Making a Proofing Box for Bread Baking
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- Опубліковано 22 лют 2014
- A proofing box is a simple device for maintaining a constant temperature in which yeast doughs or sourdoughs can rise (or proof). All you will need is a Styrofoam box that is large enough for the bowl you use, an inexpensive thermostat that is available on ebay or Amazon, a lamp socket and standard 25 watt incandescent light bulb, a power cord and plug plus a few little pieces of wire and electrical bits, Bread recipes and instructions for making your own sourdough starter and some thoughts on baking equipment will follow in the next weeks.
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Great to see that Avasva has new instructions to save my money and energy to build it.
Coool
Pretty slick setup and just simple enough for some of us who aren't scientists to make ourselves.
Great DIY video Bruce. Thanks very much. I will be making this soon.
You are sounding better Bruce. Ahhh, its alive!! Love sourdough.
I built one using a 40W tubular heater with a built-in thermostat. I lined a plastic storage box with foam-backed radiator insulation foil. It seems to work quite well and ought to be safe as the tubular heater is IP44 rated and also has a thermal overide as well as a thermostat.
Of course it would probably work even better in a styrofoam box.
This is very helpful, just what I was looking for. Thanks, Bruce.
I'm pleased to hear it was of help. We use ours regularly.
Two things I wish to say. 1. I like the simplicity of your design. I have most of the material in my garage and will begin putting my proofing box together this weekend. 2. You have hands like my grandfather. I haven't thought about his hands in many years. He never stopped puttering and fabricating things. He never complained about the pain he felt, he just rubbed his hands together and would put on gloves soaked in mentholatum. I pray you do not suffer like he did.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Yes, I have rheumatoid arthritis and sometimes it is so severe that I have difficulty moving, but then I watch UA-cam videos and enjoy my home-baked bread. Thankfully, I do have pain medicine that allows me to still be quite active and I try to keep moving as much as possible because the less I move the less I can move. Best wishes for success with your proofing box.
Bruce
I used a glass cutting board with a reptile heating pad adhered to the bottom. I used the lid of the cooler as the base and placed the glass in the center. I then used a hot knife to carve the outline of the board into the Styrofoam and then notched it so that it fit flush with the lip of the lid. Used temp and humidity gauge fit through the side of the upturned bottom of cooler.
My loaves have raised more than others in the past. I am very pleased with the idea you passed my way via UA-cam.
@@daddyrabbitt I would be very interested in seeing your design. Specially about humidity control. A long time ago I used to work at a sub shop that proofs and bakes it's french bread. Bread sat on a tray on a rack, temp was 110-115f in the proofer, and the humidity dial was set at "85" with a pan sitting on a burner with water. It was just enough to fog the glass but not condensate into drops. Bread sat in there for 45 min with humid warm air circulating until the ideal height was obtained. Btw, I found a book in a thrift store called "the complete guide to bread and bread machines" ISBN# 1844771849 Interesting recipes in there for manual and machined.
This is a clever idea. It is ideal for anyone cooking fresh bread on the day you prepare meals for friends and family in a cold climate. You can use the oven to prepare the main course but still let bread dough rise.
Thanks Steve. I am feeling better today.
Very helpful guide thanks Steve!
Great video, thank you for sharing!
This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks!
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.
Fantastic idea. I am doing it.
I've been needing one of these. I make sourdough breads mostly but my grandchildren love cinnamon rolls and other breads as well. I live in a fifth wheeler right now and winter is creeping in. Does not stay very warm for proofing, which here would be 85 degrees for the sourdough. I have never seen this type of styrofoam box around here. The sides and bottom are all flat and love that blue:) lucky sister in law. I will try to find a box like this and show video to my husband, he's comfortable with electricity. This was a very useful video, I thank you for making it
+Cynthia Heiden Thank you for writing. I bought another box recently on e-bay. They are used for shipping fish and other perishables on ice. The blue one was from a wholesaler and was for transporting meat and fish in the car on the way home from the shop. An old cooler would also do fine. Let me know how you do with it, if you have a chance.
Thank you for this good information!
Thanks Bruce, I will have to make one, I love home made bread, Good video
It's really easy and worth the effort. I will make some videos on bread making in the future. Thanks for your comment.
I came up with a similar idea just today. Use the setup that you have with some alterations. You need moisture too so add a cup of water inside. Also, an exhaust fan that runs constantly. You can substitute a heating pad for the light bulb...
Thanks! that's a great solution!
Very Good one Bruce
Good presentation Bruce. Thanks for sharing it
Thanks for commenting, Walter.
