My new long rise trick

10 years ago

My regular long rise, freshly milled, whole multi-grain bread with seeds in it requires a certain amount of time just being wet to develop. It always took a lot of attention if I let it be still in the fridge overnight because it would be cold cold cold cold cold POOF overrisen. Since it took many hours to warm up and start rising it was very hard to judge when to look at it, so required a lot more attention than it should, just having to look at and catch it before the POOFing was done and overrisen was inevitable.

My new trick is to put it in the fridge for just about an hour and a half, and then set it out to rise. That cools it down enough that I get the 8-10 hr. rise but I can leave the house and know that it'll just be beginning to think about growing when I get back. And it also means if I get it going in the morning, I won't be baking at midnight!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

grainlady_ks
10 years ago
If you need to hasten the rise a bit, you can add 1/8 t. of SAF yeast to the recipe. That's a trick I used when making naturally-leavened bread and didn't have all day to wait. It's still a slow rise where the flavors have time to develop, just not AS slow....(lol)
Jasdip
10 years ago
I love that trick Plllog!!! I've yet to do a slow/cold rise in the frig. I'm always afraid of messing it up, with the timing.
Related Discussions
Phoenix Rising...My New brug
Q
Comments (3)
Gary, it's stunning! Love the curly teeth! Did any of the flowers produce seedpods for you?
...See More
NEW: ~Trick or Treat ~ smell My Feet~ '07
Q
Comments (124)
I buy my seed envelopes at Staples - they're not cheap, but I find the plastic baggies hard to work with. The upside of the plastic bags is that you can see the seeds right away - the downside is that if seeds go into them that are the slightest bit moist, the mold probability is much higher than in the paper envelopes. When I was at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London this summer, there were at least as many people (okay, women LOL) getting their picture taken with JD as there were people of both sexes getting their snapshot with the Queen. It's good to be gorgeous.
...See More
Combi-steam: my new trick
Q
Comments (15)
Gross? Now, I used to be vegetarian and still have strong vegetarian sympathies, but it doesn't seem gross to me. And even though I'm a city type, I have killed and dressed 3 chickens. (and I do have photos, but will spare you). I figured, if I wasn't willing to kill them personally, I shouldn't eat them. Now that had some gross parts (especially since they were aged layers and one had disease, so I guess I should say I killed 3 and dressed 2). Deboning an already dressed chicken is a labor intensive, but I don't think it's really any grosser than any other whole chicken prep. Galantine bird is a very nice prep (even if I can't do it anywhere near as fast as Pepin). As a roast it results in more evenly cooked meat than whole bone-in bird, is visually very nice at the table, and without the bones, very easy for guests to eat.
...See More
I learned a new (to me) trick
Q
Comments (2)
Yum, it sounds good, plllog. My Anchor Hocking Bowl doesn't have very straight sides, though, unfortunately, because that is a very good idea! Annie
...See More
plllog
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, Grainlady. It's something I never remember when I'm waiting on wild yeast, and I should. This recipe actually uses commercial yeast--just a small amount for a slow rise. :)

Jasdip, the other trick to that is using a clear dough bowl/bucket, with straightish sides so it's easy to judge the volume at a glance. That and a roll of masking tape to mark it. You can use a Sharpie instead, but it's harder to remove (I use wine dregs for that). I have a two quart, heavy glass Anchor Hocking measuring bowl with a tight lid that goes in the dishwasher easily and is just right for a single loaf, which I use for the daily bread.

Yeast will still grow in the fridge. Just a lot slower.
lindac92
10 years ago
Don't know about all this over risen dough stuff....if my bread over proofs, I knock it down and let it start again....there is a WAY over risen point...but knocking it back usually expels the yeasty gasses and gives it a fresh start.
I don't obcess about rising time....I find yeast bread very forgiving.
plllog
Original Author
10 years ago
Yes, Linda, but we've talked before about how the gluten gets cut by the bran in whole grain breads. The yeast is forgiving. The gluten can get wrecked.
cathyinpa
10 years ago
Yeah!!! There can be so many steps in some breadmaking that either take you down the path to all those "bready" superlatives or a pretty big brick:) It's really wonderful when you find something that works and then you can REPLICATE in the future. That's why some of my more involved recipes are covered with notes, scratched notes and arrows to other notes!

Here's to taking a wee bit of guesswork out of an elaborate equation!

Cathy in SWPA
Jasdip
10 years ago
I'm always afraid that the yeast will get "tired" and not rise as much the second time. So I just bake it anyway.

Plllog, I use a squarish ice cream bucket that works great as a proofer. I use it when I'm making 4 loaves of bread, though, as it's large. My go-to one is a round metal pot, I usually forget about it until I see the lid rise. :-)

I should look for something else that's opaque.
plllog
Original Author
10 years ago
Yes! Something transparent, or even just translucent, that fits in the fridge well. I have a three gallon food storage bin for large batches, which does fit in my fridge if I can clean out enough from the tall shelf. A trick my mother taught me for fast rises, especially enriched loaves where there are retardants, is to put the bread bowl on the dryer, and run it (hopefully with a load of towels that needs drying). The heat helps the rise and the dryer acts as a timer. :)

The yeast won't get tired, but if you think it's not active enough, you can always give it a little sugar or starch (i.e., easy food). :)