If you’re a bread maker who watches GBBO..

[BertrandRussell]

..do you ever wonder how they get their dough to prove so quickly?

I like a slow prove anyway- overnight if possible - but I do wonder how they do it.

@BertrandRussell Thank you. I think DH was a bit impressed haha

That looks amazing! How do you get patterns like that? As I say, very new to this. I do have Paul Hollywoods bread book somewhere, maybe I should actually read it.

I haven't made bread for some time, but I think I will this weekend. I used to put my dough in the airing cupboard.

This has also brought back memories of my late mum making bread for our family, and the families of her two sisters (my aunts both worked at the time), during the bakers strike in the 70s. That's a lot of bread

“ I used to put my dough in the airing cupboard.”

My mum did too. I’ve just had a “smell” flashback! A mixture of clean washing and yeast....

I do have Paul Hollywoods bread book somewhere, maybe I should actually read it

I'd just look at the photo on the front cover ........

Paul Hollywood..............ahhhh.

We put our dough in the airing cupboard. Yes we still have a hot water tank

@70isaLimitNotaTarget

The kids wind up DH that he looks a bit like PH. I can see a resemblance. I remain unimpressed

I absolutely recommend James Morton’s Bread book. It revolutionised my bread making.

I second the james morton book.
brilliantly explained all the methods and the recipes work well.

Ok, just found James Morton for Kindle so will stick it on and if its good buy a proper copy

Try the yum yums. Once. More often that that and you will die......

The focaccia is amazing.
I use the Pain De Miel recipe as my everyday loaf but without the honey.

I love making my own bread but never proves properly as I live in a draughty 1930s semi. The only warm place is my Lakeland heated airer...could I place the bowl under or on that? It's only a very gentle heat...

MoiraRose yes you can! I have anyway and there were no adverse affects. I sat the bowl on a towel on the airer.

If you don't have a proving drawer or other warm place then you can put the dough in the oven on a very low setting (I turn the knob about halfway between 0 and 50C). That works really well IME. I also find that wetter doughs prove a lot more quickly.

I think it tastes better when you take your time. But, to speed mine up if short on time I pop the bowl of flour in a very, very low oven - I suppose in theory to optimise it you'd weigh the flour then spread it out on a baking sheet and warm it. But I just pop it in so the flour and the metal bowl warm up. Then use warm water for the yeast as well.

I am really crap, though - so many times I've popped the bowl of proving dough on the back of the hob and then come in to make dinner and switched on a hotplate automatically!

Brilliant, thanks gaggiagirl I'll try it tomorrow

Commercial bakers use vitamin C to make dough rise faster and better. The googles say you need only a small pinch of vitamin C powder in a loaf. I don't use it because I have plenty of time and I get a lovely rise with my sourdough starter, which started with Aldi's rye flour.

BertrandRussell, do you find your proofing basket useful? Better than, say, a bowl lined with baking parchment? How do you clean the fabric liner, which I assume is floured heavily?

Which James Martin book are people recommending? I'd like to get DD's partner into baking. I reckon he'd enjoy it.

@ThatLibraryMiss I use my proving baskets all the time. I don't find I have to clean the liners very often at all, on the odd occasion I do I soak them in water to rinse and then do a cool wash in the washing machine. I don't find I have to use a lot of flour on them, but then I normally leave my loaves to prove in the fridge overnight and cold dough is a lot less sticky.

The James Morton book is Brilliant Bread, his other bread book is about sourdough only.