Can I use my oven as a proofing oven?
Yes, you can proof bread dough in your oven at home. To do this, you can turn your oven to its lowest setting for a few minutes, then turn it off to create a warm environment for the dough to rise. You can also place a pan of hot water on the bottom rack to create a humid environment, which can help the dough rise.
A proofer (aka proofing oven, proofing cabinet, dough proofer, proofing drawer, or proof box) is a warm area (70-115°F) designed to maximize proofing by keeping dough warm and humid. You can DIY a proofing box by placing a loaf pan at the bottom of the oven and pouring 3 cups boiling water into the pan.
The process is pretty straightforward. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling film or a damp tea towel. If your kitchen is warm, you can let the dough rise on your counter. But if your kitchen is cool, place the covered bowl of dough over a pan of warm to hot water and leave it on your counter.
The warmth from the oven and the bowl of water will create a warm, humid environment for the dough to rise in. Put the dough in an oven-safe pan and set it in the oven. Close the oven door. Leave the dough in the oven until it's doubled in size.
The inside of your (turned off) oven with the oven light on. Your empty dryer: Spin it for a couple of minutes to warm it up, then turn it off and pop your container of dough inside. On top of a heating pad (on low) or dough riser. In a temperature-controlled proofing box.
Turn your oven on to the lowest temperature it will go, usually 200 degrees. Once it reaches 110 degrees, turn the oven off. Place the dough in the oven and close the door. Opening the oven door will lower the heat a bit, and that's okay (you're aiming for 75 to 85 degrees).
But if your kitchen is cold, your oven is actually a great place. Preheat oven to 200 degrees for 1-2 minutes to get it nice and toasty, then turn it off. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then put it inside the oven and let rise until doubled (about 45-60 minutes).
130° F—140° F (55° C–60° C) Yeast cells die (thermal death point).
When professional bakers let dough rise, they often make use of a proof box: a large cabinet that holds the air temperature between 80 and 90 degrees and humidity around 75 percent—conditions ideal for yeast activity.
How do you know when proofing is done?
If you're checking on shaped dough for the second rise/proof, then it should also be about double in size. Feel: Bread dough that has successfully risen/proofed will spring back slowly when poked and leave an indent. If it snaps back too quickly, it needs more time.
A Bowl of Steaming Water is the Key to Quickly Proofing Bread. In the winter, when your house and kitchen are at a crisp temperature and you need a warm spot for your dough to rise, create a makeshift “proof box” by placing a bowl of steaming water inside your oven alongside your bowl of dough.
For models with this feature, you use the PROOF pad to create the perfect oven environment for activating yeast in homemade bread. When using the Proof feature, the halogen oven light is illuminated to provide the warm temperature needed to help yeast rise during the proofing process.
Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.
Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.
Mimic a proofing drawer using your microwave
Like your oven, your microwave can heat up quickly and retain heat and moisture. I used this method for the final proof. I was able to proof and preheat the oven at the same time. This method helped cut my final proof time from 1.5 hours to about 45 minutes.
Pizza dough loves warmth, so if you can find a way to add some extra heat, your dough will rise faster. One way to do this is to preheat your oven to the lowest setting (usually around 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and then turn it off. Place your pizza dough in the warm oven for 10-15 minutes until it begins to rise.
After rising, you punch down the dough back to its original size and then form the loaves or buns. Once the dough has been shaped, it is again allowed to rise. This step is called proofing. The yeast creates air bubbles that cause the dough to rise and to create the light texture of the bread.
Leaving dough to rise overnight at room temperature can be risky as it increases the chances of over-proofing, which can result in a sour taste and a coarse texture. It's generally safer to allow the dough to rise in the refrigerator overnight, as this slows down the fermentation process and helps develop flavor.
In addition to standardizing the proofing time, proofing ovens also help bakers maintain quality by ensuring that dough doesn't rise too much or too little.
Can I proof my sourdough in the oven?
If you'd like to turn your oven into a proof box, you'll need a whole pot of boiling water to moisten and warm the air in the larger space. If your oven has a bread proofing setting, resist the urge to use it; the temperature is likely to be too hot for the long, slow fermentation sourdough requires.
So instead, I simply turn on the oven light, and the temperature within gradually rises. I've learned that in the winter (when my kitchen is cold) if I turn the oven light on an hour ahead of adding the bowl of dough my oven temperature will be right around 76°F.
If you're dough didn't rise, the yeast is probably dead. This could be because the yeast was old, it wasn't refrigerated, or because the water you bloomed it in was too hot (ideally the water should be warm, about 100F). You can still bake the dough but don't expect the same flavor.
Heat can speed up the process of fermentation, which explains why bread continues to rise in the first few minutes of baking in the oven.
Testing your yeast
If the mixture rises to double or triple in size, then your yeast is active! Go ahead and bake with confidence! If your mixture does not rise much or stays at the same volume, then your yeast is no longer active. You'll have to throw it out, and get yourself a new batch.
