Archive for the 'How-To' Category

It depends. The best route to state if the dough has risen adequate is not by timethough it helps to set the timer so you dont blank out about your doughbut by seem & sense. It will seem cushy & bloated. When you touch the dough, it will be cushy & your finger will leave an indentation when gently pressed against the dough. If it is not ripe, the dough will tend to slowly spring back.If you longing airy, fluffy bread, the dough should rise until it is puffy. The more gas incorporated in the dough, the clearer it will be. Of line, if too much gas is captured in the dough, it might collapse. The trick is to let it rise until you get just to the margin & then bake it. In most cases, that means that the dough will doubleor morein volume. With a free-standing loaf, since the pan cant support the loaf, you cannot let the bread rise as practically. How long should it take? A slim, moist dough in a warm kitchen will likely rise in 45 minutes or less. A firmer dough with less moisture will take longer to rise. Yeast is very sensitive to temperature; even a couple of degrees less in the kitchen might widen the rise time importantly. A change of seventeen degrees (cooler) will double the rise time. It doesnt hurt to let dough rise slowly. Bread that has risen slowly has a different flavor than quick risers, a more acidic flavorhence the sourdough flavors in slow rising breads. Expert bakers use refrigeration to retard the rise. You might use a cool spot in the home or even a refrigerator to slow the rise. We recently made bread & local it below an open window on a cool day to deliberately slow the rise. Complete rise time, first & second rising aggregated, was about five hours. That appears like a long time but we were in no hurry & wanted the complex flavors of a slow rise. Although trim breads are deliberately retarded to enhance the flavors, bountiful doughs or doughs with ample sweeteners or flavors will gain little with an widen rise since the flavors & sugars tend to mask the natural flavors of the yeast. There you have it. Dont get in a hurry; let the bread rise wholly. For trim doughs, those with little sweeteners or chubby, try letting them rise in a cool spot for terrific complex flavors. If you are patient & comfortable working with yeast, youll make terrific breads.