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A question posed by a reader in a recent issue of Sift magazine covers familiar territory for many of us yeast bread bakers: how to deal with over-proofed dough. "Every once in a while I have over-proofed dough. So what can I do with it? I just hate waste and don't want to throw it away," writes Colleen Guertin.
Thankfully, there's no reason to throw away a batch of yeast dough that's simply risen too much.
Sift food editor Susan Reid writes, "Most yeast doughs have a third rise in them, as long as the yeast used in the recipe is either active dry or a type of instant yeast that isn't designed for one quick rise (such as rapid-rise yeast). If you come back to your rising loaf and see that it's oversized and puffy, turn the dough out of the pan and reshape it. Return the dough to the pan and set a timer for 20 minutes (each rise goes faster than the last). Put the bread in the oven when it's no more than an inch above the edge of the pan, so there's some energy left in the dough for nice oven spring."
Let's put that advice to work here. We'll make two loaves of bread using our Classic Sandwich Bread recipe. Note: This technique generally doesn't work with sourdough bread, which has usually already undergone quite a long fermentation process before its final rise.
Here's the risen dough, ready to shape and put into the pans.
Notice there's a lot of room for the dough to expand here. If your log of shaped dough fills the pan full or nearly so to begin with, you need a larger pan.
Broadly speaking, any recipe using 3 1/2 cups of flour or less can be baked in an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan; more than 3 1/2 cups of flour, move up to a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
Let the loaves rise.
Wait — you don't use a plastic shower cap (or bowl cover) to tent your rising yeast loaf? Get with the program!
Perfect. The loaves have risen 1" over the rim of the pan. Pop them into your preheated oven and they'll continue to rise into nicely domed loaves.
But wait — what if you space out on Facebook, or have to make an emergency run to school to deliver your kid's basketball uniform?
Whoops. This loaf, towering a good 4" over the rim of the pan, is severely over-risen.
What would happen if you baked this bread as is? We'll see later on. But for now, let's perform an emergency rescue.
First, deflate the dough. It actually feels kind of satisfying to press all that air out; you know, like you're breaking the rules and getting away with it.
Next, reshape the dough into a loaf.
Place it in its pan.
Let the loaf rise no more than 1" over the pan's rim before popping it into your preheated oven.
Here are our two baked loaves, side by side. On the left: the "remembered" loaf, baked at the proper time. On the right: the forgotten loaf, deflated and allowed to rise again before baking.
Notice the loaf on the right, with the extra rise, actually rose a bit higher — thanks to the extra yeast activity inherent in two rises rather than one. And the flavor? No discernible difference between the two.
Is it possible to build an extra rise right into your recipe? Sure; but it's easier to let the dough rise twice in the bowl, rather than twice in the pan.
And what about that over-risen loaf that went right into the oven without being deflated and reshaped?
How the mighty have fallen!
Because the bread had risen so much before it hit the oven's heat, there was no more capacity for additional expansion in the oven. It rose; it fell; it collapsed. Still tastes good, but not a pretty picture.
So, can over-proofed dough be saved? Absolutely. Simply follow the steps above, and you can turn this potential culinary disaster into a perfectly lovely loaf!
Interested in more great baking advice from the experts — along with incredible recipes, great writing, and breathtaking photography? Find our Sift magazine at your local Costco, Whole Foods, Barnes and Noble, Wegmans, Sam's Clubs or other retailers. Or purchase it online.
June 12, 2024 at 1:13pm
Thanks for the tip regarding over-proofed bread dough. It happened again to me so next time I will remember to knead the dough again and let it rise for the last time.
June 13, 2024 at 11:24am
In reply to Thanks for the tip regarding… by David Collins (not verified)
Hi David. You are very welcome! Let us know how that next loaf comes out. Happy Baking!
March 26, 2024 at 9:09pm
Thank you! Your suggestions worked for me (and my bread).
March 1, 2024 at 12:24pm
Thank you for this tip
March 1, 2024 at 4:41pm
In reply to Thank you for this tip by Karen (not verified)
You're very welcome, Karen!
June 23, 2023 at 6:39am
I occasionally make a sweetie bread dough as part of making Hungarian Pull Apart Cake, known locally in Central PA as Monkey Bread, with an old family recipe. I never make bread by hand other than this, so I'm very inexperienced with risen dough.
The recipe calls for the first rise to be in the very large Tupperware bowl my mom inlaw gave me as a gift, specifically for the recipe. You put the lid on tight but do not burp it. The dough starts out less than half filling the bowI. I often have difficulty getting a good rise and knowing when the rise is doubled because MIL says not to check under the lid, keep it warm (tricky in my 1890s farmhouse) for "several hours or overnight". I saw your use of a plastic shower cap or bowl cover...Thoughts?
June 23, 2023 at 11:48am
In reply to I occasionally make a… by Vicky (not verified)
Hi Vicky, I think it would work fine to use a plastic shower cap or bowl cover and to peak at your dough now and then to see how it's progressing. For tips on finding a warmer spot for your dough to rise, check out this blog post.
November 17, 2022 at 12:56pm
Hi I left my sourdough rise overnight, in the morning I saw it was way too much, so I put it into the fridge, now I want to reshape it after 4-hour refrigeration, can I still reshape it & have it rise again?
November 18, 2022 at 1:31pm
In reply to Hi I left my sourdough rise… by Gitty Karpen (not verified)
Hi Gitty, if your sourdough bread dough sat out overnight, there's a good chance that it has over-fermented and won't rise well if you try to reshape it after refrigeration. Over-fermented dough will feel wetter and will rip easily. If the dough still feels good it might be worth a try, or you consider making pizza dough out of it, which won't require as much structure or rising power.
January 7, 2023 at 5:18pm
In reply to Hi I left my sourdough rise… by Gitty Karpen (not verified)
Let it sit out for at least an hour to come to room temp. Then try to reshape. I've done that and as it warms to room temp, I see it respond a bit. I didn't touch mine for about 2 hours. When I reshaped it, I did NOT punch it down. I tried to reshape with as little manipulation as possible. If it doesn't rise after reshaping, you will know. If it rises a only little but you think it will be a hard little rock, try to pull flat and use as pizza dough. I bet it will be great.
If making PIZZA: Pull it to circle shape starting at the outside working in. Don't touch the outside inch or so (the crust). Once shaped as a pizza, cover with a touch of oiled plastic wrap and a towel. Leave it rest again in a warmer place in your kitchen. After it sits for 30 min or so, top with sauce, toppings, mozz. and bake it hot, like 475f. It won't take long to bake, maybe 10 to 12 minutes. The center will have bubbles when it is ready. So even if the crust sucks, you can eat the toppings and cheese 🤣 SHAPING ADVICE: When shaping it, shape it onto a pizza pan or baking sheet. I have a pizza stone and preheat it 30 minutes. I put my dough on the back of a cookie sheet with corn meal under it. Once the pizza dough has rested and the oven and stone are hot, I top it. Then I open the oven door and pull the oven shelf toward me so I can easily reach it. Then I wiggle the pizza and cookie sheet in small quick back and forth movements to scoot the pizza on to the stone.
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