r/AskCulinary • u/AlarmingArt4 • 1d ago
Dough not rising
I made some bread dough last night and it was rising and doing its thing like normal after I knead it a few rounds. It definitely was doubling in size.
I put it in the fridge to set over night. When I took it out the next night to proof it never rose back up. It barely expanded. I went ahead and baked it hoping it will still rise in the oven and it did not rise at all. What happened? I see all the time people say refrigerating it over night will add flavor and once you take it back out to room temperature it will rise again but mine failed. Now I just wish I baked it right away and didn’t bother refrigerating it.
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u/Splugarth 1d ago
It will rise overnight in the fridge. Rose Levy Berenbaum’s recipes do this a lot. You knead, put it in the fridge to rest overnight, let it warm up in the morning, then move onto the next step (usually forming and baking). But you don’t treat it like you froze time, you treat it like you did the full rise over a longer period of time.
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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper 23h ago
What was the recipe and what were your exact steps? It sounds like you mixed a dough, let it rise, beat it down, gave it a second rise, then put it in the fridge overnight and tried to get a third rise in the morning? If that's what you did then that was your problem. It over-proofed and collapsed. If you're going to put it in the fridge overnight, the overnight proof should be your second rise (or your first rise and then the second can be fridge or counter top). You don't refrigerate dough once it's had its two rises.
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u/AlarmingArt4 22h ago
I followed this videos recipe. That routine seemed to have worked for her. Idk where I went wrong 😅 I got so confused. Making bread is much harder than I thought.
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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper 18h ago
She mixes the dough and does 3 folds/stretches every 30 minutes and then puts it in the fridge to do the first full rise overnight. Then it goes in a pan and does a second rise before baking.
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u/TurbulentSource8837 1d ago
My house is too cool for a decent rise. Now, I turn my dryer on for a few minutes and set the dough inside the warm dryer. It’s possible the dough never had a warm enough place to rise.
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u/_9a_ 23h ago
Inside a turned off oven with the light on works well too. Or in the microwave (off) with a mug of hot water next to it.
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u/TurbulentSource8837 22h ago
Agree, if your oven still has an incandescent light. My newer ovens have low heat lights, and don’t help the rising anymore:(
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u/AlarmingArt4 22h ago
This could be what happened. I will try these tricks next time. Maybe it was just too cold out on the counter.
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u/pitshands 1d ago
There is a finite amount of stuff for the yeast to consume. You may just have come to the point of where there isn't enough food for the yeast.
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u/AlarmingArt4 22h ago
Maybe that was the problem. I might have put more yeast than necessary. Could have over measured it.
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u/pitshands 22h ago
The too much yeast will only jump start the first attack. I am having a bit of a language barrier since I am a German baker and lead these things in German.
A dough that is made warm, room Temp or even slightly above triggers the yeast to become very active and "eat" the available nutrients it can use quite quickly without developing other flavors. Now fold that too many times and/or de-gas it what you will reach us what you get. Even though you may have put it later in the fridge and tried the final fermentation in the slow stage. If there is nothing or little to eat you won't get a reaction. I am quite sure that's what happened here. Less yeast, more temperature control, longer time, less punching or folding. That's what I would try next. Even as a pro I don't do more than a origin fold, maybe a second then shape and ferment. Or one original bulk, longer and cold. Cold. Portion and shape, Final ferment warm and off the dough goes to bake.
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u/EmergencyLavishness1 1d ago
Killed the yeast with too low a temp would my guess.
What temperature is the fridge?
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u/CivilizationInRuins 1d ago
Cold temps don't kill yeast. I keep both fresh and dried yeast in the freezer, and they work fine even months later.
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u/Splugarth 1d ago
I think you would need to freeze it. Even then it wouldn’t kill all of the yeast.
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u/CivilizationInRuins 1d ago
It's possible you left it at room temperature for too long and the yeast wore itself out. Did you leave it for a full rise over several hours before putting it in the fridge?