Home-made Proof Box?

Googling "how to build a proof box" yielded this, written by Jacques Pepin:

For bread dough to develop well, it is important that it be left to rise in an area that is not only fairly warm but also draft-free and moist. A professional proof box is very humid, and I simulate the same conditions by inserting a trimmed cardboard box (with the top and one side removed, and large enough to accommodate the baking sheet holding your formed loaf or loaves) into a large plastic garbage bag. When the bag is closed, you will have a humid hot-house similar to a professional proof box, which provides the perfect environment for the bread to rise properly. Alternatively, turn a large cardboard box or plastic bin upside down over the proofing bread, and let it proof on the table.

Source: "Jacques Pepin Celebrates (Knopf 2001)"

So I suppose if you wanted to be able to see it, get one of those clear plastic storage boxes and turn it upside down on the table over the dough. ~Peggy

Oh yes. Not sure if it was NSF... probably wasn't.

We built an insulated closet in our bakery, about 4x8'. Lined the walls with galvanised steel. Put gaskets on the door. Put a tube through a wall, ran an extension cord through it, and then sealed the tube with silicone seal. We didn't want to put permanent outlets in there - the humidity would probably cause them to corrode.

We put some racks about 6' up, so we could put buckets of dough there for the first rise.

Then we put a heated room humidifier and "rolling radiator" style heater in there. In the end, we realized we didn't need the rolling radiator, with the heat in the bakery, the insulation, and the heated humidifier, it was warm enough in there.

We'd roll in racks of rising dough, let it rise, roll 'em out, and put the sheet pans in the oven. Worked very well for us.

Mike

found this too:

We sometimes make a "proof box" by placing a baking sheet or 9 x 13-inch pan on top of the stove (we have a gas stove with a pilot light), adding some hot water, then placing the rising bowl or loaf pans into the water-filled pan. Cover the whole thing with a proof cover or some other large cover. Put a thermometer into the water, and replace with hot water when the temperature drops below 80°F. Another simpler way to keep dough warm is to simply cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set it in an unlit gas oven; the pilot light will keep it warm. If you have an electric oven, turn it to warm for about 1 minute, turn it off, then place the plastic-covered bowl in the oven. "Reheat" on warm occasionally; you want the temperature to remain at about 80°F to 85°F, more or less.

and another:

Your microwave is also a good proofing chamber. NOTE: MICROWAVE THE WATER ONLY, NEVER THE DOUGH!

Check your bowl and pans in your microwave -- for fit -- before you begin. I can generally fit the mixing bowl in there, but some of my pans are too big for the microwave. (Seems I need a bigger microwave!)

Place a Pyrex (microwave-safe thick glass) measuring cup with 1 cup of water into your microwave. Microwave on High for one minute (adjust for your oven power.) Leave the measuring cup in the microwave.

Prepare your dough to the first rise stage. Microwave the water for another

30 seconds.

Place your covered dough in the microwave & shut the door. Leave the door shut for the recommended rising time. YOu can look through the window & see how tall your dough is!

Take your dough out for punch down & shaping. Microwave the water for another minute -- you may need to add some water.

If your pans fit, return the shaped dough to the microwave for second rising.

"Tapper" wrote in news:WaF3e.13437$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:

Think old fridge, old bar fridge...put in a 100 watt light on a dimmer switch and a digital thermometer. Use the dimmer switch to control the interior temp, displayed by the thermometer. And mount on wheels

The fridge has the benifit of coming equiped with shelving. Plus think of the recycling you'd be doing. Just need to store it with the door blocked open when not in use...to prevent mold.

With the motor etc...removed even a regular fridge might be light enough to be considered mobile.

considered mobile.

A good idea. Next... think county, or city, dump. Most dumps have a separate area where large appliances go, and many are very happy to have someone haul them off. It saves them money if they don't have to bury them, or crush them to sell them as scrap metal.

I was able to find racks/shelves for my commercial refrigerator and freezer there. Free, instead of $60 a pop from the food service outlets. I also found some interesting shelf supports that let me put a lot of stuff in the fridge and refrigerator on sheet pans.

And there were lots and lots of refrigertors of all sizes and in all conditions. With a pickup truck and a few friends, you should be able to do well.

Hint - if they want to turn you away from the dump, bread makes a great bribe. "Gee, we're trying to start a bakery, and we're in a tight budget, and this would help us *SO* much. When we're baking, I'd be really happy to bring you some freshly baked bread!" Then follow through.... so you can get into the dump again later. It sometimes helps to have a lovely lady with you to do the bribery.

Don't ask me how I know this stuff.

Mike

A number of people microwave the dough. You need a microwave that can go to very low power settings. Around 10% works fine.

