Dough/Bowl question

[pacanis]

Sorry if this doesn't belong here. I got confused by all the categories

I have a general question concerning making dough for pizza, rolls, French bread... bread dough in general using yeast. Not no-knead.

What container do you keep it in for it's first rise?

I've seen a few vids, and some people form a ball on a floured surface and cover it right there.
Some people cover it in the mixing bowl their stand mixer uses.
Some people put the dough into one of those beakers so they know exactly when the volume has doubled.

What does your typical home baker do?

And on a sidenote, the thing that prompted me to ask was because I just made a recipe that actually said to put the dough rise in a lightly greased bowl. Obviously the mixing bowl I was using isn't going to be lightly greased, but because that is where I have let my other doughs rise, that's where I left it this time as well.

I'm wondering, temperature aside, does it really matter what vessel your doughball does it's first rise in?

 

[Katie H]

Good question, Fred, and I have a feeling you'll get a variety of answers and here's mine.

For the last number of years I've been using my bread machine to do the kneading and for the first rise. Consequently, the machine "bowl" obviously isn't greased. However, I do spray the top of the dough with Pam at the beginning of the first rise cycle.

This does two things for me. One, it keeps the top of the dough from getting too dry during the rising time. And, two, occasionally the dough in the container rises so high it touches the underside of the lid of the machine.

In the days when I used a mixing bowl, I used the same bowl I mixed the dough in for the rising process...but I'd lift the dough out and then spray the inside of the bowl with Pam, put the dough back in and spray the dough, too.

I've never felt the need to use anything to calibrate whether or not my dough has doubled, i.e. a numbered beaker or tub. After so many years of baking bread, I can pretty much tell when the dough has doubled in size.

Frankly, I don't think the Pilgrims or Pioneers gave much thought to the container their bread dough rose in and they seemed to do quite nicely. In some ways, I think it's the marketer's way of making us think we need tools that are not necessary.

Just my two cents'-worth.

 

[pacanis]

Good point (the last paragraph). Since it's a KA recipe, they were probably plugging as many separate tools and bowls as they could.
I wish now though that I had scraped the bowl clean, sprayed it and placed the dough ball back, like you used to do. I just pushed the loose stuff from the sides back into the ball using a spatula. And typically that mixing bowl is a pain in the butt to clean after I drag the risen dough out of it.

Thanks, Katie. You've given me a new technique for next time.

 

[Katie H]

Good point (the last paragraph). Since it's a KA recipe, they were probably plugging as many separate tools and bowls as they could.
I wish now though that I had scraped the bowl clean, sprayed it and placed the dough ball back, like you used to do. I just pushed the loose stuff from the sides back into the ball using a spatula. And typically that mixing bowl is a pain in the butt to clean after I drag the risen dough out of it.

Thanks, Katie. You've given me a new technique for next time.

Yes, you will see improvement in how the bowl cleans and the dough will come out of the bowl quite a lot easier.

And, yep, the KA people have plenty of "toys" to hawk.

 

[Selkie]

I use a 4 qt. glass bowl that my typical amount of risen dough will fill. By using the same bowl every time, I can judge how much more rising time I need to give it.

Don't use metal! There is some sort of electrical charge interaction that may kill your yeast. (Although bread machines use a metal tub, they have a non-stick coating that insulates direct metal-to-dough contact.) Plastic may leave a strange taste. Ceramic or glass is greatly preferred.

I spray the bowl with non-stick, or grease it with olive oil if it's a pizza dough, turning the dough ball once to coat the top. This keeps it from drying out while rising.

To proof, I turn on the oven to 200 degrees then turn it off just as soon as it gets to temperature. I cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and place it in the oven with the door ajar. I use the oven as a proofing chamber, and depending on what it is that I'm going to be baking, I may even place a dish of warm water beneath the dough bowl while it's proofing.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I use a clean mixing bowl sprayed with cooking spray or coated with oil and put a clean tea towel over it. I also spray my hands with cooking spray when I take it out to work it and shape it.

 

[justplainbill]

I use an Emile Henry 5.7 quart bowl for my biggest batches of bread and do all rising except the final rise in that bowl. Final rises are done covered with a light sprinkling of flour & saran wrap on cornmeal dusted wood. The bowl cleans up quite nicely.

