Should You Use an Oven Proof Setting for Focaccia

Question

After living in my house for 10 years I just discovered that my oven has a Proof setting!  If I use this to proof the dough for this focaccia recipe, will it change the required proofing time?  I think the oven temperature on the Proof setting is between 90 and 100 degrees.

Lynn Clark · Accepted Answer

Hi Susan -
That seems pretty warm to us. A professional proofing box is usually between 80-90 degrees and yeast does its best work in that temperature range since it will proof at a slower rate. For most bread dough the proof setting on your oven will work (though you will need to shorten proofing times), but we wouldn't recommend it for this recipe.
One of the key qualities of this recipe/dough is the long, slow rise and fall and rise. We think this would happen too quickly with the temperature so high and would negatively affect the final focaccia. While a typical focaccia might rise for one to two hours, our dough rises for 5 1/2-6 hours, during which the dough rises, falls, then rises again, a process that leaves it looking and feeling blown out. This produces more gas than a shorter rise. Though some of that gas depletes over time—resulting in less dramatic oven spring when the focaccia first hits the hot oven—the remaining gas, combined with the steam and gluten structure, creates more and larger air pockets in the dough.
Hope that helps!
Best,
The Milk Street Cooking Team

Should You Use an Oven Proof Setting for Focaccia

Have a question for Milk Street experts?

Join the conversation