James Beard suggested this for a recipe for English Muffin Bread. I think he rose, and baked, the bread in the microwave. His feeling was that it was going to be toasted anyway, so baking in the microwave was OK. His microwave recipe is at

although they left out the part about rising in the microwave (and added a few typos).At cookingvillage.com, they have this comment: ? *Microwave-rising bread dough:* Dough can rise in a microwave oven in about half the regular time of conventional methods. However, any form of quick rising means that the dough won?t have as much time to develop its full flavor. You must have a microwave oven with 10 percent power. Any higher than that and your dough could turn into a half-baked lump. Don?t try to rise butter-laden doughs (such as for brioche) in the microwave?much of the butter will melt and drain from the dough. To microwave-rise enough dough for 2 standard-size loaves, set 1 cup hot water at the back corner of your microwave oven. Place the dough in a large, greased, microwave-proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, then a damp towel. Set the power level at 10 percent; cook for 8 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Repeat at 10 percent power for 5 to 8 minutes longer until the dough has doubled in bulk. The second rising?after the dough is shaped into loaves?will take about 10 minutes, but the loaves must be in glass baking dishes. Mike

Howdy,

Better than a dimmer might be a thermostat and relay to turn on the light bulb. I have used such a system for about 15 years. I set the temp and it holds within 1 degree F.

All the best,

If you need a wet heat , such as for proofing donuts you can try an electric frypan or slow cooker in the bottom of a cabinet.

You would do better to check out used proof boxes or buy a cheap new one.

They run about $1200 but are more consistant than some of the other methods.

You also have to watch out for your health inspector. He will shut you down (at least in my area) if you are using homemade equipment.

Another good option is to proof in the oven with a pan of water on the bottom rack.

Warm the oven to 120 degrees. Proof your product partially, Remove and let final proof at room temp. Run your oven up to baking temp.

Maybe that is a sign that you don't really need one. The only advantage I see in a proofing box is the ability to control humidity. About any closed container will do that. Throw some plastic over a cooling rack and call it a proofing box.

We bought those oversize plastic sweater boxes from Target...turn them over and use the bottom for the lid.

The Fine Art of Cooking involves personal choice. Many preferences, ingredients, and procedures may not be consistent with what you know to be true. As with any recipe, you may find your personal intervention will be necessary. Bon Appetit!

That's a good suggestion, but I got the idea that the OP was interested in something on a larger scale. I think the question remains as to what the OP wants to accomplish.

something on a larger scale. I think the question remains as to what the OP wants to accomplish.

The OP was talking about renting a commercial kitchen, and said, "We are still small (a couple hundred $$ a week in sales)..." This suggests that they are making a fair amount of bread, at least 50 loaves a week, assuming $4.00 a loaf, and that they want to make more.

So, I don't think going to the dollar store or Wal-Mart and buying sweater boxes is the answer here.

Mike

"Vox Humana" wrote in news:gq_3e.8548$ snipped-for-privacy@fe2.columbus.rr.com:

I think he wants to proof a quantity of dough. That requires a little heat and a little humidity.

I can understand the humidity, but not the heat. I proof bread on my counter at night with the temperature turned down to around 55F. I like it cold at night! Never have any problems. Sure, it takes longer but that's just a matter of planning. That takes me back to my original suggestion that the OP just put the trays of bread in a tray rack (which they already have) and throw a big sheet of plastic over the whole thing. If there is a desire for additional heat or moisture, I would put a pan of hot water on the top rack.

There are plastic covers that fit over the rolling racks. these are to keep a somewhat clean and constant environment in the rack, say if you push it into a wlak-in fridge over night, or to allow several trays of bagels to rest for a few hours.

You can put a cover over a rack, and put a warmer on the bottom rack filled with hot water to humidify. Cheap and easy.

"Vox Humana" wrote in news:Buc4e.9728$ snipped-for-privacy@fe2.columbus.rr.com:

The man is in 'business' he wants speed, taste and uniform results. Yeast rises faster at around 99F and the taste doesn't suffer much and keeping the temp and humidity fixed will give similar results every time.

I can't read minds, so I don't know what he wants. Everything I have read and my own experience tells me that taste is not achieved by a speedy rise. Also, I'm not sure that it costs more to let the dough rise longer. It would depend on how you manipulate the process. You can increase the speed by using warmer water and producing a warmer dough. Cold dough in a proofing box probably won't rise any faster than hot dough in a cold box. There are many variables. But, if the OP wants to produce something similar to Wonder Bread, then I would recommend hot dough in a hot proofing box. It will give uniform texture and fast results. Taste - well, that's a matter of opinion. I think he would be competing with supermarket bread. Personally, I would concentrate on making something that had a less uniform texture and more flavor even if it took longer. That way, I could justify charging more than 99 cents for a one pound loaf.

Amen Brother. Preach on!

I might buy cheap bread once, but good bread with great taste I'll come back for.