Hi Bruce I'm ready to make the box..it all looks pretty simple to me except the electrical which maybe you can't explain because of liability? I've found the temp controller on amazon but the photos just show the sensor wire coming out the back of the unit. Do you connect the bulb wires to the back of the unit as well as the wires to give it power?
Thank you, Bruce, for the basic design and suggestions. Obtained 2 salmon fillet packing boxes from the local grocery. They didn't have enough height, so I cut the bottom out of one and joined them together with "Great Stuff" foam insullation. I designed my PB with the lid at the bottom (box is inverted), to made it easier to put in and take out long loafs like 2 lb rustic Italian or Baguettes. To proof two 9" dia foccacia I installed a removable wire shelf made from a scrap steel wire closet shelf cut to size. The forward "L" shaped lip becomes a bracket that keeps the shelf horizontal. Its attached by resting on two wire L brackets that are screwed into the interior reinforcing board. Found a 25 watt bulb at a dollar store.
I love using it, my yeast loves it; its made bread making even more enjoyable.
That sounds great, Larry. Glad you were able to use the ideas. A proofing box really makes home bread baking much more enjoyable and reliable. Thanks much for your comment.
Nice video! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much!
thank you for your video.
Thanks for watching. I'm pleased if you found the video useful.
Great setup. Wonder if you could be more specific re: the parts you used? “A few little pieces of wire and electrical bits” is too vague for my level of experience. Thanks much.
hi bruce , nice box , i found your video whilst searching for a steam proving box , no results found , as i used to be a baker and we prove our bread in a steam press , it stops the dough forming a skin so it can prove to its fules in a short period and have an even open texture , i guess i am going to have to make one and put the video on here as i am sure others will be interested , all the best from scotland in these difficult times
I was just thinking that I could make a proofing box. Checked on UA-cam and yours came up.
My would be design, is very similar. Based on my homemade egg incubator. The one added feature that I will include is a small computer fan. This equals out the temp. On egg incubator you set it a couple of degrees cooler with a fan than one without.
thanx got my ideas from this video
Damn fine idea, thanks.
Thank you. We find that it works very well.
Thanks great idea.
Good luck and have fun.
Bruce thank you so much for this wonderful video and idea. I have been wanting to bake so many breads for years but have stopped because the lack of a proofer. It would be great to see a video of the wiring since I'm not to sure about that but I'm hoping my roommates and I can replicate your proofer. Much cheaper than spending 300 on a small box. Thank you again.
+Josie Maldonado Thank you for your kind words. I have all of the parts to build another box and will make a video of the wiring. I cannot promise that it will happen right away, but as soon as I have time and energy I will do it. Would a wiring diagram (simplified) help you? I could make a drawing for you and send it per e-mail.
Hi Bruce,
That would be great I actually did some research and found something I thought might work. I wanted to know what your opinion was. I found a seedling heat mat on Amazon. I was thinking of laying that on the bottom and putting some cooling racks above that so the bowl isn't directly touching the heating mat. It also has a thermostat.
good vid
Bruce, thank you so much for this idea. I was struggling in my breadbaking because I could not get a consistent proving environment. After seeing your video I initially made one similar to the blue box and was able to make wonderful wholemeal bread for toast, which was exactly the same every time i made it. I have now upgraded to a larger box which can prove about 6 baguettes, but uses the same principle, and still only one bulb. It is actually built from two of the styrofoam containers like in your first version, but with one side of each box cut off and then taped together to be perhaps 50 or 60 litres. I used the same 15 or so dollar thermostat. It is a fantastic solution, and you are a genius. By the way how did the Christmas present (blue box) go?
Thank you Jonathan! I'm pleased that you have had success. We use ours regularly. The gift was very well received and is still being used daily.
I wish I could eat sour dough bread still. We are on a low carbohydrate diet (it is working!) so most breads are limited in our daily regimen.
Amazing work Sir, I'll definitely make one of these, though I would love to find a way to modify it so that I can also adjust humidity. I already have a warm enough room in my house for proofing, but it can be quite dry and if I really want to speed up the fermentation process, I most definitely need higher moisture levels. Any ideas?
Sorry, I have no experience with that, aside from placing a damp tea towel in the box. That probably only works well because of the heat from the lamp. Good luck on your build. If you have some observations you would like to share I would be interested in hearing them. You could write them as a comment here.
@TheHellKiwi
You need to place a pan of hot water on the bottom of the box to provide the steam.
Where did you get the box and what are the dimensions?
