July 8, 2010 - 8:48am
Too hot for rising bread - doubling in 20 minutes!
I need good starting point for making bread in hot weather. It is 30* in our apartment at not quite 10am, and I'd like to bake bread. The last time I did bread this hot though, it doubled in 20 minutes the first rise, the second rise even faster, and it was very, very bland.
I use cups, not scales. Please help!
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1/3 or 1/4 of the usual amount, possibly in a preferment (biga or poolish).
you can alternatively, wrap a dampened cloth around the proofing container. Evaporation will cool the container, and I second cutting the amount of yeast used.
David G.
proof it in the fridge overnight
This will help you calculate the water temperature you need for your desired dough temperature. All the temps are in centigrade
multiply your desired dough temperate X 3, then subtract from that number the room temperature , then if you're using a stand mixer like a KitchenAid subtract 3 to account for the friction temperature. From this number subtract the temperature of your flour . This will give you the water temperature you need.
an example:
say you want a desired dough temperature of 28C
multiply 28C X 3C
= 84C
subtract your room temperature - 30C
= 54C
subtract the mixer friction (approx) - 3C
= 51C
subtract your flour temperature - 24C
this gives you your required water temperature = 27C
Using this calculation and some of the other suggestions that have already been posted will give you a good starting point and help to keep the ferment temperature under control.
Good luck, stay cool
I turn the oven light on and let my dough rise in the oven, i seams that the light bulb in the oven produces the right temp for rising the dough
Knud
I've been wondering about this lately as my garage stays about 95-100F this time of year, and I would love to be able to use that to my advantage. If one was to utilize a soaker and preferment for flavor development, ala Peter Reinhart's Whole Grains method, could a rise that fast actually be an effective time saver? Or is that just too hot? I'll probably try at least once, but if it's guaranteed to end badly that would be good to know.
Just came across this thread while trying to figure out how to safe my overly-active yeast which had already twice led to 30/40 minute rise times for my whole wheat loaf. It's about 77F - maybe I used too much yeast. I've punched the dough down (thanks JBeddo) and it's comin' up fast a third time. Guess I'll bake it now and see what happens!