How to Make a Dough-Proofing Box

A dough proofer helps bread dough rise faster.

Bakers, pizza makers and other dough professionals use warm boxes called "proofing boxes" to store dough while it's rising. These boxes provide a warm and moist environment for the dough, allowing it to rise faster and more evenly than in a normal kitchen. Few home bakers own the ideal environment for proofing bread dough, and they often have to rely on makeshift solutions for letting the dough rise. Create your own dough proofer with inexpensive items and you'll have a stable environment that decreases the time your bread dough needs to rise.

Things You'll Need

• Polystyrene cooler
• Screwdriver
• Heating pad
• Coffee mug
• Loaf pans with dough
• Thermometer

Instructions

1. Make a hole in one corner of a polystyrene cooler large enough to fit a plug through. Place the hole about 2 inches above the bottom of the cooler right at a corner.

2. Place a heating pad in a flannel cover in the bottom of the cooler. Orient the corner with the cord so it matches with the cooler corner with the hole. Run the cord through the hole in the side of the cooler.

3. Fill a coffee mug with water just off the boil. Place the mug in the bottom of the cooler in the corner opposite the heating pad cord.

4. Place your loaf pans in the cooler on top of the heating pad. Take care not to spill the water.

5. Place a thermometer in the cooler in one of the empty coolers. Place the lid on the cooler. Plug in the heating pad and set it to "Low."

6. Check the temperature in the cooler after 15 minutes by looking at the thermometer. If the heat is above 80 degrees F, move the cooler cover so some of the heat escapes. Check the temperature again after five minutes. Adjust the cooler lid and heating pad to create an interior temperature right around 80 degrees.

Tips & Warnings

• Most dough recipes rise in an hour or less in a proofing box. Check your dough after 45 minutes, just to be sure it doesn't over-proof.

• Place the proofing box where it won't be moved suddenly, as the mug of water could spill onto the heating pad if the box is jostled.

References

• Epicurious; Bread Basics; Rose Levy Beranbaum