Does everyone here use a proofing box for their bread &/or activating
their yeast? If not, what do you do? If you use a proofing box, what
do you use for one?

Ed Wood's suggestion of a styrofoam cooler and a lightbulb doesn't seem
safe to me. Maybe it's just the rash of Christmastime fires around
here, but it seems to me even with a 25 watt bulb, styrofoam is a
recipe for disaster.

If electricity weren't so expensive, I'd just crank up the thermostat
in my spare bedroom and check the temperature with my new thermometer.
:-)
Russ

If I want it warm (usually some yeast breads) then I slightly warm the oven
( 105 degrees..no more) then turn it off, and leave the oven light on. It
settles down to around 78 degrees in the oven with my normal household
winter temp of 64-66.
More often for sourdough though I let it rise slower at room temperature,
slower is usually better anyway. Bowls of dough I just cover with plastic
wrap and set on the counter, but for the final proof I keep the trays
covered in a plastic storage tote, upside down, the tray of rising bread on
the lid, the clear plastic tote ( baking tray sized and about 9 inches high,
I think it's a 28 quart tote) on top. I spray the inside of the tote with
water before I seal it up, this keeps the dough nice and moist while it
slowly ferments and rises. I have 2 of these totes and they stack so I can
rise 2 trays of bread that way. I also have a really big plastic bowl I use
the same way, it fits on a round pizza pan that I use sometimes for large
round loaves.

--

Mike S.

"PastorDIC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Does everyone here use a proofing box for their bread &/or activating
> their yeast? If not, what do you do? If you use a proofing box, what
> do you use for one?
>
> Ed Wood's suggestion of a styrofoam cooler and a lightbulb doesn't seem
> safe to me. Maybe it's just the rash of Christmastime fires around
> here, but it seems to me even with a 25 watt bulb, styrofoam is a
> recipe for disaster.
>
> If electricity weren't so expensive, I'd just crank up the thermostat
> in my spare bedroom and check the temperature with my new thermometer.
> :-)
> Russ
>

"PastorDIC" > wrote in message oups.com...

> If you use a proofing box, what do you use for one?

A proofing box. But I don't always use one. The stuff
chugs along OK at room temperature.

Searching brings up a lot of stuff about proofing boxes.

For instance, if your browser has a Google
command-line box, try entering this the
"proofing box" group:rec.food.sourdough

Should get ~280 hits.

Good luck, Russ.

--
Dicky

P.S. Here is an old slide show about one of my ones:
http://www.prettycolors.com/bread%5Fculture/album1.html

On Jan 14, 9:58 pm, "Dick Adams" > wrote:
> "PastorDIC" > wrote in ooglegroups.com...
> > If you use a proofing box, what do you use for one?
>A proofing box. But I don't always use one. The stuff
> chugs along OK at room temperature.
>
> Searching brings up a lot of stuff about proofing boxes.
>
> For instance, if your browser has a Google
> command-line box, try entering this the
> "proofing box" group:rec.food.sourdough
>
> Should get ~280 hits.
> Good luck, Russ.
> Dicky
>
> P.S. Here is an old slide show about one of my ones:
> http://www.prettycolors.com/bread%5Fculture/album1.html

I figured it would be better to talk to the experts.

Plus If I didn't ask for your advice, you'd want to know what my
temperature was. :-)
Russ

"PastorDIC" > wrote in message oups.com...
> I figured it would be better to talk to the experts.

Most of them have left, but you can still read what they had to say
in many instances, if you can figure out how to do a search.

> Plus If I didn't ask for your advice, you'd want to know what my
> temperature was. :-)

Yes, you didn't. Anyway one might hopefully assume that you are
warm and still breathing, with strong alpha waves, I'd bet.

: - |

On January 14, 2007 , "PastorDIC" wrote:


> Ed Wood's suggestion of a styrofoam cooler and a lightbulb doesn't seem
> safe to me. Maybe it's just the rash of Christmastime fires around
> here, but it seems to me even with a 25 watt bulb, styrofoam is a
> recipe for disaster.

Hey Russ,

I used an Ed Wood design for years and years; never had an issue or a
problem. Worked like a charm didn't cost me more than $10.

I pulled it out of the garage rafters, dusted it off and used it when I
started my Russian culture which I bought several months ago. After that,
it went back into the rafters, since I generally proof at room temperatures.