I would like to thank you for this video. So simple, yet so effective. Do you also prove your dough in this box? How do you make sure the dough doesn't dry out? Have you any ideas keeping the environment a tad humid? I know humidity and electricity don't go together well, but it would be a shame that the dough would dry out.
I prove dough in the box using a moist cloth (tea towel) to cover the bowl. There is no danger if the cloth is just damp. You can also put a glass of water in the box, but I don't see any advantage over the damp cloth. Good luck I'm sure you'll find the box useful. We have been using ours now for nearly 6 years for bread, yeast dough, etc.
Wow... You're quick with an answer! Thank you for your reply. I'm going to find a suitable thermostat on Ebay now.
Love your idea and I'm certain it works well for sour dough starter. However I'm trying to find a way to do the same with salt rising bread. The starter requires a temp of 95 to 110 degrees for at least 12 hours. I've tried several different methods all of which don't produce the results I'm looking for. I don't require a large space as the starter is in a quart mason jar. Any ideas would be most helpful. I already have a thermostat with a probe.
If you have a thermostat with a probe you just need a Styrofoam box. I'm not certain that I understand the problem You can use a small box for your jar. The thermostats I use can be adjusted up to about 200°F. The length of time is of no significance for the box or thermostat.
I like it but I will use a heating mat for Seedlings or reptiles
sweet box, looks like a bomb. props to that. I tried to make a starter with grapes hoping the enzymes on the skin would react well with the flour but two days later i opened my container and the whole house was gagging from the smell of puke.
Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the starter. It's easiest just to mix one part of flour with one part of water and stir it in an open container for 10 minutes or so (a stand mixer is great if you have one) and then feed it with fresh flour and water every day, tossing out some each day so you don't wind up with a ton of the stuff. After 5 days you should have a sweet, fruity, slightly boozy smelling sourdough starter.
Hi Bruce, I took inspiration from the video and made one myself. I just have a question for you. My styrofoam box is not thick like yours, so i don't have the same amount of insulation (i guess)... but I'm not sure that the thermostat is working properly. I use a 40W lightbulb, the temperature rises 1°C in 10 seconds, but the it also rapidly cools down ( 0.1°C every 2-3 seconds) is that normal? Thanks
+Marco Ca Hello Marco. Firstly, a 40 watt bulb will heat very quickly and will tend to overheat the box. I use a 15 watt bulb and it takes about 30 seconds to raise the temperature 1°C. However, more important is that you say the temperature drops so quickly. This must be due to the thin styrofoam (and/or very cold ambient temperature). I would look for a thicker box or maybe you can find an old cooler. They insulate very well. Ideal for yeast growth is a relatively stable temperature. A "sawtooth" with an amplitude of 2 or 3 degrees is not ideal. Do you have any experience using the box yet? Good luck and don't hesitate to write if you have further questions.
+Bruce Boschek I made it yesterday and still not tested with dough. What's the cooling rate with your box?
+Marco Ca That depends on ambient (room) temperature. At a temperature of 15°C outside the box and no dough in the box it drops about 1°C in 2 minutes. With 2 kg of dough in the box it takes longer to drop 1".
thank you Bruce, can you tell me please where the two wires of the light bulb are coming from or where you hook them up ?thank you
Mark Kell The thermostat or temperature controller has connections for power going in and others for that which is controlled, i.e. the heater, or in this case the light bulb. Some controllers only have one conductor switched and in that case you have to connect the bulb to the common neutral and to the switched output of the controller. If you need more help please PM me an e-mail address and I can send you a simple wiring diagram. You will need to let me know what kind of controller you have, and/or send me a picture of it and the connectors. Thanks for your interest.
Thank you Bruce I dont have any yet but I saw your video and I liked your work done with the box smart man I'm having a hard time to raise my sourdough bread made from culture sourdough thank you again
Mark, feel free to contact me if you need help. It isn't difficult and the results are extremely satisfying.Good luck.
Just wanted to point out... it's a common misconception but the yeast in a sourdough starter doesn't come from the air, it comes with the flour you use, which is why you shouldn't use bleached flour to get your starter going. After the starter is mature you can use bleached flour if you like, but when you are trying to get your starter up and running you will be trying to grow natural yeast from bleached flour which was all killed in the bleaching process.
Thank you for your quick reply. Here's my problem, to achieve the desired
results for salt rising bread you have to keep the starter at a constant
temp of 95 to 110 degrees for 12 hours. I understand about the container
and the temperature probe, I have one, it's for meats, but it works great
for my starter. I place the probe in the jar and place everything in a warm
place, it's just not warm enough. I've been working on this off and on for
years! I just need to understand about the heat source. Would a 25 watt
bulb be warm enough to heat the inside of the container, 95 to 110 degrees?
