Over-proofing happens when dough has proofed too long and the air bubbles have popped. You'll know your dough is over-proofed if, when poked, it never springs back. To rescue over-proofed dough, press down on the dough to remove the gas, then reshape and reproof.
An overproofed dough won't expand much during baking, and neither will an underproofed one. Overproofed doughs collapse due to a weakened gluten structure and excessive gas production, while underproofed doughs do not yet have quite enough carbon dioxide production to expand the dough significantly.
The proofing time for bread dough varies based on the dough's makeup (amount of preferment, flour choices, and hydration) and the temperature at which it's proofed. The dough should generally be proofed for around 1 to 4 hours at a warm temperature or overnight (or more) at a cold refrigerator temperature.
Proving is essential in breadmaking because it encourages the yeast to multiply, resulting in a light loaf. However, it is also easy to under- or over-prove your dough and you could end up with a less-than-ideal bread.
Let it stand until you see plentiful foaming, about 5 – 10 minutes. If it's not nice and bubbly after 10 minutes, throw it out and try with new yeast.
Too much yeast could cause the dough to go flat by releasing gas before the flour is ready to expand. If you let the dough rise too long, it will start having a yeast or beer smell and taste and ultimately deflate or rise poorly in the oven and have a light crust.
“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.
If you let the dough rise for too long, the taste and texture of the finished bread suffers. Because the dough is fermenting during both rises, if the process goes on for too long, the finished loaf of bread can have a sour, unpleasant taste.
The good news: We found an easy way to rescue overproofed dough. Simply punch it down gently, reshape it, and let it proof again for the recommended amount of time. In the test kitchen, these steps resulted in bread that tasters found acceptable in both texture and flavor.
How long can dough sit out on the counter? The maximum amount of time dough can sit out on the counter is four hours for yeast-made bread, six for sourdough.
Proofing — sometimes referred to as the second rise — happens after risen dough is worked into its destined shape, like a loaf, braid or rolls.
Time: This will be different can vary depending on the recipe, and can range from 1 to 3 hours. A warmer environment, a warmer dough, and more yeast can make for a faster rise.
What to look for in an over proofed loaf. Similar to the signs of over proofed dough, an over proofed loaf will be very flat, without much rise or retention of shaping. Over proofing destroys the structural integrity of the bread, so loaves that have gone over are unable to hold their shape in the oven.
You can chill your dough during either the first or second rise. Your yeast won't give you much love if it's asked to do both rises in the fridge, so it's best to do one or the other at room temperature.
Put simply, retarding dough is the process of slowing down the final rising in the bread-making process. This is easily done by proofing bread overnight in the refrigerator since the cold slows down the rise. It has its benefits, including adding flavor and allowing you to bake the bread at a later time.
You can gently deflate the dough, reshape it, and set it to rise again. Watch it very carefully, as this third rise will go quite quickly and probably won't be as high.
Because the yeast has already exhausted some of the dough's food supply, it won't be as energetic and will create much smaller air bubbles. Those smaller bubbles will allow for a texture more suited to sandwich bread, however, and will result in hardier bread.
Once you've made your pizza dough, you can place it in the fridge and let it rise overnight for up to 24 hours. Take it out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you intend on using it to let it come to room temperature. This way, you can make your pizza dough the day before. This is great for entertaining.
For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough. Now, you may be wondering “how long does it take for bread to rise?” The short answer is that it depends on the temperature of your kitchen. For bread to rise, yeast must be activated, and yeast is very sensitive to temperature.
Most recipes call for the bread to double in size – this can take one to three hours, depending on the temperature, moisture in the dough, the development of the gluten, and the ingredients used. Generally speaking, a warm, humid environment is best for rising bread.
Carbon dioxide is responsible for all the bubbles that make holes in bread, making it lighter and fluffier. Because gas is created as a result of yeast growth, the more the yeast grows, the more gas in the dough and the more light and airy your bread loaf will be.
With different yeast options available at supermarkets or bakeries, this may get a little confusing. As a rule of thumb, use: 1.4% of the weight of flour you are using (for example, 14g yeast per 1kg of flour) fast-acting yeast.
The general bread-making rule is 1% dried yeast to flour (ie 5g yeast for 500g flour). More than that and your bread will taste yeasty. You can use less if you want to, though - the dough will take longer to rise, but it will develop more flavour.
Once the sugar has been evenly distributed throughout the water, add the yeast. Stir gently and let it sit. After 5 or 10 minutes, the yeast should begin to form a creamy foam on the surface of the water.