With the touch of a button, you can select a temperature for rising bread that fits your needs. Doughs take longer to rise but develop more flavor at lower temperatures, while warmer temperatures are more convenient because doughs rise faster.

If a recipe or cookbook specifies a rising temperature, use that. Often there is guidance in the book on what temperatures the author used to ferment dough or what the author considers “warm room temperature” to be. If a Desired Dough Temperature (DDT) is specified, it should also be used for proofing. DDT is the temperature of your dough after kneading.

Lignes directrices générales et conseils imprimable

Temperature Guidelines

We write our bread recipe specifications for the Proofer with water in the water tray and no cover on the dough. Covering the dough container with plastic wrap can result in a warmer dough temperature and over-proofing.

• A universal temperature that works well for a wide variety of breads is 81°F (27°C). If you love simplicity, just set the Proofer to 81°F and know that it will work well for most breads.

• Sourdough works in a range of 70-85°F (21-30°C). Warmer temps of 85°F (30°C) will help promote acidity in sourdough, while cooler temps of 70-75°F (21-24°C) will favor the yeast and help create milder flavors.

• Commercial yeast is vigorous and thrives at a wide range of temperatures. For a good balance between flavor development and yeast activity in lean doughs, consider a temperature of 75-78°F (24-26°C).

• Sweet doughs and croissants contain butter and do well at warm temperatures but below the melting point of butter. We recommend 75-80°F (24-27 °C) for these doughs.

• Rye doughs have weaker gluten and higher enzyme activity than wheat doughs. A Proofer setting of 80-85°F (27-30°C) will shorten fermentation time and help keep the enzymes from degrading the dough too quickly.

• Cold dough often needs an extra hour (or more) per pound of dough added to its rising time. Frozen dough should be thawed in the refrigerator before proofing.

• In a hurry? Mix the dough with lukewarm 100°F (38°C) water, then ferment at 85-90°F (30-32°C). Temperatures above 90°F (32°C) may adversely affect the flavor of yeast bread.

• Pre-ferments that rise overnight need a cool temperature to help ensure that they don’t over-ferment while unattended. Set the Proofer to 70-72°F (21-22°C).

Water Temperature

The temperature of the water or liquid that your dough is mixed with will affect the temperature of your dough and proofing. Ideally, the dough temperature should be close to the rising temperature you will use. For instance, an overnight pre-ferment that will rise at 70°F (21°C) should be mixed with water that is close to 70°F (21°C). And a dough proofed at 85°F (30°C) should be mixed with warmer water. It’s no problem if you use cooler water- just know that rising will take a little longer with cooler dough. Always use cooler room temperature water when mixing and kneading in the food processor because it warms dough during processing. Long kneading times in a stand mixer will warm the dough, so cooler liquids are appropriate.

Learn More

Go to our collection of bread recipes.

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