Application Guide

expand only slightly. In Rise 2, it can increase as much as two to three times in bulk.
As the dough rises, the gluten mesh network is trapping the expanding gases. Whole
grain breads and sweet doughs high in fat, sugar, or fruit take longer than lean white-
flour doughs to rise. Generally, a dough will take one to two hours to rise to the classic
“doubled in bulk” stage, filling the pan half to two-thirds full, and this rising occurs in
stages. The temperature inside the machine is about 82°F during the rising phases,
known as Rise 1 and Rise 2. Rise 1 and Rise 2 are separated by a Punch Down (see fol-
lowing).
The enclosed environment of the bread machine, which has accumu-
lated warmth from the action of the machine and holds the moisture from the dough, is,
at this point, a perfect medium for rising. The environment is cozy and warm, and free
from the drafts that can cause a dough outside the machine to rise slowly and unevenly.
The bread machine is its own miniature proofing box, achieving the very important
conditions professional bakers must create. Nonetheless, it is okay to open the lid and
peek! The dough will look more moist during this rising period than it did during the
kneading. Often it is sticky, but it absorbs this extra moisture during Rise 2.
Don’t even consider rushing your bread through the rising phases. Be
patient. (This is, by the way, where time is cut for the Quick Yeast Bread and One
Hour cycles.) A longer rise always makes for a tastier loaf. For dense whole-grain
doughs, bakers often will reset their machines for one more rise.
PUNCH DOWN
Bakers baking by hand use volume, rather than time, as a measure for when to deflate
the dough. They deflate the dough for the first time when it has doubled in bulk. The
machine, with its more controlled and predictable rising environment, punches down
the dough using time, rather than bulk, as its cue. Because the Punch Down phase is
timed, different doughs will be in various stages of rising when punch downs occur.
The first deflation happens half-way through the composite of all the rising periods,
separating Rise 1 from Rise 2, and the second deflation occurs 80 percent through the
total rising time, separating Rise 2 and Rise 3 (the dough will reach its full rising ca-
pacity in Rise 3). Punch downs are necessary to release the trapped carbon dioxide
from the dough. The action of the machine’s blade, a few turns lasting less than ten
seconds, is all that is needed to deflate the dough. (This time varies by machine—for
example, Regal’s Punch Down is just three spins in five seconds at the same speed as
Knead 1.) I don’t really like the term “punch down,” since it has a violent connotation
and the dough really is deflated gently. No more kneading is required at this point, as it
would reactivate the gluten strands and give the dough an undesirable tight tension. A
relaxed dough is able to rise smoothly and easily.
If the dough is sitting off to one side of the pan after the Punch
Down, I pull it into the middle and center it over the blade to avoid a lopsided baked
loaf later.
SHAPE/RISE 3
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