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Part 1: Let the Dough
Rise
Part 2: Deflate the Dough |
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RISE TIMES:
Rise times in a recipe are always
approximate and will vary between 1 to 2 hours for a typical
homemade bread loaf.
Those made with sourdough starters, take
a couple of hours, with sponge starter bread dough in between
the two. By the end of the first rising the dough will contain
almost twice as much yeast as it did when it started. |
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BREAD TOPICS:
HOW TO MAKE BASIC BREAD:
4. The First Rise and Punch Down
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 There
are a couple of reasons bread won't rise for the first time (second
rise problems):
1. Yeast is
living and needs to be fresh. Make sure the date on the package
has not expired.
Proof any type of
yeast before using.
2. Salt
kills yeast. It should be added with the flour, but not with
yeast dissolved in the liquid ingredients.
3. Yeast
can be killed by hot water and only lukewarm water should be
used. Sprinkle the yeast granules (active dry) or
crumble (cake) over the surface of 110 -
115 F degrees liquid, preferably water; no more and no less, as
measured by an Instant Read or Candy Thermometer.
4. The room is too cold. Cold
retards rising. The dough should be left in a warm (75 degrees F and 85
degrees F is ideal) draft-free place to rise.
Some tips as to where.
5. A rainy or
stormy day: when the barometric pressure is low, you'll find
that your bread will rise more quickly. This is because the dough doesn't
have as much air to "push" against.
6. Too much or too little
kneading: Kneading is a
process that develops and strengthens the gluten in the dough. Knead for a
full 8 - 10 minutes. I use a timer to help me keep track of the time. If
not done correctly, the structure of the bread will be under- or
over-developed.
7. If the recipe contains 100% whole wheat, rye,
and other grains, a lot of sugar, or too many add-ins such as dried fruit
and nuts, they prevent the dough from rising efficiently, if at
all. Add in
Vital Wheat Gluten to help solve this problem.
It gives the yeast in the recipe a boost because it contains a high amount
of gluten forming proteins. Your loaves should rise higher and have better
volume. |
Rising (Part
1) improves the flavor and texture of bread, and is an important step in
bread-making. When the dough has risen
sufficiently (Part 2) then, it is
time to deflate it.
Rising is
where the dough is placed in a warm place and allowed to double in volume.
(Some peasant breads are allowed to raise to triple
volume). Usually a dough goes through two rising periods,
the first after
mixing and the second after shaping,
except for Artisan breads,
which usually go through one. Those made with Instant Active Dry Yeast require
only one.
Yeast is
a living organism, so don't get discouraged
Rising is influenced by how
warm the rising place is, the amount of kneading, cold weather, barometric
pressure and the use of cold ingredients. Recipes with a lot of sugar, whole
wheat flour and grains, and add ins, such as raisins and nuts take a longer
time to rise, too.
During
rising, the dough will go through a magical transformation.
From the yeast's fermentation, it takes time to
accumulate a volume of carbon dioxide gas during the risings, strong enough to
stretch a bread dough and to hold it high. On the outside, you'll see
the dough expanding like a balloon, called rising (Part
1), but on the inside, where it's invisible to the eye, lots of things
are happening, too.
During
rising, the gluten, which is comprised of two different proteins, begins to
repair and pull together, which also makes the bread dough easier to work
with. Yeast, a single-celled live organism,
feeds on the starches in the flour and doubles in number. All of these
by-products are important when making bread: the carbon dioxide causes the air
bubbles created in the dough to expand or rise, the alcohol contributes to the
bread's flavor, and an organic acid glutamathione, relaxes the dough and gives
it more elasticity. This allows it to absorb surface water, making the dough
less sticky.
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PART 1: LET THE DOUGH RISE,
also called proofing:
 When
kneading is complete, use both hands in an opposing position to form the
dough into a ball also known as "rounding". Dough rises best when the top
has been rounded and smoothed. The smoothness will come from proper
kneading, while the roundness comes
from rounding. A rough surface with breaks will allow the gases to escape
and not achieve the proper fermentation.
The dough should rise in a well-oiled large,
deep ceramic or glass bowl. They are said to keep the dough at a constant
temperature during proofing, but they aren't absolutely necessary; a
stainless steel one will work, too. A KitchenAid mixing bowl is perfect for
this or a regular one.
The dough has to be "greased" on all sides
with butter or oil before it rises; this helps prevent it from sticking to
the bowl. There are two ways to do this: grease the bowl first and then
place the dough in it. Turn the dough, touching the sides, so it is covered
with the grease. Or, spray the dough on all sides with vegetable oil, and
then rub it against the inside of the bowl to grease it.
Then, the bowl should be covered tightly with
plastic wrap sprayed with oil on the side that will eventually touch the
dough as it rises. This keeps it from drafts and prevents a crust from
forming on the outside that slows or stops the rising process. A tightly
woven cloth can also be used to cover the dough for the second rising,
slightly dampened with room temperature water. But, keep it over but away
from the dough, otherwise the towel is a mess to clean-up.
