Proofing times will vary depending on the type of dough you use, the size of your bread, the temperature of your kitchen, the weather, and the humidity. A good indication that it has risen enough is if it is doubled in size. It could range from 30 minutes, in a warm room, to 90 minutes, in a cold room.
Let the dough rise for around 30 to 45 minutes.
Check on the dough after 30 minutes to see if it's finished. You'll know it's finished rising once it's doubled in size.
If the dough doesn't spring back at all, you've likely over-proofed the dough. When the dough rises too much before it gets baked, it will collapse, rather than rise, in the oven's heat, and the crumb will be uneven and ragged.
Most recipes call for the bread to double in size – this can take one to three hours, depending on the temperature, moisture in the dough, the development of the gluten, and the ingredients used. Generally speaking, a warm, humid environment is best for rising bread.
A Bowl of Steaming Water is the Key to Quickly Proofing Bread. In the winter, when your house and kitchen are at a crisp temperature and you need a warm spot for your dough to rise, create a makeshift “proof box” by placing a bowl of steaming water inside your oven alongside your bowl of dough.
Lightly flour your finger and poke the dough down about 1". If the indent stays, it's ready to bake. If it pops back out, give it a bit more time. The poke test is especially helpful for free-form breads like cinnamon rolls.
In a toasty kitchen, your dough may proof in as little as an hour (or less!). When the temperatures dip, it can take much longer—upwards of two or even three hours.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then put it inside the oven and let rise until doubled (about 45-60 minutes).
Timing it can be tricky because proving can take as little as 30 minutes for quick-yeast breads, or as long as a few hours for sourdough breads.
Baking powder and baking soda are used to leaven baked goods that have a delicate structure, ones that rise quickly as carbon dioxide is produced, such as quick breads like cornbread and biscuits.
Allowing the bread dough to rise for too long can ruin the texture and the taste of the bread. Both of these things are important when you want your bread to turn out right. The dough ferments as it continues to rise. If this process goes on for too long, you could wind up with bread that has a sour taste.
To put things simply, when you do not allow your bread to rise, it is going to be dense and less flavorful. it will be more akin to a cake than anything else, given that it will be just dough and not the plethora of air bubbles that make bread into the fluffy loaves that everyone knows and loves.
If you're checking on shaped dough for the second rise/proof, then it should also be about double in size. Feel: Bread dough that has successfully risen/proofed will spring back slowly when poked and leave an indent. If it snaps back too quickly, it needs more time.
“This lets the yeast get going before we chill everything down.” This time can vary based on your recipe and environment, so use your judgment if your recipe is high in yeast or it's a warm day — you may not need that 20- to 30-minute wait. Remember, your dough is going to grow.
If your dough has not risen, it is possible that too much flour inhibited the yeast from having enough space to rise. One way to prevent the addition of too much extra flour is to properly knead your dough for at least 10 minutes so it forms a good gluten structure.
For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough. Now, you may be wondering “how long does it take for bread to rise?” The short answer is that it depends on the temperature of your kitchen. For bread to rise, yeast must be activated, and yeast is very sensitive to temperature.
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.
The second rise is shorter than the primary fermentation after the bread loaf has been shaped and panned; usually taking only about half the time of the first rise at room temperature, or shorter for smaller loaves and rolls.
Allow your dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 to 45 minutes.
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.
You can gently deflate the dough, reshape it, and set it to rise again. Watch it very carefully, as this third rise will go quite quickly and probably won't be as high.
Vitamin C strengthens the gluten in flour, which can give a better rise, and help dough to rise more quickly. You probably won't need it if you're making white bread, but if you make wholemeal bread and it doesn't rise as well as you hoped, you could try a little vitamin C next time.