Shoutout to the old baker in Lisbon who fixed my proofing with one look at my dough

Thea West · 2026-10-08T05:05:03.776055+00:00

I was in Lisbon for a wedding in 2019 and ducked into a tiny bakery near Alfama just to get out of the rain. The owner watched me poke at a piece of dough I had in my bag from that morning and told me in broken English to stop guessing by feel and start watching the bubbles. He showed me how his starter doubled in exactly 4 hours in that damp air, and mine was taking 7 back home because my kitchen was too cold. I went home and put a cheap thermometer in my dough bowl, and my loaves finally stopped coming out flat. Now I keep a little notebook of room temps and rise times, and it has been way more useful than any recipe I have tried. Has anyone else had a stranger fix their bake in like 30 seconds?

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Shoutout to the old baker in Lisbon who fixed my proofing with one look at my dough | Bakers - HW Forums