Volume Test

The Volume Test

Volume matters.

So, how do we know when it's time to bake? With a few simple tests and a bunch of practice, we can start to confidently determine this moment.

I always start by looking at my loaves. From the time we set our loaves for their final proof they should have increased in volume by at least half. If

your loaves have doubled or more, this might mean we're approaching overproofing.

Since judging the volume of our loaves can be tricky, I recommend using the same proofing baskets each time you bake until you begin to get a feel for this process. This will allow you to better gauge what changes in volume may signify in terms of dough progression. I almost always bake 900-gram loaves of the workhorse recipe, and I proof them in the same bannetons each day. This means that I can see day in, day out, that when my dough begins to rise above the lip of my baskets, we're nearing baking time.