# Bread in the winter?



## lyncecelia (Apr 18, 2014)

So I've been trying to make bread fairly frequently as we try to transition to a homestead lifestyle.

Something I noticed, however, is that the bread doesn't seem to rise really well....our home is fairly cool (heating to a warm temperature is too expensive, so we just go to where it is tolerable and use blankets). Could the cool temperatures in my kitchen affect the bread's ability to rise? The only reason I suspect this is when I moved the bread on top of our preheating oven it suddenly started to rise...

Is there any other trick instead of keeping the oven on while the bread rises? I don't really want to pay for the gas to keep the oven on for 2-4 hours (depending on the bread) if there is a more affordable way.

Thank you so much!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I put my dough babies in the living room on the mantle above my woodstove to rise.
A friend of mine who lives in a drafty singlewide sets her dough bowl over a pot of heated water 
and wrap the whole thing with a towel to hold the heat in.

Yeast requires warmth to grow.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Top of refrigerator? You just need to find a spot that is warmer than the rest of the house. Over a heat outlet? Between your feet?


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## ad in wnc (Jan 12, 2014)

Have you tried a recipe that rises in the refrigerator overnight? Personally I make beer bread - no rising required and the heat of the oven evaporates the alcohol.


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## TerriLynn (Oct 10, 2009)

You can set it on a warm electric heating pad, or I have a friend that puts hers under a warm light bulb, but I don't think the new fluorescent lights get very warm anymore


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## Ceilismom (Jul 16, 2011)

I downgraded to a vintage propane stove, and discovered what countless housewives before me took for granted: The pilot light on the oven makes for a perfect proofing box.


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

In the past I have successfully used -- no knead doughs that rise overnight in the refrigerator; the top of the refrigerator, the top of the clothes dryer when we had a small laundry room; sitting on the tile near our wood stove in the living room and lastly turning on the electric oven for 2-3 minutes, turning it off and using the retained heat. Never thought of a heating pad - that's a good idea. Do you have one of those fancy casserole carriers that has the heat pad you heat in the microwave first? That might help.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

I have a proofer that I bought. Worth every penny. http://brodandtaylor.com/folding-proofer/

You could make your own as others have said. A foam cooler and a heating pad.


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## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

If you have a dehydrator, set on the lowest heat setting, and a damp towel over it.


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## flowergurl (Feb 27, 2007)

I have a 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator and it has a sitting for raising bread. I use mine all the time for it and it works great.


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## buslady (Feb 14, 2008)

I stick mine in a big food grade plastic bag, and use a clothes pin to hold it shut. It seems to hold in the gas (or Heat) from the rising bread, and rises much higher.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

got to have everything warm for bread. the water, bowls etc. I keep my stove on all day when I'm baking bread. (have never made the kind you let rise in the fridge) there are some good ideas though for people who can't do that. like the plastic bag. I wouldn't have thought of that. might try it tomorrow . I'm planning on baking bread and the temp. are supposed to plummet. it's warm in the kitchen but I could do with something extra.

I'm particularly interested in the proofer that wlover mentioned. I think I will look into one of those. as it is now I place a thin blanket on top of stove and several heavy ones on top of the bread bowl this would eliminate all that. ~Georgia.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

We like our house cool. The proofer is really a necessity for us.


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## Peggy (Feb 14, 2010)

I put a towel on the counter and set the bowel on the towel. sometimes I put another towel on top of the bowel. I use the breadbook Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day. WONERFUL bread book!


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

Been baking bread for 50 years now, first by hand and now with a bread machine using the dough cycle. In Winter is is difficult to get bread dough to rise in this drafty old house, so this is what I do.

The bread machine mixes it and when it stops, I turn it off. The machine keeps it warm even turned off. When it has risen to my satisfaction, I turn it out and knead it for 4-7 minutes and put it in a pan. I let it rise on the countertop for an hour ....and here is my trick:

I microwave a 1-cuo measuring cup filled with water to boiling and put the bread next to it. After 30 minutes, I check it and, if it needs more time, I remove the bread and warm the water and repeat!


