January 17, 2010 - 11:10am
Camera to keep temperature
My room temperature is about 65 degrees. Some recepes require 80-85 degrees to keep dough or strater for several hours. Can somebody recommend any type of device which can keep temperature at a stable level?
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If you have a microwave, it makes a great "proofer". First, heat a cup of water to boiling. Then place the dough in the microwave next to the cup and leave the door closed (don't turn it on!). The hot water will provide the heat and the microwave is insulated to hold the heat for your dough. My microwave stays around 80 degrees for many hours this way.
If you don't have a microwave, you can use an overturned plastic storage box or a styrofoam cooler the same way--put the cup of hot water in there right next to the dough. Again, temps in this "proofing box" will stay about 80 degrees.
Some people lightly heat their oven and then put the dough in there--it helps if you can leave the oven light on. But you have to remove the dough to preheat the oven.
Others use a heating pad under an insulated cover, but you have to watch those to make sure they don't overheat the space.
I use a foam ice chest with a cup of near-boiling water in it to generate heat. Here are other suggestions I found using the search box.
Put a bowl of boiling water in the oven along with the dough, once you close the door it retains the heat real well. Turning on the oven light also keeps an oven warm but not hot. Refresh the hot water for the second rise. Dough loves the warm moist environment. Putting the shaped loaf on the counter while the oven heats up usually doesn't affect anything.
Thank you guys, those are great ideas, however they are not exactly accurate. Are there are industrially made devices which I can control electronically ? Can a bread machine do it?
Life itself is not exactly accurate and the making of bread lies far more under the umbrella of arts and crafts than it does under the category of science and industry. There is a "feel" to making bread that is not written in the lines of a recipe nor the pages of a book. The feel comes to you through your hands as you move from first blindly playing with dough to ultimately coaxing and prodding dough to become that spectacular loaf that you know it can be. Science can make a really good loaf of bread but only you can make a truly great loaf.
Jeff
turn it off and put in your dough in a plastic container.
Every the smart aleck . . .
move to Key West ... both heat & humidity.
:o)