Saving Overproofed Dough | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

FAQs

Saving Overproofed Dough | Cook's Illustrated? ›

The good news: We found an easy way to rescue overproofed dough. Simply punch it down gently, reshape it, and let it proof again for the recommended amount of time. In the test kitchen, these steps resulted in bread that tasters found acceptable in both texture and flavor.

Deflate and reshape your over-proofed dough

First, deflate the dough. It actually feels kind of satisfying to press all that air out; you know, like you're breaking the rules and getting away with it. Next, reshape the dough into a loaf. Place it in its pan.

Bake at the right temperature: When baking over-proofed dough, ensure the oven temperature is accurate. Baking at slightly lower temperatures can prevent the dough from collapsing further. Consider adding more yeast: In some cases, adding a small amount of fresh yeast to the dough during shaping can help revive it.

underproof dough will spring back completely correctly, proof will spring back slowly and only halfway, and overproof dough won't spring back at all. after baking, the underproof dough will be dense and deformed. while the dough that was ready will be fluffy and light. and the overproof dough will be flat and deflated.

Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.

An overproofed dough won't expand much during baking, and neither will an underproofed one. Overproofed doughs collapse due to a weakened gluten structure and excessive gas production, while underproofed doughs do not yet have quite enough carbon dioxide production to expand the dough significantly.

At which point during the dough making process would it be best to freeze or refrigerate? You can refrigerate the dough after almost any step, but after the first rise (or a little before) works best. Store it, covered, in the refrigerator for 1-3* days. Allow room for the dough to expand as it will continue to rise.

But almost as good as a proofing box is taking a Mason jar filled halfway up with water, microwaving it for two minutes, then putting your bowl of dough into the microwave with the jar to rise. The other thing you can do is place your lidded container or bowl of dough into a second, larger bowl of warm water.

Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.

Step 2: Remove the dough from the basket or other vessel in which you're proofing it. Step 3: Press down on the dough with the heel of your hand (like kneading). Step 4: Use your fist to squeeze the air out (like a very slow punch). Step 6: Reball over-proofing dough balls.

Is overproofed dough sticky? ›

Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough. Sticky dough isn't necessarily a bad thing, although I appreciate how frustrating it is for a new baker.

If your dough feels dense and tough to handle when you stop the mixer, it is a sign that it is becoming over-kneaded. Over-kneaded dough can become very hard to work with and produce a more flat and chewy bread.

The good news: We found an easy way to rescue overproofed dough. Simply punch it down gently, reshape it, and let it proof again for the recommended amount of time. In the test kitchen, these steps resulted in bread that tasters found acceptable in both texture and flavor. 1.

If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.

Everything's coming together when you discover that your bread dough just isn't rising. Fortunately, this is a problem that's relatively easy to diagnose and solve. If your bread dough doesn't rise, you can still use it and fix it by changing up the temperature or mixing in more yeast.

By deflating — or punching down — the dough after the first rise, the baker is allowing the yeast to move to areas where more sugars are available. The yeast can then repeat the same process during the second rise and create more gas to be trapped in the dough.