Proofing Dough
Proofing dough in the colder months can be a bit of a challenge. You could be in for a long slow rise as opposed to the time that cookery books specify, forty five minutes or thereabouts.
I had read about proofing boxes; a box that essentially keeps a warm even temperature whilst the dough rises. Having a small kitchen and not much storage space to keep a proofing box even if I had one, I found something that most of us have in our kitchens that can be used as a substitute… the microwave!
It goes without saying that you don’t actually turn the microwave on, merely using the inside of the microwave as a draught-free box to proof the dough.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I’ve been reading a lot lately that a 3 minute, low power (10%) setting with a cup of water, followed by 3 minute wait, 3 minute power, 6 minute wait- will get 1 hour dwell dough to rise in fifteen minutes. I don’t know yet if its true, but I’ll be trying it this weekend.