How to Bake: How Long Should My Bread Rise?

It depends. The best way to tell if the dough has risen enough is not by time-though it helps to set the timer so you don't forget about your dough-but by look and feel. It will look soft and bloated. When you touch the dough, it will be soft and your finger will leave an indentation when lightly pressed against the dough. If it is not ripe, the dough will tend to slowly spring back.

If you want light, fluffy bread, the dough should rise until it is puffy. The more gas incorporated in the dough, the lighter it will be. Of course, if too much gas is captured in the dough, it may collapse. The trick is to let it rise until you get just to the edge and then bake it. In most cases, that means that the dough will double-or more-in volume. With a free-standing loaf, since the pan can't support the loaf, you cannot let the bread rise as much.

How long should it take? A lean, moist dough in a warm kitchen will probably rise in 45 minutes or less. A firmer dough with less moisture will take longer to rise. Yeast is very sensitive to temperature; even a few degrees less in the kitchen can extend the rise time significantly. A change of 17 degrees will cut the rise time in half.

It doesn't hurt to let dough rise slowly. Bread that has risen slowly has a different flavor than fast risers, a more acidic flavor-hence the sourdough flavors in slow rising breads. Professional bakers use refrigeration to "retard" the rise. You can use a cool spot in the house or even a refrigerator to slow the rise. (The bread in the spotlight product picture-New England Herb-was placed under an open window on a cool day to deliberately slow the rise. Total rise time, first and second rising combined, was about five hours.)

While lean breads are deliberately retarded to enhance the flavors, rich doughs or doughs with ample sweeteners or flavors will gain little with an extend rise since the flavors and sugars tend to mask the natural flavors of the yeast.

For more articles like this visit The Bakers' Library.

© 2004 The Prepared Pantry

---

Google News Updated : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:55:22 GMT Analysis: McCain struggles to regain footing - The Associated Press The Associated Press Analysis: McCain struggles to regain footing The Associated Press - 2 hours ago WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain calls himself an underdog. That may be an understatement. The GOP presidential candidate trails Democrat Barack Obama in polls, organization and money while trying to succeed a deeply unpopular fellow Republican in a year ... Rural voters lean to the GOP St. Joseph News-Press Neither Obama nor McCain meets Energy Party standard The State New York Times - Online Athens - Washington Post - Newsweek all 465 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:40:55 GMT Hippie Arrests Draw ACLU’s Attention - New York Times ABC News Hippie Arrests Draw ACLU’s Attention New York Times - 6 hours ago By AP CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union said on Saturday that it would investigate the actions of federal officers who had arrested five members of the Rainbow Family in western Wyoming during the group’s annual gathering. ACLU plans to investigate Rainbow Family treatment The Associated Press ACLU to investigate Rainbow Family treatment LocalNews8.com WKOW-TV.com - Billings Gazette - cbs4denver.com - Austin American-Statesman all 306 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:40:38 GMT Ore. man completes flight of fancy _ in lawn chair - The Associated Press The Associated Press Ore. man completes flight of fancy _ in lawn chair The Associated Press - 1 hour ago CAMBRIDGE, Idaho (AP) - Using his trusty BB gun to help him return to Earth, a 48-year-old gas station owner flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert Saturday, landing in a field in Idaho. Video: Ore. Man Uses Balloons and a Lawn Chair to Fly AssociatedPress Believe it or not, he's lounging on air The Oregonian - OregonLive.com CNN International - BBC News - KOHD - San Jose Mercury News all 1,071 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:50:31 GMT Argentine Lower House Passes Grain Export-Tax Plan (Update3) - Bloomberg Voice of America Argentine Lower House Passes Grain Export-Tax Plan (Update3) Bloomberg - 8 hours ago By Eliana Raszewski July 5 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina's lower house of congress approved the government's plan to increase taxes on exports of grains and oilseeds, risking a resumption of three months of strikes by farmers. Export Tax That Angers Farmers Advances in Argentina New York Times Argentina lawmakers approve farm export tax hike guardian.co.uk RTT News - BBC News - The Associated Press - AFP all 144 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:41:30 GMT Obama "puzzled" by Iraq comment frenzy - Reuters Washington Post Obama "puzzled" by Iraq comment frenzy Reuters - 1 hour ago By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Saturday his plan to end the Iraq war was unchanged and he was puzzled by the sharp reaction to his statement this week that he ... Obama struggles to thread needle on Iraq AFP Obama Refines the Blame on Iraq Miscue New York Times International Herald Tribune - Voice of America - Washington Times - New York Daily News all 1,620 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:08:23 GMT McCain Battles a Nemesis, the Teleprompter - New York Times New York Times McCain Battles a Nemesis, the Teleprompter New York Times - 7 hours ago Mary Altaffer/AP By MARK LEIBOVICH LAS VEGAS —Senator John McCain was performing relatively smoothly as he unveiled his energy plan. McCain Campaign, in Relaunch, Seeks Tighter Message Focus Wall Street Journal McCain Campaign on Obama and Iraq FOXNews The Associated Press - Washington Post - Los Angeles Times - CNN all 737 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:31:52 GMT Smallest planet shrinks in size - BBC News Canada.com Smallest planet shrinks in size BBC News - Jul 4, 2008 The smallest planet in the Solar System has become even smaller, studies by the Messenger spacecraft have shown. Data from a flyby of Mercury in January 2008 show the planet has contracted by more than one mile (1.5km) in diameter over its history. First Results From Messenger's Mercury Flyby Slashdot Mercury is shrinking, NASA craft finds; a cool clue: 'lobate scarps' Los Angeles Times eFluxMedia - Baltimore Sun - Examiner.com - ChattahBox all 155 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:45:26 GMT Clickbank Easy Work At Home Opportunity

