How to delay bread dough rising? Rachy and all bread bakers?

Joyce B

I am baking a spelt challah and would like to stop the rising overnight and finish tomorrow AM. Do I let it get the first rising and then put in the fridge, resume in the AM with shaping and second rise? Does that make sense?
Are there other ways to have the dough ready but stopped in the fridge overnight?
Thanks for any advice

8 years ago

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12 replies

Latest reply was from Joyce B

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

I'd let it complete the entire first rise overnight in the fridge, then shape in the morning. You might need to let it warm up a little as the cold dough is very firm (but easy to work with). Be aware that it will take a really, really long time for the dough to warm up and complete its second rise. I make cinnamon roll dough this way and it's hard to get the bread baked before breakfast no matter how early I wake up and get started.

I should add that I have no experience using spelt, so I'm not sure if that would change the outcome.

8 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Ditto to what Emily said. That's how it's done. The coldest shelf is the bottom shelf in the fridge, at the back. It should still rise tho in the fridge a bit.

8 years ago

Joyce B

Veteran

Thank you, Emily and Rachy for taking the time to help with my question. I ran out of time and also of fridge space with my other prep but I will start the bread early and then put it in the fridge after the first rise. I will do the second rise in the (off) microwave above the stove. That should work out nicely because all the burners will have something on them so the dough will feel cozy above that.

8 years ago

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

Yea, rachylou--I'm glad you validated what I wrote. I chimed in early because time seemed of the essence but I was hoping that you'd find the post and answer

8 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

You can put a dough in the fridge at any time, really. Like with pastry dough, peeps will often put it back in the fridge to firm it up for ten-fifteen minutes.

8 years ago

Anonymous

With my pizza dough, I cut way back on the yeast so it can be in the fridge for up to 3 days.

8 years ago

Joyce B

Veteran

Thanks Emily for sensing the urgency of my post, it was indeed urgent for the holiday prep and your advice was spot-on.
Thanks Rachy, it’s good to know that I can put the dough in the fridge at any time. That is very useful for breads.
BC, good to hear about the pizza dough. Why do you have to cut back on the yeast amount for that? Does the fridge not slow down the yeast enough for keeping it for a few days?
As a follow-up, I was not able to start the bread and put the dough in the fridge because I ran out of space. I could not do it after the second rising either because my yeast was sluggish so I did not want to take a chance. I had kept the yeast frozen but it did not have enough energy for my spelt challah I think. The next time I will avail myself of some gold Saf, that should do the trick much better. The challah worked fine for the holiday and kept us nicely full after the pre-holiday meal.
Thank you all for your advice, I am so glad to be a member of YLF, it is a fabulous group in many ways
Here is a pict of my challah, one is raisin.

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8 years ago

Anonymous

Cutting back on the yeast and allowing for a longer rising time results in a better-tasting dough. I learned that from the folks over at King Arthur Flour. I guess you could use the normal amount of yeast, but you'd have to keep punching it down, and it would have a more yeasty flavor.

8 years ago

Joyce B

Veteran

That’s a great idea, BC! I did not know how to prevent the overly yeasty flavor, do you know if it’s done the same way for breads? That would be great because one could have the dough ready a few days in advance without freezing and thawing. I would only avoid it for doughs that contain egg, there is no need to culture bugs in my dough.

8 years ago

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

Joyce B, It's possible that the "over yeasty" flavor you mention is caused by excessive heat during rising--it creates an alcohol-y, beer-y taste that might be OK some of the time, but which ruins sweet breads. I used to be quite guilty of this as I can be impatient.

8 years ago

Anonymous

Joyce B, I think you can do the same thing with bread dough, but I haven't put bread dough in the fridge, so I haven't tried it.

When I lived in NM at a higher altitude, I had to cut back on the yeast to keep the dough from rising too quickly.

I suggest checking out all the valuable information at the King Arthur Flour website. They also have a toll-free Bakers Hotline you can call.

8 years ago

Joyce B

Veteran

-Emily, good to know about excessive heat also causing a yeasty smell. It happened to me once when I received some dough that was rising for too long.
-BC, I will follow your advice and consult with KAF, I had not thought of that before.

8 years ago

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