May 11, 2006 - 8:59am
Refridgeration before baking
I'm considering making the cinnamon raisin walnut bread from Bread Bakers Apprentice this weekend, but I'd like to make the dough Saturday night and then bake it first thing in the morning Sunday. Is there a certain amount of time you should wait after taking it out of the fridge before baking, or should the baking temp and time be adjusted for the dough being colder?
Thanks,
Rich
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If you are baking a loaf, the rule of thumb I've seen is to have the dough sit for two hours to 'take off the chill' or to stick a probe thermometer into the center and be sure it registers at minimum over 60F before baking (ideally over 70F). Retarding bagels in the fridge overnight and immediately boiling/baking them in the morning is one thing, but bread behaves quite odd when baked directly out of the fridge. The only exception I've heard from a friend is to put the loaf in a cold oven and bake it w/ no preheat. Never tried that.
What I've done is if I want bread at 9am, I set an alarm for 5am, and set the bread near the stove, then go back to bed (yeah, not ideal, but this is what we pay for good bread). At 730am I turn on the oven to preheat and bake it a little after 8am. Sometimes the center is still quite dense from the slow fridge rise, but it bakes thoroughly.
I think I might be better off baking them the night before. I'm not getting up that early :)
By the way, when did they add this 5AM you speak of? ;)
Well I made the bread, and it was so good that I didn't have a chance to take pics of it. :) I messed up the recipe a little bit. It called for 4oz of walnuts and 9oz of rasins, and I accidentally reversed the quanities. It still came out good though.
If anyone has considered making this, I highly recomend it. I'd also recomend using the "swirl" alternative, and toping it with butter and more cinnamon-sugar. :)
Rich,
I'm curious -- did you bake yours in 8.5 x 4.5 pans? I find that the loaves never rise very high in those pans -- just barely above the rim. So the last time I made it, I just put the whole loaf in a 9 x 5. Came out very well, and high enough to suit my taste.
Agreed -- this is a delicious loaf! Makes great French toast.
I made it in 2 8.5 x 4.5 pans. I did have to let them rise for 2 hours the first time and then proof for a full 90 minutes in the pans. I also considered making a larger loaf. Did you have to change the baking times at all?
I'm not sure. I think I added about 5 to 10 minutes, but my oven has also been fritzy lately.
When I took it out after 35 minutes (I usually shave 5-10 minutes off of bake time because my hearthkit cooks pretty quick), the internal temp was a bit low, so I gave it another 5-10.
I've found this with most of the BBA loaves that call for proofing in an 8.5x4.5" pan. They never rise very far above the rims.
Last night I tried proofing them at a warmer temp than I usually do (75-85 degrees), and that seemed to help. The final proof was still much longer than specified in the book. I made the sourdough pumpernickel loaves. Each loaf weight 15oz, and crested about 1/2" above the lips of the pan.
-Joe