Some sourdough cultures are very slow rising and may need several hours to rise. If you’re following a no-knead recipe or making pizza dough, your bread will take longer to rise than if you’re using active dry or instant yeast. [4] X Research source
We’ll show you how to create a proof box to fix the temp and humidity in the next section.
Dough can also collapse if you have too high of a flour-to-water ratio. Simple bread dough often has flour-to-water ratio of 5:3 (60% water). [8] X Research source Some flours contain antifungal ingredients to prolong shelf life. As yeast is a proud member of the Fungi kingdom, this will most definitely inhibit growth. Organic, additive-free unbleached white bread flour works best for a good loaf of white bread. Heavier flours such as whole wheat, rye and other types of whole-grain flour will result in a heavy loaf that does not rise as much as fine white bread flour. [9] X Research source
Small buns do well placed fairly close together.
For sweet fruit buns or cinnamon rolls, you usually want a fast rise, as the cinnamon will eventually kill the yeast off. Some dried fruits also are coated with antifungals as a preservative. Organic dried fruits are expensive but much better for baking. What many bakers do is use standard dried fruit but don’t add it till the final proofing.
Fill a baking pan with boiling water, and set it on the lowest rack in your oven. Place the container of dough on the middle rack, and close the oven door and allow the dough to rise. Alternately, you can boil a cup of water in the microwave, then place the container of dough in the microwave with the water, and close the door. (Don’t microwave the dough!) Some people turn on the oven, and place the dough on top of the stove, covered with a damp towel. The oven keeps the surface of the stove warm, and the damp towel provides the moisture.
Open a new package of yeast, and mix a teaspoon of yeast with 1 cup (240ml) of warm water (at about 110°F/43°C) and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let this mixture proof for about 10 minutes, until it gets 1/2- to 1-inch of foam. If this fails, you will need to get fresh yeast and try again. While proofing this yeast mixture, gently warm the flat dough to about 75–90 °F (24–32 °C) by placing the bowl in a warm place. [16] X Research source
This can also be an indicator to see if your yeast is not active. This method makes the yeast very active so when it is added to the dough, it should rise perfectly. If your dough still fails to rise, it will indicate the yeast is not at fault: there is another problem. You can also do this at the beginning of the recipe next time you make a different yeast dough.
