anyone who has information to share regarding breadmaking will be of big help to me. i'm planning to put up a short-course baking school for homemakers in our area.
thanks
shirley from the philippines

By Brian Godley (Godley) on Wednesday, June 23, 1999 - 08:21 pm: Edit

The ideal temp for proofing yeast products is 30 degrees celcius (about 90 F). The extreme high limit is 60 C (150F). Yeast dies at this temp.. As far as cooler temperatures go, the cooler the temp, the slower the yeast works. In hotter climates the refrigerator may be a good place to proof yeast. I use the freezer if I do not want them to proof until later. I adjust the temperature of the dough with the water, using warm in winter and ice in summer. My climate rarely gets too hot to use a proofer which is always set at 30C. I suggest a warm place. You could use an oven (turned off) with a pan of boiling water placed in the bottom. This will provide the warmth and the humidity. This may not apply in your climate.

Hope this was helpful.

By Marty Markovitz on Monday, June 28, 1999 - 08:46 am: Edit

As far as I have learned, the slower the bread rises, the more the enzymes work and flavor developes. I mix my sourdough-onion fisele with warm water and give them the first rise overnight in the walkin. A good baguette or sour dough might take advantage of a long, slow fermentation to develope flavor. If you want production then proof away at 90 degrees.

By Mario Díaz (Levski) on Tuesday, June 29, 1999 - 12:03 am: Edit

You should make different between lower temperatures that are needed to fermentation prior to proofing and the higher temperature that are needed in a proof box. When it comes to fermentation (prior to molding) you should have ideal conditions for yeast and fermentation development. This is good to be at somewhat low temperatures, to say at 70°F till 80°F. This will assures that alcoholic fermentation and good development of yeast in dough will take place and that you will not have in your dough others types of fermentation like butyric, propionic, or acetic that will develop undesirable flavors and sourness in you dough. In the proof box then, when you have created the ideal conditions for yeast action through fermentation, will take place, do to the higher temperatures and humidity conditions, a more increase releasment of carbon dioxide and a more deeply pronounced enzymes reactions. This is associated with the denaturation of gluten and proteins present in the dough and also with reactions in the starch chains that will promote a longer shell life to bread and more beneficial qualities in the crumb. So we can say that is not the same to proof at cold than at the hot (proper) temperature. You may get the same volume, but the crumb caracterictis and shell life will not be the same. (In a bakery where I used to work when we had electrical breakdowns and we had doughs that could not be baked, we use to put some in the refrigerator and others remained in the proof box. We could remix, with no further adjustment, the ones that were in the refrigerator but we could not make this with the one that had passed through the proof box: we had to divide the dough in two or three pieces and scale the corresponding flour, sugar, yeast, etc. to make a whole dough.
This tell us that reaction in the proof box are more extensive than the one that you will have in a refrigerator.

By Mario Díaz (Levski) on Tuesday, July 13, 1999 - 11:24 pm: Edit

I will like to know any experience concerning the dietetic baking business. Is profitable to have dietetic baking items , such as specialities for diabetics or other people that must follow special diets, and/or also for self-care, in your bake shop. Is there baking shops in the U.S.A. that manage only this type of products?

By Bob Maione on Friday, June 30, 2000 - 12:57 am: Edit

I want to make French and Italian country style (large round loaves)with those big air holes what is the secret?

By Mikeh (Mikeh) on Friday, June 30, 2000 - 08:37 am: Edit

You need a very slack (wet) dough and good technique. For a good text on the subject check out Joe Ortiz's "The Village Baker". I'll post my Ciabatta recipe when I get home.