October 1, 2018 - 9:10pm
what's the point of an oven's proof setting?
My oven has a proof setting. It uses the light and fan only. I did a long-term measurement, and it starts at ambient room temp. If ambient is about high 60F, it takes roughly 4 hours to get to 100F, then hovers around that temp. Obviously it's not meant to stay on for only a couple hours.
What's the point of it, if it takes 30-60 minutes to pre-heat the oven to bake bread? One would risk over proofing if you allow bread to fully proof. On the other hand, you can start the proof, then remove to preheat the oven, but that seems.. like a waste of energy. It would work if I had two ovens, but I don't.
Thanks for your thoughts :)
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Perhaps you are confusing “proof” with “final proof”.
I have an oven with a setting like that. I use it to raise levains and doughs. On mine (a Gaggenau 480), that setting is fixed at (if I remember correctly) 90 degF. If, as I do, you cold retard your doughs and bake directly from the fridge, then it’s useful especially if you don’t have a stand-alone proofer.
But you can also just shove your fully risen dough into the fridge for the few minutes it will take for your oven to rise from 100 to baking temperature. Or, as TFL member aWarmingTrend reported, put your dough in the freezer while the oven warms to baking temp. She posted fabulous breads baked that way.
Happy baking,
Tom
which makes it useful if I need to proof more than my Brod & Taylor proofer can hold. It sees limited use because the proofing temperature is preset, whereas the B&T is adjustable in 1F increments.
Something to consider: the dough will proof at whatever rate the temperature will allow. If it is sufficiently proofed before your oven comes fully up to temperature, then move to the next step when the dough is ready.
Although I frequently use a baking stone, I've never subscribed to the idea of prolonged preheating. If the oven reaches temperature in 10 minutes, the bread goes in. So far, the results are more than acceptable.
Paul
That’s interesting, Paul. “Although I frequently use a baking stone, I've never subscribed to the idea of prolonged preheating. If the oven reaches temperature in 10 minutes, the bread goes in. So far, the results are more than acceptable.”
I think I’ll give that a try. Normally I shoot my stone with an infrared gun to make sure the stone is up to temp.
TrailRunner uses Graniteware (top and bottom parts) without a stone with excellent results and no stone to preheat. I don’t like waste, so I hope this works for me.
Can I expect the same bloom using your method?
Dan
The lowest it goes is 175 degrees F. That is too hot for my final proof. I tried it twice and over-proofed. Next time I'll try the old-fashion boiling water in a bowl at the bottom of the oven.
Or just set your toaster oven to a low setting & just put the dough in there.