Shoutout to the baker who told me to stop overproofing my brioche

For years I thought brioche needed a long, warm proof to get that fluffy texture. I used to let it rise for almost 3 hours at around 80 degrees, and my loaves always came out dense with a weird crust. Then last fall, a baker at a workshop in Portland told me I was killing the yeast by letting it go too long. She said to proof it at a cooler temp, like 72 degrees, for just 90 minutes max. I tried it last month on a batch for a holiday order, and the dough was so much lighter and easier to shape. The final loaves had that soft, buttery crumb I was chasing for years. Has anyone else found that less proofing time actually gives better results with enriched doughs?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.hayden14d ago

Wait, 3 hours at 80 degrees? That's basically soup, not dough.

the_sandra14d ago

Wait, are you saying you proofed brioche at 80 degrees for 3 hours? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. I had the same problem with my challah for ages. It always came out kind of dense and the crust was too dark. Then a friend who bakes professionally told me to drop the proof temp to around 72 and keep it to an hour and a half. The difference was night and day. The dough rose slower but it held its shape way better and the crumb was way softer. I also started using less yeast in the recipe to slow things down even more. That was the trick for me.