Finger Poke Test

When is dough fully proved? This is such a hard question to answer: even if you think you’ve been precise with every measurement of ingredients, the temperature of the dough and room it’s in, time etc., the answer is another case of “when it’s done”.

One test is pressing gently with a finger or the pad at the base of your thumb. If the dough springs back quickly, it’s not ready; if it collapses totally, you’ve probably left it too long. What you want to see is the dough slowly pushing back to repair the dent you have made. It’s one of those things that as you get really serious about your baking, you might want to sidle up to a tame, genuine artisan baker who’ll let you poke his or her dough and say “that’s what it should feel like”.