Bread rising times and possible adjustments
I recently watched ATK and they explained bread rising times, but I don't remember what they said. They explain the problems that will happen if the first rise is too long or too short and what will happen if they second rise is too long or too short. I've also seen this mentioned on Great British Bakeoff, but for some reason this technical information did not sink it. But I did decide that I should pay close attention to rising times and make sure that I did not let the dough rise for too long, as I have often let the dough rise longer than the recipe specified in the past.
One thing that did sink in from ATK was the tip to allow the bread dough to rest in the bowl, covered, for 30 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate and then finish kneading. This I've been doing, and I've noticed that my bread is rising more than I expected. Here's my last loaf, which is 100% whole wheat:
This loaf ended up being much larger than my previous loaves and larger than I expected. It is also lighter and softer and is therefore a bit more difficult to slice, plus it is too large for one sandwich and will not fit into a sandwich bag.
For this loaf, I combined all the ingredients in my stand mixer for about 8 minutes and then covered the mixer bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to hydrate. Then I reattached the dough hook and kneaded it in the machine for a few minutes more without adding any ingredients. Then I let the dough rise for another 30 minutes, for a total of one hour for the first rise. I think I had been allowing the dough to rise for 1-1/2 hours for the first rise before. Next I formed the loaf and punched it down completely so that I could press it into the corners of the bread pan. The dough came only about halfway up the way (may 2/3), and I covered it loosely and let it rise for one hour. Then I started to preheat the oven to 400°, and so the dough had a few more minutes to rise before it went it. I sprayed the top with some water, but it in the oven, and turned the temperature down to 375° and let it bake for 35 minutes. At that time, it was only about 198° internally, and so I put it back in for 5 minutes more and then took it out without measuring the temperature again, as I knew it would be done.
Why is the loaf rising so much? What are the best times for the dough to rise? I had never thought all that much about it until I saw on ATK that these times were critical, but now I'm not sure why they are.
Here are the bread ingredients that I used this time:
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 2 tsp instant dry yeast
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 Tbsp powdered milk
- 4 cups whole wheat flour (up to 4-1/4 cups, if needed)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Comments (8)
Lars
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
New York Times No Knead-Bread
Comments (29)Cook's Illustrated tried this recipe and revised it slightly. Here's their version: Almost No-Knead Bread Revision by CookÂs Illustrated, January/February 2008 Note: Best eaten same day, but can be wrapped in foil and stored in cool, dry place for up to 2 days 3 cups (15 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting work surface 1/4 tsp instant yeast 1-1/2 tsp table salt 3/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp water (7 ounces) at room temp 1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp (3 ounces) mild-flavored lager, like Budweiser, OR a non-alcoholic lager 1 Tblsp white vinegar 1. Whisk flour, yeast and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from the bottom of bowl, until a shaggy ball of dough forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8-18 hours 2. Lay a 12/x18" sheet of parchment paper inside a 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into a ball by pulling edges into the middle. 3. Transfer dough, seam side down, to parchment-lined skillet. Spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours 4. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position and place a 6-8 qt Dutch oven with the lid on, onto the rack. Heat oven to 500 degrees. 5. Lightly flour top the dough. Using a sharp knife, make a 6" long slit along the top of the dough. After 30 minutes, carefully remove Dutch Oven and open lid. Pick up dough by parchment overhand and lower it into the pot, allowing any excess parchment to hang over edge. Cover pot again and put back into the oven. 6. Reduce heat to 425 degrees. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid, and bake until loaf is deep brown, 20-30 minutes longer. An instant read thermometer inserted into center should register 210 degrees. 7. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and let cool to room temp, about 2 hours....See MoreZo bread machine making dry bread?
