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This week new recipe - traditional cheese cake

Monday, June 23, 2008

How do you know when the dough has risen enough?

This is one of the many questions I always wanted to find out when I first started baking bread. Most recipes tell you how long to let the dough rise. My advice is not to follow your recipe. To ensure the dough rise enough, temperature and humidity are the two most significant factors.

The yeast will die if the temperature is too high. However, the rise will slow down if it is not warm enough. The ideal temperature is between 32C to 34C. You can try to switch on your oven to its maximum heat for one minute. Then turn it off and put your dough into the oven and let it rise, of course it must be covered with a wet towel to hold the moisture in the dough. You may also put a pan of hot water and your dough into the oven.

The dough has risen enough when it’s size in double.

If you under knead, your bread will generally fail to rise well. If your dough has high amounts of fat and sugar, the rise is slower. After all, it is a process of trial and error.

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