Thank you so much for your help. Sara
Oh, I see! I'm sorry I didn't think this through before responding. The answer is yes, to be certain, particularly if you chose a proper insulated box. A 25 watt bulb in a Styrofoam box can easily heat the interior to over 150°F with an ambient temperature outside the box warmer than about 40°F, possibly even colder. You can also use a 40 watt bulb or larger. The wattage isn't important as the thermostat will limit the temperature to whatever you set it to. You don't need to put the probe into the jar, just rest it on top. The temperature throughout the box is relatively uniform. Good luck. I would like to hear about your results, if you have a chance.
Bruce Boschek Ok...awesome! That makes sense. So instead of putting the probe in the jar I will rest it on top. Thankfully the control sends a signal beep when the temp changes. I think what I'll do is test it all out first and if I can keep my temp where it needs to be I'm good to go. Thank you so much and of course I'll let you know the outcome, though it may take a day or 2...lol
@@saramyers2117
It''s already been 4 years & not a peep. lol
where do you get that prove digital reader to install
Ebay has many Chinese temperature controllers like this one. Just search for one with the appropriate voltage for your country.
I love this idea but don't know where to begin. Is it possible to buy a kit for construction, i.e. you supply the parts and the instructions on how to build one. To control postage costs, don't supply the styrofoam box. How much do you think your services will cost ? Please include a rough estimate on postage. Thanks.
Reply ·
Sour dough bread...yum, I love sour dough bread, how much flour and water and what are the steps or process, I believe I tried making some before just in the air, but it beer turned out, maybe I should try making a box...thanks for sharing...
It takes about a week to get the sourdough going. I'm going to make a video of how to go about it. It's not difficult, but you have to "feed" the sourdough starter with flour and water every day until it is established. I'll try to make the video soon. Thanks for commenting.
Will look forward to it...
Well, the problem is, I have two starters going now already. I'll PM you with some instructions. It's really simple and there isn't a lot to see in a video.
*****
I PMed you with long-winded instructions on making a starter. Good luck.
Thanks so... much!
What is brand and model of your temp control?
The name on the thermostat is "Willhi," Digital Temperature Controller MH1230, This is a 230 Volt model. You will need one that is right for your house current.
An der Hefe kann man erkennen, dass Sie auch Deutsch beherrschen. ^^
Eine sehr gut Idee, auf die man erstmal kommen muss. Mein Frage ist, ob es auch eine Möglichkeit gibt, die Temperatur in der Kiste auch zu senken. Für ein Rezept muss ich den Teig über mehrere Stunden bei ca. 10 °C ruhen lassen. Wissen Sie Hilfe und Rat?
Jakob Tissen Es wäre ein reisen Aufwand, mit Kälteaggregat. Vielleicht kann man eine Kühlbox mit Peltier-element (wie fur's Auto - Obi z.B.) dazu adoptieren. Sie kosten ca. €80 im Baumarkt. Falls Sie eine Lösung finden wäre es ein Video Wert 😉.
Jepp - unsere Gärbox besteht aus einer 7,5l Mini 12V Kfz HUANJIE Kühl/-Heizbox (ca. 20€ bei gearbest.com) die ich über einen W1209 DC12V Thermostat (ebay ca. 3,25€) ansteuer. Netzteil ist ein alter 15V (ist schon OK - Dauerbetrieb brachte keine Probleme mit der Überspannung) Laptop Netzadapter (Toshiba) der liefert locker 6 Ampere. Vorteil der Lösung: Heizen & kühlen möglich und alles im ungefährlichen Niedervoltbereich. Kosten total: unter 30 € :-)))
Die 230V Lösung ist nicht ohne Gefahrenpotential...
Gefahren lauern überall! lol Klingt sehr gut. KÜhlen kann meine nicht. Vielen Dank!
T=up
0:47 How to maker ‘ starter ‘ - simply.
Take my wife for a walk haha
Okay where is my world famous sarcasm? what type of thermostat where do you get them can I guess?
+Andrew Stergiou Sorry, I haven't seen your sarcasm, but I can tell you were to look for a thermostat. Ebay or Amazon has many offers from Chinese companies with names like Inkbird and Lerway. To make the search easier just look for "temperature controllers" rather than thermostats or you will wind up seeing everything from car parts to furnace controllers. I did not recommend a particular controller because it will depend upon the line (mains) voltage of the country you are in. Here in Germany we need 230 VAC, in the UK 240 VAC and in the States 120 VAC. The price is about US$ 15. Thanks for your interest and good luck.