Comments (5)When it comes to bread recipes (machine or manual), the flour measurements are just a good guess (and sometimes they're not even "good"). Gluten amounts in flour will vary from bag to bag and brand to brand; and gluten is a main determinate for proper hydration. If your flour is stored in the bag in a humid kitchen, then there will be more moisture in the flour than someone who stores flour in an air-tight container in the dry environment of the freezer/refrigerator - as a secondary source for some hydration. If you change the type of flour called for in the recipe - from all-purpose to high-gluten bread flour (or vise versa) - or you substitute part of the high-gluten flour for a low-gluten flour (rye, spelt, kamut, barley, oat, etc.) - you'll also need to alter the hydration. As others shared, you MUST check and adjust the hydration as needed. Start checking it about 5 minutes into the mixing/kneading. You want the dough to be formed into a soft, sticky ball. A solid ball is going to be too dry. When you touch the dough ball with your finger, a tiny bit should stick to your finger. A dry or stiff dough ball will result in dry bread just like making bread by hand. You can also switch from sugar to honey and you may find you have a crumb that is more moist. I'm another who never bakes in the Zo - it's just my main tool for mixing and kneading. I won't even let the dough rise in the machine - I'd rather control that in a dough rising bucket. Sometimes I want a long slow cool rise, which you can never get in a bread machine. I use freshly-milled flour, so allowing a timed rise in the bread machine tends to over-proof the dough. Freshly-milled flour doesn't have the extensibility commercial white flour has. Bread machines were designed to use commercial flour in them, and I never use commercial flour. I also bake breads to temperature - checked with an instant read thermometer. -Grainlady...See MoreCrusty French Bread With Almond Flour? Possible?
Comments (17)Possibly a lot more vital wheat gluten. It adds protein as well as replacing the gluten missing in the gluten-free or low-gluten flours. I worked on a low-carb bread machine recipe for a diabetic friend who is very carb-sensative and this is the ingredients list. I won't make the recipe anymore even though it was never "right"....can't stand the taste of it after so much testing. The recipe might give you some ideas for the recipe you are working on. If you want your bread to taste like rye bread, add some caraway seeds. I pulverized the seeds into powder rather than using them whole, but that's because hubby doesn't like seedy bread and I think the flavor is more intense and a little caraway went a long way. 1/2 c. + 2 T. water 1/2 c. kefir (omit and use more water) 1/2 c. vital wheat gluten 1/2 c. almond flour 1 to 1-1/2 c. rye flour (or whole wheat) 1/2 c. wheat protein isolate (could also use bread flour) 2/3 c. flaxmeal 1 egg 3 T. hi-maize flour (adds more fiber and helps control blood sugar) 2 T. agave nectar (or palm sugar - both are low-glycemic) 1/2 t. salt 2-1/4 t. SAF Instant Yeast -Grainlady...See MoreBread Machines for Mixing & Rising/Please Tell Me More
Comments (12)Posts by Annie & Grainlady convinced me that I should buy a Zojirushi. So last year my husband got me one the larger one for Christmas. I use it exclusively for kneading & rising. (I don't care for the way the crust turns out when the machine does the baking. I had another brand years ago and the crust was the same, so I think it's just part of the bread machine experience.) My husband is on a low sodium diet, so I make all our breads and cut the salt content by half. We're not big toast eaters so I usually make sandwich buns, dinner rolls, bagels, etc. and keep them in the freezer until needed. Because I bake the dough myself, I don't fuss with special bread machine recipes. I just put the ingredients in the machine following the recommended order. I let the dough rise in my machine and then take it out to form and bake. However, while it's kneading, I check it to see if it needs a bit of extra liquid or flour. You can't just dump everything in, walk away, and have a perfect loaf. There are so many variables that I think it's really necessary to check the dough while it's kneading. One advantage to baking it yourself is that if you find that, for some reason, the dough is still too dry or too wet, you can adjust it before sticking it into the oven. The large machine is perfect for marathon baking days. I've used it to make three different breads in one day. I'll get one recipe going and pull out the dough to rise in a bowl while I use the machine to mix up & knead another recipe. Then I'll do the same thing. Only the last recipe made will actually rise in the machine. That way I can get almost a month's worth of sandwich & breakfast breads baked in just one day. I also use it for kneading sourdough bread. But I take that dough out and let it rise on its own, many times overnight. The instruction manual for the Zojirushi gives the times for the different processes (pre-heating, kneading, add-ins, rising) so I just set my kitchen timer a few minutes past the beginning of the kneading cycle to check the dough. Then I set the timer again for the beginning of the rise. I usually rub a bit of oil on my hands and dab the top of the dough ball so it won't dry out during the machine rise. I make pizza dough in it all the time and let it rise in the machine unless I'm doing one of my marathons. I think using the full operation, from pre-heat to final raise, probably takes longer than if you just took the dough out and let it rise on its own. Before I got the bread machine, I either made bread by hand or using my food processor. There was nothing wrong with those methods. The thing the machine did for me was allow me to make larger quantities of bread products at one time to accommodate my husband's dietary requirements....See More
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