricky combination to get right.

Happily Ever After Zone

Even after our bread pilgrim finds they are more or less comfortable with the rhythm of the dough a disaster will then occur driving home the fact that in bread making everything counts and constant monitoring of everything is required.

Married to the Dough?

Our poor bread pilgrim is now mortified that they're becoming inextricably tied to their bread making habit. This is the other major part of a bread making habit - finding timings that can fit into a busy schedule. I think this is the most difficult part to learn.

In every recipe that requires long rest periods the length of rest periods can be varied by manipulating temperature {or how to appreciate refrigeration in the build process). Yes, it sometimes means you will still have to reduce the time of offsite interludes to get back to the build but with a little slight of temperature that time interval can be varied.

I find retarding dough prior to baking in the early hours of morning to be one of the godsends of the bread making art (and the fact that it is cooler in early morning). Hardly anyone is stirring except us bread pilgrims taking away any distraction from the bake.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Repeat, repeat, repeat until it meets expectations. What could be simpler? This is the part where many fall by the wayside - instant gratification is not in our bread pilgrim's book of instructions. Having the TFL online is one of the great resources that has saved many a budding career in making bread stuffs and is an untold story of our modern resurgence in the individual artistry that has returned this oldest of foodstuffs to the pantheon it well deserves. 

At some point the bread pilgrim will plateau reaching a point where their ability meets with glad approbation from those companions with which they share their efforts. Note that the word "Companion" stems from Latin meaning loosely "those who break bread together". So, knowing when the dough is properly proofed or proved becomes a rite of passage in the art that every bread pilgrim must pass through on their way along the path to risen bread.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

I think it is closer to Slave to the Dough - not that marriage and slavery are all that different:-) or at least Slave to the Baking Apprentice 2nd Class!