Buzz
It’s a little ironic that the ideal time to bake bread (a cold, gloomy day) is actually the worst time to proof (or prove) it. Bread yeast thrives in a warm, slightly humid environment, which is hard to come by during colder months. While a microwave can serve as a makeshift proofing drawer, it requires using your microwave for at least an hour, which can be inconvenient. But if you own an Instant Pot, you can easily create the perfect proofing conditions using its “Yogurt” setting.
In fact, the environment in the Instant Pot is so ideal that it can even speed up your proofing process. I baked this peasant bread last night, and it doubled in size in just one hour and 22 minutes (the Instant Pot’s timer showed me exactly), a full eight minutes less than its usual 1 1/2 to 2-hour proofing time.
However, it’s not as simple as just placing your dough in the insert and hitting the “Yogurt” button. Doing so puts your dough too close to the heating element, which the yeast doesn’t appreciate. In fact, they’ll refuse to work or even perish, depending on how close they are to the heat, and your bread will never rise as it should.
This is an easy fix: simply place a trivet in the insert, lay a sheet of parchment on top of the trivet, and set the dough on the parchment, ensuring it stays away from the heating element. Cover the Instant Pot with plastic wrap, then press the “Yogurt” button, making sure it’s set to “Normal,” not “More” or “Less.”
Then step back and let the yeast work its magic until your dough rises as directed in your recipe. If you’re searching for a simple bread recipe to try this method with, I highly recommend the aforementioned peasant bread. It turns out the peasants really knew their way around a loaf of bread..