If I need a stable environment I have found my oven with the light on and a
broiler pan full of warm water stays in the 84-86F range provided one does
not keep opening the door frequently. I use a remote-read, digital
thermometer to monitor the temperature. Digital thermometers can be found
for $30 +/- (and, Imho are essential when grilling or smoking large cuts of
meat -- but that's another newsgroup!).

Good luck,

Ray

PastorDIC wrote:
> Does everyone here use a proofing box for their bread &/or activating
> their yeast? If not, what do you do? If you use a proofing box, what
> do you use for one?

I use two things. A proofing box for the final proof and a crock-pot
for starter builds when I want milder bread.

The proofing box is a Rubbermaid storage container with a small hole
(sized for the electric connection) cut in one corner. A heat pad is
used under the proofing baskets. Works quite well. Costs very little.
Plastic box is $4, hot-pads are maybe $15 or so. The newer ones have 5
or 6 heat levels and automatic timing.

The crock-pot is a 2 qt model with an off-low-high-warm switch. The
warm setting is too warm so I have to keep an eye on it. I drilled a
hole in the lid to run a thermometer into the pot. At first I used a
yogurt thermometer, now I use a remote digital. I like to run it up to
85 F than let it slowly chill to the low 70's. As Ray mentioned
up-thread, the remote digitals are excellent.

This might seem counter-intuitive but (at least with my culture) a warm
sponge build ultimately makes milder bread. For sour, I do a warm
INITIAL refreshment taking the starter from it's 40 gram base level to
100 grams. This gets all of the various critters going, then keep cool
(about 55 F.) all the way until the final proof. The final proof is
warm... about 80 degrees. For mild bread, especially doughs with
significant quantities of whole grain, I'll ferment a large amount of
sponge quickly...(though I like to wet age the flour first).

One of the nice things, besides convenience, from acquiring or building
some modest equipment is that you can replicate results reliably. Even
better... you can get your kids (or spouse) to pinch hit when necessary
<g>.

"PastorDIC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Does everyone here use a proofing box for their bread

I don't.

> &/or activating
> their yeast?

I don't.

> If not, what do you do?

I used to put the pancheon near the fire, covered with a tea towel. Since
then I've learned sense, that it will rise whatever you do. I've never
bothered activating yeast, I was taught by experiment fifty years ago that
it's not necessary.

> If you use a proofing box, what
> do you use for one?

It's been suggested that I could use my 'slow' oven, my dehydrator or my
wax/honey thermostatically controlled oven. What's the point? I'm rarely in
a hurry and all those devices use power, increasing my carbon footprint.
That matters.

Mary

I would try to doing the sourdough without a proofing box, except I
have Ed Wood's Russian starter, and it says to activate the starter at
a certain temperature in a proofing box. I don't mind the expense of
possibly losing the starter so much as I do the wait time for the
package of starter to come in the mail.

(I know, I know. Sourdough is a slooooow process anyway. But at least
if you have those little critters fermenting, something is going on
rather than just waiting for a box!)
Russ.

On Jan 15, 9:06 am, "Will" > wrote:
> PastorDIC wrote:
> > Does everyone here use a proofing box for their bread &/or activating
> > their yeast? If not, what do you do? If you use a proofing box, what
> > do you use for one?

>I use two things.
>A proofing box for the final proof and a crock-pot
> for starter builds when I want milder bread.

> One of the nice things, besides convenience, from acquiring or building
> some modest equipment is that you can replicate results reliably. Even
> better... you can get your kids (or spouse) to pinch hit when necessary
> <g>.

PastorDIC wrote:
> I would try to doing the sourdough without a proofing box, except I
> have Ed Wood's Russian starter, and it says to activate the starter at
> a certain temperature in a proofing box. I don't mind the expense of
> possibly losing the starter so much as I do the wait time for the
> package of starter to come in the mail.
>
Sourdough really isn't all that fussy. You get somewhat different
results over a fairly wide range of temperatures, but you do get results.

Since you just bought a thermometer, you might check with the
temperature is in your oven with just the pilot light on (if its a gas
oven with a pilot light), or with your oven light on. If it's too hot,
you might try wedging the door open an inch or two and then re-checking
the temperature when its had a chance to stabilize. You should be in
the right range.

As a side note, a poster in another list made a GREAT suggestion. When
she is proofing something in the oven and doesn't want it turned on by
accident, she pulls the thermostat knob off the oven and puts it IN the
oven. As a result, people will find what you are proofing before they
turn on the oven.