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## 358156hp (Jan 19, 2015)

Mom used to let bread rise in the oven, the oven was slightly warmed, then turned off of course, with a bowl of hot water set underneath it. I forgot all about that until I saw your post. This wouldn't work with a woodstove of course.


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

When I used a heating pad, I put a sheet of aluminum foil between it and the bread bowl to moderate the heat, then covered the whole thing with plastic wrap and a towel.

When I use the oven (ours is gas), I heat it just slightly (until it just feels slightly warm when I stick my hand in, an oh-so-scientific method ), then turn it off and keep the door closed. My DH likes to keep the light on in it, but I don't. Never had to add a bowl of hot water.

Our house is also on the cool side (when they were little, one of our son's friends said, you turn your house up to during the day what we turn ours down to at night!), and a cooler rise makes for tastier bread -- in our opinion.


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## gracielagata (Jun 24, 2013)

I also have to proof in the cooking oven. I don't make bread, but do make homemade pizza regularly. 
In winter, the house is at 60 until late adternoon, when we use the wood stove. But we can't trust the animals with the dough out. lol
We have no AC, so in summer, the dough proofs great on the counter... but too bad I have no desire to bake in that heat!


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## Solar Geek (Mar 14, 2014)

If you have a NESCO or even crockpot - heat to boiling some water in a container that will fit next to your bread and put bread + water in the crockpot till it rises. If you are using a NESCO as I do, after the 2nd rise, take water out and turn NESCO to proper baking temp and cook bread right in there. Works great.


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## Delrio (Mar 11, 2007)

I keep the house about 62 and the bread rises just fine on top of the frig.


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## gracielagata (Jun 24, 2013)

Delrio said:


> I keep the house about 62 and the bread rises just fine on top of the frig.


Really?! How long do you give it to rise to your needs? And would bread dough and pizza dough be different in their rising needs? (If that isn't an insanely stupid question, lol)


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

My house is at 15C not warm enough to get bread moving, so I put it on top of the boiler. lovely and warm there right next to the chimney! but I used to do the second rising on top of the oven as it heated up, and the first one overnight. If I put it on top of my fridge it would have to be very flat.. uner 3" between that and the ceiling


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## Delrio (Mar 11, 2007)

gracielagata said:


> Really?! How long do you give it to rise to your needs? And would bread dough and pizza dough be different in their rising needs? (If that isn't an insanely stupid question, lol)


It usually takes about a half hour longer at that temp.
Pizza dough works the same.


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## haunted (Jul 24, 2011)

If your water heater has a flat top, you can put the bowl of dough on top of that and it will rise.
Also you can turn the oven on warm for a few minutes, turn it off and let the oven cool a little bit then put the dough in there.


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## lyncecelia (Apr 18, 2014)

Thank you everyone for all the tips! I really appreciate it!


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## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

It took me forever to find out the reason I was having problems with yeast breads was not giving the yeast enough time to proof before mixing it in the flour, and not keeping the dough in a warm place.

And then I had to learn to knead it enough!


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

just don't put your dough down in the furnace room and go out in the garden for several hours and forget about it. when you open that door it will be coming to meet you and will only be good for frying out into dough gobs. ~Georgia


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

newfieannie said:


> just don't put your dough down in the furnace room and go out in the garden for several hours and forget about it. when you open that door it will be coming to meet you and will only be good for frying out into dough gobs. ~Georgia


omg, I almost spit my water all over the computer....I can just imagine this happning....Actually I had it happen to a can of biscuits in my car. I was driving down the road with groceries in the back seat(it was really hot that day and I had a lot of errands to do) all of sudden i hear this big poof...biscuit dough started going all over the back seat of the car...

The bread I make only has to rise 1 time and I do it on top of the stove, in the summer time I stick it outside..lol I have a Excalibur and know it will rise in there but never think about it. Mine rises in about 40 minutes on top of the stove.


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