TIL that proofing bread in a cold oven takes 4 times as long

I stuck my dough in the unheated oven to rise and it took almost 5 hours before it doubled. Has anyone else had this happen or was my yeast just dead?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_vera13d ago

Cold oven proofing is fine, just needs a warm start first.

lisa_jones2113d ago

TIL that proofing bread in a cold oven takes 4 times as long" - yeah, that's pretty much exactly what happened to me last winter. I thought I was being clever by putting my dough in the microwave to proof, but the microwave was right next to a drafty window and it was like 12 degrees outside. Took almost six hours and the dough still seemed kinda flat. I ended up just baking it anyway because I was starving, and it turned out like a brick. Your yeast was probably fine, cold environments just slow everything down, kind of like how I move when I first wake up in the morning.