Mike


--
....The irony is that Bill Gates claims to be making a stable operating
system and Linus Torvalds claims to be trying to take over the world...

Mike Avery mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com
part time baker ICQ 16241692
networking guru AIM, yahoo and skype mavery81230
wordsmith

In article .com>,
"PastorDIC" > wrote:

> I would try to doing the sourdough without a proofing box, except I
> have Ed Wood's Russian starter, and it says to activate the starter at
> a certain temperature in a proofing box. I don't mind the expense of
> possibly losing the starter so much as I do the wait time for the
> package of starter to come in the mail.
>
> (I know, I know. Sourdough is a slooooow process anyway. But at least
> if you have those little critters fermenting, something is going on
> rather than just waiting for a box!)
> Russ.


Wood's logic for the activation phase is pretty good - the temperature
recommended is close to the optimum for the lactobacilli and he wants
the culture to acidify and rely on that for protection from
contamination.

With Carl's starter it revives so fast that contamination is a non-issue
- pretty much any temperature will do. This speaks to the great care
that Charles Perry et al., prepare the cultures.

Wood's cultures are oftentimes slow to revive as anecdotally reported on
this group and my own experience. Under these circumstance adventitious
organisms entering become a real issue. If you intend to dispute
whether your culture revived with him it is probably best to follow his
directions at least for this phase.

Once established the culture will be less demanding but being able to
control temperature does have its benefits.

Roland S

Joe Doe wrote:..
> Wood's cultures are oftentimes slow to revive as anecdotally reported on
> this group and my own experience. Under these circumstance adventitious
> organisms entering become a real issue. If you intend to dispute
> whether your culture revived with him it is probably best to follow his
> directions at least for this phase.
>
> Once established the culture will be less demanding but being able to
> control temperature does have its benefits.
>
> Roland S

Hi Roland,

an enthusiastic friend of mine sent me all but one of Woods cultures, I
don't think there was a single one that activated without problems even
getting the temps right. He sent me some of Carl's it was active the
day after. Without the heat mat for the first two of Ed's it was a
nightmare and following his instructions I used about 3 kilos of flour.
I advise anyone with Woods starter to add quarter or eighth before all
the cup measurements

Jim

"TG" > wrote in message ups.com...
> [ ... ]
> an enthusiastic friend of mine sent me all but one of Woods cultures, I
> don't think there was a single one that activated without problems even
> getting the temps right.

How actively a culture revives depends greatly on how it was dried
down and how long, and under what conditions, it was stored before
you got it. So the Woods cannot be blamed for the poor revivability
of a start they did not ship.

> He sent me some of Carl's it was active the day after.

That would have been dumb luck if it had been prepared by your
friend.

A big difference between Carl's and others, like SDI's, is that Carl's
is newly prepared for each shipment, precisely according to
instructions from Carl. Woods, on the other hand, seemed, at
least a while back, to be drying down on a semiannual basis, and
storing the dry starts in the meantime. As far as I know, original
Carl's starts are the only ones that are dated.

Roland has described how starter culture decays in storage:
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/howshoul...tarterfor.html
That's for hydrated starter. So far as I know, there is no summary
article on decay of dried starts. Because of the extremely remote
possibility of sporulation, it is impossible to say that some cultures
have not survived since the building of the pyramids. But, frankly,
SDI starts were duds in my hands.

--
Dicky

> wrote in message news:mailman.21.1169131168.18804.rec.food.sourdoug ...
In a message dated 1/17/2007 9:00:37 P.M. Central Standard Time, writes:
You are not too bright. Observe: No one but you
is posting rich text.

Bright but ignorant.

What is "rich text"?

Jim H
Ha, ha, Jim H. That's rich! You're a funny guy!

On Jan 14, 5:17 pm, "PastorDIC" > wrote:>
> Ed Wood's suggestion of a styrofoam cooler and a lightbulb doesn't seem
> safe to me. Maybe it's just the rash of Christmastime fires around
> here, but it seems to me even with a 25 watt bulb, styrofoam is a
> recipe for disaster.

I'm in the process of building a proofing box where I can adjust the
temperature and noticed proofing box online similar to what Ed Wood was
talking about. It's very low tech , but like Dicky, I want mine a
little more adjustable.
Russ