Can I refrigerate my bread dough to bake later?
If you want to get a head-start on your baking, letting your bread or roll dough rise in the fridge overnight can be a huge help. Chilling the dough will slow down the yeast activity, but it doesn’t stop it completely. You can either refrigerate dough for its first or second rise.
To refrigerate during the first rise: After kneading, put the dough in a greased bowl with plenty of room and cover with greased plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight, or for up to 24 hours. When ready to use, remove it from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Then punch the dough and continue with your recipe as written.
To refrigerate during the second rise: Shape dough as desired or instructed in the recipe, place it in your baking pan and cover with plastic wrap, then store in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let it come to room temperature while you preheat the oven, or up to 1 hour until puffy then bake as directed.
So if I put it in the fridge before the first rise, when I take it our do I need to let it double or just let it get room temp?
The idea is that it’s been in the fridge long enough to rise properly, so it’s doubled or nearly so. And then it should rest at room temperature for a bit to remove the chill some. If your dough is in the fridge for a lot less time, you may need to let it rise additionally.
I hope I didn’t ruin mine, I refrigerated after kneading but never punch it down until removing from the fridge. Now it’s coming to room temp. I should’ve read this first. Great name by the way. ?
if I let my dough rise overnight in the fridge, do I need to bring it to room temp to work with it the next day?
Yes, I usually let it sit out for 30-60 minutes before trying to work with it.
Hi, after the dough has been in the fridge overnight do you punch it down then let it come to room temperature before rolling it out?
The Japanese milk-bread method [Tangzhou] makes a softer loaf because of the chemical changes when the water and flour are heated together. There is information about this online. Many recipes can be made with this method but it’s suitable only for bread and rolls that you want to be soft and fluffy.
My bread always has a hard crust how can I ensure it is soft ?
If I leave the dough to rise overnight in the fridge to I just knead it and let it rise at room temperature as usual the next day ?
I find that butter content determine the hardness of my crust. For example I have used the Japanese Milk Bread recipe to make rolls and it has a much softer outside (and inside) than other loaves I have made. The difference I can see is that it has a much higher butter content than I have seen in other recipes (besides the milk/flour mixture you add in).
To keep crusts from hardening place a cloth over the loaf after it comes out of the oven until it cools off.