where do you leave dough to prove?

[CatUnderTheStairs]

Cold house, don't have a lakeland dryer, no airing cupboard.

By radiators seems too hot.

Does just in a warm room work, like if we've got the woodburner on.

I just leave mine in the kitchen, not particularly warm and it has always worked.

As long as it's not freezing it'll prove wherever you put it. You can prove dough overnight in the fridge - just takes longer. Putting it in a warm place speeds up the process that's all.

Dough will rise at almost any temp and the slower the rise the better the flavour and aeration. Elizabeth David even suggested leaving it overnight in the fridge if time allows (but I think modern fridges are probably colder than hers!). I think near a wood burner would be too hot on one side and result in a patchy, uneven rise. Any room that isn’t uncomfortably cold for you will be fine. You could try in the oven with just the light on - they throw out a surprising amount of heat.

My holiday home cooker (ancient) has a setting just for proving dough. I would love one here but the only ones I’ve seen cost a fortune.

Good question OP.

I'm planning on making bread at the weekend and often have problems getting it to prove. I was wondering about putting it on the open oven door with oven on very low.

A cold rise makes a stronger dough, it just takes longer, although I put the oven on to preheat and put the bread near it, cooler than the radiator and takes the chill off the kitchen.

I put a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the (turned off) oven and then put the dough on the top shelf and close the door.

Turn the fan oven on for 5 mins on full, turn off. Put dough in to prove. My kitchen is freezing!

Plug your sink in and fill it with warm/hot water. Put the bowl in the sink with the water and cover the bowl.

What always for me when I make bread and brioche : I put her mug of water to boil in microwave for 3 minutes. Then when it’s done I put my dough in the microwave as it’s nice and toasty - the dough loves it

I always leave mine in the kitchen and it's fine. I tried preheating the oven before switching it off and putting the dough in once, not sure if I did it right but it turned my dough into a gooey unworkable mess.

You probably saw it on the heated airer thread, but my oven can be set to any temperature so I put it in the oven at 30 C.

Before I got that oven, I sometimes put it in the car, if that was warm but not scorching, as I think there may be an upper temperature above which the yeast dies.

Or in the oven above a dish of boiling water is also good.

I always do overnight in the fridge, but I doubt that helps you if you are making bread for this evening!

In a covered mixing bowl on top of a hot water bottle.

DH puts it in the cold oven WITH the light on.

Draughts are more of a problem than the temperature, in my experience. My house is freezing cold in its natural state, so my way round it is to preheat the oven to its lowest temperature while I prepare bread dough, then turn it off and stick the proving bowl in the now-cooling warmed oven.

I’ll try the light on in the oven first.

My mum had a proper airing cupboard with the hot water tank in it that was perfect.

I put mine behind my ps4 and it seems a good steady temperature for it to prove.

It depends. My kitchen is quite warm, so that’s usually fine. But I love the organised feeling putting it in the fridge overnight gives me!

I've put mine in the tumble dryer (switched off!!!) to use the heat that's left after a cycle has run, I've used the dishwasher in the same way. The way I usually do it is to heat a couple of plates in the microwave, put one under the bowl and one on top and wrap the whole thing in a towel, reheat the plates as needed.

In a covered mixing bowl on top of a hot water bottle.

Love this!!

I put mine on top of our hot water tank which although it's insulated it keeps the whole utility room warm. My oven has a bread proving setting too but i've never used that.