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Do you own an AGA or RAYBURN cooker ?

The Cooker-rail....This is a novel way of increasing the drying... Read More

50% Less Cooking

50% Less Cookingwithout hitting the fast food button! Don't you... Read More

Microwave Ovens and the Healthfulness of Microwaved Food

Microwave ovens do have benefits. They are certainly convenient. They... Read More

Kitchenaid Stand Mixers ? A Kitchen Work Horse

Kitchenaid stand mixers are very popular in today's kitchens and... Read More

10 Wide Open Tips For Food Safety In The Great Outdoors

Hiking, camping, and boating are good activities for active people... Read More

10 Critical Ways To A Perfectly Food-Safe Kitchen

Food poisoning is related to unsafe food, a dirty kitchen,... Read More

Is Cooked Food Really All That Good For Us?

In nature all animals eat living foods as yielded up... Read More

Grilling Vs. Barbecue

Grilling and Barbecuing, two of the most popular cooking methods... Read More

How to Cook a Lobster

French chefs plunge them into boiling water; English ones, in... Read More

How to Choose the Right Smoke for the Right BBQ Dish

BBQ smoke is one of the easiest ways to add... Read More

About Baking: Eight Tips for Perfect Pancakes

Pancakes are easy and almost foolproof. But there are some... Read More

What is Gluten and Why does it Matter?

Gluten is a substance made up of the proteins found... Read More

Two for One Dinners: Beef

If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then... Read More

Must Haves for Any At-Home Chef

With the holidays on their way soon, many people will... Read More

Old-Fashioned Taffy Pull Party--How to Host Your Own

Want a unique party idea for your child's birthday-or even... Read More

Ten Steps to Perfect Pasta

I'm amazed at how often I get e-mail from a... Read More

Low-Budget Meals In a Minute

Ever go home and look in the fridge only to... Read More

Chinese Cooking Technique: Deep Fry

There are usually 2 ways of deep frying in Chinese... Read More

Eat your Veggies! Simple Cooking Methods

Vegetables add colour, taste, texture and bulk to our daily... Read More

Picnic Checklist

In the previous article, we suggested that you start a... Read More

10 Deadly Bacteria That Can Get In Your Food (And How To Stop Them From Getting There)

Thousands of types of bacteria are naturally present in our... Read More

Digital Kitchen Timers ? Never Burn Another Dish

Digital kitchen timers come in many shapes and sizes. Timers... Read More

Wok this Way! (Part 2 of 5) Selecting a Wok

As mentioned in Part 1 of the series, woks come... Read More

Eating Healthy with a Meat Grinder

While it may be surprising, owning your own meat grinder... Read More

ServSafe Food Program in Montana a Success

Montana has a great program for restaurant employees. Each preparer... Read More