Benching, Bench Proofing, or Intermediate Proofing

Appears in
Professional Baking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2008

  • About
Rounded portions of dough are allowed to rest for 10 to 20 minutes. This relaxes the gluten to make shaping the dough easier. Also, fermentation continues during this time.

In large operations, the rounded dough is placed in special proofers for this rest. Smaller operations place the dough in boxes that are stacked on one another to keep the dough covered. Or the dough may simply be placed on the workbench and covered—hence the term benching or bench rest.