My bread dough is rising too fast(?)
I'm trying to make the Frugal Gormet recipe for Challah . I actually followed the recipe, but it seems to be rising awfully quickly. Will this affect the texture of the bread, or should I just be grateful. I dont make bread very often since I dont have a bread machine and it normally takes more energy than I have to knead it. Help SE's I know there are alot of you that make bread so rescue me please!
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11 Comments:
The faster it rises, the less flavorful it will be. The simple solution for this loaf is to punch it down and let it rise an extra time. Maybe find it a slightly cooler spot for it to sit while it rises.
If you wanted to bake it tomorrow, you could stash it in the fridge, but for now just make sure it's not getting a draft from a heating vent or sitting somewhere obviously warm. Seems to me that in the winter, the heat situation is a little more uneven because of the way the warm air gets blown around by the heating system, so you might have accidentally chosen a warmer-than-average spot for the dough.
For future attempts, you could cut back on the yeast a bit to slow it down.
dbcurrie at 1:54PM on 01/29/09
thank you DB
huneybumper at 2:33PM on 01/29/09
@huney, now that I'm thinking about it, the original cause could also be the beginning temp of your ingredients. Too hot, and you kill the yeast, but if it's all warm to begin with, you can end up jump-starting the rising more than you plan on. I've also found that doing the kneading in a food processor can heat up the dough a lot more than using a stand mixer. Take it out of the FP, and it can be warm to the touch. Out of the stand mixer, it's still feeling cool(ish). Not sure how much a bread machine warms it, since I don't have one of those.
Some of my flour is kept in cabinets, and some in a fridge or freezer, and that initial temp does play a part in the rising speed. If you added melted butter to the dough, that could have given it that little extra oophf to rise faster.
Overall, it's probably not a big deal unless the rise was supposed to be 2 hours and it was 15 minutes instead.
dbcurrie at 2:50PM on 01/29/09
@db - bread machines have a "rest" cycle before the ingredients are mixed, which brings all ingredients to the same temperature.
@huney - if it rises too fast, I would punch it down and let it rise again, just like @db said. I sometimes do this even when the dough rises properly, but I cannot attend to it at that particular moment.
brooke29 at 3:21PM on 01/29/09
if it's rising too fast, punching it down is not going to help. although the size will change, if the yeast have eaten all the sugar, there won't be much of a second rise.(although challah has alot of sugar!) putting it in a cooler spot, even the fridge as DB suggested. and tepid water as opposed to hot or warm.
also did the recipe call for rapid rise or instant yeast? they're differences could also account for the over-proofing. i haven't made challah since i graduated from pastry school, sorry!
dmarina at 3:52PM on 01/29/09
I went ahead and baked the rolls anyway, even though it rose way to rast in my opinion. the average was about 40 min each time. they came out very pretty and SO says they are tasty, but they arent Challah the way I remember it, to make 2 full sized loaves or 12 mini loaves the recipe called for 3 tbsp sugar, I've never made this before but it always seemed to me challah was a bit sweeter than that. If anyone has a great recipe I'd be appreciative. I'm thinking this will make a great bread and butter pudding for sunday brunch if SO leaves any.
huneybumper at 5:13PM on 01/29/09
Like dmarina, I wonder if you had rapid rise yeast. I hate that stuff.
Blue Iris at 7:31PM on 01/29/09
I have a challah recipe in my blog archives. I make it every week, and it's an overnight rise with 1.5 c sugar, so should taste more like you remember. it is a very moist loaf though, not dry like bakery challah.
www.rabbiswife.blogspot.com
email me if you have questions.
rabbiswife at 10:56PM on 01/29/09
thank you so much!
huneybumper at 11:31PM on 01/29/09
@dmarina, if you knead a bit (not just deflating it), you can get a lot of rises out of yeast dough. You just need to do the kneading to redistribute the yeast so they have more to munch on. If sugar was their only food, you wouldn't be able to make sugarless breads. And my sourdough starters are nothing but flour and water and they've been going strong here for maybe ten years now.
dbcurrie at 12:30AM on 01/30/09
If you find your dough is rising too quickly, you might want to transfer it to the fridge to slow the yeast reproduction. Also, take a look at your yeast. If you're using instant yeast, or rapid-rise, it'll speed things up. The recipe - especially if it's an older classic - might have been written for a less-active kind of yeast.
butterface at 11:11PM on 01/30/09