The dough should be left in a warm (75
degrees F and 85 degrees F is ideal) draft-free place to rise, and is done
when doubles in volume. Watch the temperature carefully: an overly warm
rising place contributes to an unpleasant beer taste, crumbly loaf. If the
temperature is room temperature (65 degrees F and 70 degrees F) the yeast
activity slows down, but it will still rise. A
COOL RISE does the same thing;
it slows down the rising time. The slower it is, the more flavorful
the dough.
SUGGESTIONS
FOR RISING PLACES: Use a warm, draft-free rising place - best
is a 75 - 85 degrees F:
Other suggested rising places are:
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On the lower shelf, place a
large, shallow pan inside an unlit oven. Pour in boiling water. On the
shelf right above, place the covered dough centered over the filled pan
and close the oven door. Remember not to turn on the oven until the
rising dough is taken out. |
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Place the covered dough in
the laundry room while doing the laundry. |
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Heat a towel in the dryer so
it gets very warm. Then wrap the hot towel around the bowl’s base.
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If it's a sunny day in the
winter time, place in sunlight. If it's a summer sun, it's too hot.
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During the summer, your
garage may become a perfect place for the dough to rise in.
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If you have a gas oven, set
the temp to 200 degrees F, and wait until you hear the burner come on.
Then close the door for 1 minute. Turn off the oven and put the covered
dough inside. Remove before you preheat the oven to baking temperatures.
If you have an electric oven, heat for about 1 minute 15 seconds. Place
covered dough inside to rise. Remove before preheating the oven.
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If
an emergency interrupts your rising session, punch down the dough,
cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you can get
back to it. Then, transfer the dough to a warm bowl and let it
warm slowly to continue rising. |
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 Q:
My dough has collapsed while rising. What do I do now ?
A: You can recognize it because the
dough is
fallen - with a flat,
wrinkled top. As a result, the bread will be dense and sour
tasting, the opposite of what you intended. With over- risen dough, you can
gently knead it, let it rise again and do the best from that; it really
depends how "over-risen" the dough has become. If the dough collapses during
baking, there is nothing that can be done to save the loaf since the gluten
strands, which act like rubber bands, have been overstretched or broken. The
dough is unable to bake properly.
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Q: I put my whole wheat
raisin bread dough in a warm place to rise and it's taking a really
long time. Why ? A: Bread dough,
with a heavy ingredients in it, such as whole wheat flour and raisins,
as well as a lot of sugar and fat, will rise a lot slower. The
addition of
vital wheat gluten
will help.
NOTE: It is best
to use the sponge method
of mixing when making dough with high amounts of fat and sugar.
This allows the fermentation to take place before the fat and sugar
weigh the dough down. Sponge dough formulas usually have higher
proportions of yeast to compensate, as well. |
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TO DEFLATE THE DOUGH: Deflate
the dough when it has doubled in size; it makes the shaping of the loaf, in the
next step, a lot easier. This
essentially gives the dough a fresh start, as it releases the build up of gasses
that have accumulated in the dough; too much are toxic. Here, you are expelling
the carbon dioxide, redistributing the yeast cells for more growth and relaxing
the gluten. It also redistributes the
yeast's food source, as well as the carbon dioxide for the final rise. This
helps to improve both the texture and flavor of the finished bread.
 | When the dough is doubled in size, lightly flour the
countertop, take off the plastic wrap, and deflate the dough in the bowl.
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Q: Do I punch or gently deflate the risen dough when it has doubled in
bulk ? A:
Do not beat the dough down; a couple of quick
bangs with a fist will do. You will
hear a "fisss" as the carbon dioxide is released and it will
deflate. Don't stretch the dough while do so as the motion will release
air from the dough. |
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| After deflating it, tip the bowl sideways so that dough
falls out onto the countertop. Sometimes you have to use your fingertips to
ease the dough out as it may be sticky. |
| Gently stretch the dough into a rough rectangle, brushing
off any excess flour. Do it gingerly because you don't want to loose any
excess air or carbon dioxide. The dough is now ready to be shaped.
Go to Step #5. |
| Do not knead the dough again unless
adding any dried fruit or nuts. |
| How
to add in dried fruits or nuts after deflating the dough:
If using dried fruit in a
yeast bread recipe, soak them first. If not done, they absorb a lot of water
from the bread's ingredients, which results in a dry loaf.
To do: it's best to place
the dried fruit in a saucepan with cold water and bring to a boil under
medium heat. Then, drain on paper towels before using.
Then, after deflating the
dough stretch the dough just a little, delicately with your fingertips, into
a thick square--do not press down on the dough. Sprinkle a large pinch of
dried fruits or nuts all over the top surface and then fold the dough in
half and knead to incorporate about 2 minutes. Don't get discouraged as it
takes a little more time to mix in. Repeat a couple of times -- don't overdo
it!. |
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ADDITIONAL RISINGS: The norm is that most
bread recipes call for a second rise after the dough has been
shaped. Some bread recipes call
for an additional rise, done after the first one and before the second
one; if so, just follow the appropriate directions in the recipe. If you
have to, follow the rules for the First Rising, above. |
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HOW TO
TELL IF YOUR DOUGH HAS FULLY RISEN -- THE
TOUCH TEST: A reliable way to check if the bread dough
passes the ‘doubled in size’ stage and is ready to be baked:
dough has collapsed, it has over-risen.