 

[pacanis]

That's interesting about the metal bowl, Selkie. I've even had KA tell me to simply cover the bowl of my stand mixer. Not that they are the know all be all.
I can certainly see the advantage to using the same bowl for judging growth. I've noticed I tend to over-estimate... and no, it's not a guy thing

Thanks everyone for the info and methods. It's tough to get a handle on this bread thing. I have noticed I tend to not make such a mess with the flour. At least today I didn't. I may be gaining on it

 

[Zereh]

I use a dough rising bucket, I think I paid about $5 for it at a warehouse-type restaurant / grocery supply store. I love it. I don't cover it tightly, but just let the lid rest on top; I have never had trouble with things rising even in our drafty kitchen in the middle of winter. My bucket has no odor either, I've only used it for bread and it gets cleaned thoroughly after each use.

But prior to that I just used a large glass bowl.

 

[dcSaute]

with my given eyeball, I can sorta rather kinda withoutalotofproblem figger out when a dough has doubled. your experience may vary.

I rarely rarely like if ever even rarely even put a yeast dough in another or a clean container or an oiled container. gets mixed, gets rised where it is at. see "eyeball" above. cover with a towel? absolutely.

yeah, it sticks to the bowl. big flipping deal. a soft spatula solves that problem in a heartbeat.

 

[FrankZ]

When I make bread I let the dough sit in the mixing bowl before kneading but after mixing about 20 minutes. Once the kneading is done I have a plastic bowl I use cause, well, I know what doubling looks like in it.

When I loaf the bread it goes into metal bread pans.

I really think this whole metal kills yeast thing is an urban legend.

 

[Andy M.]

I mix dough for bagels and pizza in my KA mixer. After kneading, I dump the dough ball onto the counter, oil the bowl and put the dough back. Then I flip it around to coat all surfaces and cover it with plastic wrap.

 

[babetoo]

i do a combination of things. use the bowl i mix in for first proofing. lift, spray and back in it goes. i do spray top and cover with tea towel. the bowl is glass. i can eyeball the rise. sometimes in the 200 degree heated oven, sometimes not if weather is very warm. the bread i baked a couple days ago only had one rise. in sprayed pan, spray top, tea towel and into the warm oven. i have a dough hook on mixer but it is not very effective. if metal harms yeast wouldn't the dough hook be a problem?

 

[Selkie]

My understanding is, and I may be wrong, that it's not an immediate kind of thing, but over the course of a number of hours, and depends on the humidity. Something like a catalytic chemo-electrical flow... but as someone has already said, it may just be an urban legend. All I know is that I don't need any more problems to deal with. I make enough of my own while baking! Why mess with success.

 

[taxlady]

My understanding is, and I may be wrong, that it's not an immediate kind of thing, but over the course of a number of hours, and depends on the humidity. Something like a catalytic chemo-electrical flow... but as someone has already said, it may just be an urban legend. All I know is that I don't need any more problems to deal with. I make enough of my own while baking! Why mess with success.

It would explain my problems with bread.

I used to bake all our bread when I lived in the country. I used plastic bowls to let the dough rise. It was all I could afford.

Now I have a whole battery of stainless steel bowls. That's what I have used more recently, with poor results. Hmmm

 

[pacanis]

My understanding is, and I may be wrong, that it's not an immediate kind of thing, but over the course of a number of hours, and depends on the humidity. Something like a catalytic chemo-electrical flow... but as someone has already said, it may just be an urban legend. All I know is that I don't need any more problems to deal with. I make enough of my own while baking! Why mess with success.

You may have touched on something, Selkie. Maybe in a four hour bread it doesn't matter, but if you are proofing overnight... maybe it does.

It made me think of when I was a kid and watching "Family Affair". You know, Uncle Bill, Jody, Buffie, Sissy and Mr French.
Anyway, Mr French was tearing lettuce and the two kids asked him why he wasn't cutting it. He replied, Because the knife leaves a metal taste. They replied, Then why are you putting it in a metal bowl.

Funny the things you remember.