Gary Molina

May 12, 2022 at 7:54am

A DDT of 90F is insane. As a cottage baker selling at a farmers market, I bake about 100 loaves of bread each week in a conventional home oven in my home kitchen. The formulas I use are generally from the Hamelman text, Bread. I agree that the temperature of the kitchen is important. My own kitchen in our century old farmhouse can start the day in the upper 50 degree range in the winter time. That said, I never attempt a dough temperature for wheat bread above the mid 70s. None of my doughs is going to behave well at 90°. At a higher temperature, the dough breaks down during the mix. BTW, I'm using a 30 quart commercial planetary mixer, for which I use 25° as a friction factor when determining water temperature. That's where what I do differs from someone baking for their family.
My 40 lb batches of dough hold a lot more heat than the dough required for a few 1 lb loaves. I speak with customers about baking bread in a home kitchen frequently, and my constant advice is to keep the dough temperature in the mid '70s. If the house happens to be cool, then you just have a longer proof. If one likes, one can run a space heater in the kitchen for several hours before beginning the bake. That will help warm the surfaces, which is where most of the heat loss takes place. Baking in a home environment, one learns to control dough temperature with a number of methods. That can be as simple as taking advantage of the temperature differential between the floor and the ceiling in your kitchen. Learning to bake without professional conveniences such as a proofer and retarder makes one a better baker.

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