Despite owning one of the best bread machines, I still enjoy getting my hands dirty and baking bread from scratch. When I’m short on time and want a standard loaf, I’ll pop all the ingredients into my bread maker. But, when I’ve got time to spare, I like to use one of the best stand mixers to mix and knead the dough.
However, I’m always left with a problem. No matter how warm it is outside, my house is always cold, and getting my dough to proof seems to take forever. I’ve tried placing it in various sunny spots around my home to no avail, and I know the yeast is active and willing!
I’m not in the position to change my kitchen anytime soon, but buying a warming drawer has been on the top of my ‘new kitchen wishlist’ for a good year or two.
Little did I realize there’s already one appliance in my kitchen that can help me out — and the solution has been staring me in the face. My good old air fryer, which I use every day, has a proof function that’s perfect for my bread-making needs.
On doing some further research, even KitchenAid mentions how using the proof function on an air fryer can speed up bread proofing, stating, “The Proof Function maintains a warm environment useful for rising yeast… With a range of 80-100°F temperature and lower heating elements, this setting can be used to accelerate bread proofing.”
Putting my air fryer to the test
I excitedly got to work using my KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer to whip up some bread dough.
First attempt
To begin with, I chose a standard white bread recipe, which I planned to use to make bread rolls.
After mixing the ingredients and kneading the dough in my stand mixer, I transferred the dough to my Corsori TurboBlaze air fryer. I placed the dough in an air fryer liner, closed the drawer, and set the appliance to run on ‘Proof’ mode for 30 minutes. The standard temperature is set to 30°C (86°F), but you can adjust this if you want to increase or decrease the heat.
At this stage, I wasn’t sure whether to cover the dough or not, so I left it uncovered to see the result. Normally I'd place a tea towel over the dough as it rises, but this is a definite no-no when using an air fryer.
After the time had expired, I removed the dough to see it had doubled in size — perfect. However, it appeared to have a slight crust on the surface, so it wasn’t ideal. I made a note to myself to cover the dough next time round.
However, I was still able to knock the dough back and form it into rounds, ready to proof again before baking. This time, I covered the dough with a tea towel and left it to rise on my countertop before baking the rolls in my oven.
Second attempt
On my second attempt, I followed the same recipe, but rather than leaving the dough uncovered in the air fryer, I placed plastic wrap over the top. However, I was cautious to ensure the wrap was firmly secured and not too close to the air fryer fan above. I didn’t want any mishaps with the plastic wrap catching onto the fan.
The result? A much better rise, without a coating on the outside of the dough. And, once cooked, the rolls were fluffy and lightweight.
I wasn’t quite brave enough to cook the buns in the air fryer. I’ll leave that for another time, but I placed them in the oven and left them to bake for 15 minutes before finishing them off with lemon icing.
Sweet dough
Next up , I made a sweet dough for lemon iced buns. I wasn’t sure what to expect as the recipe required a mix of flour, with only half being strong bread flour. I also added warm milk, butter, and an egg. The consistency was much heavier than the white bread dough, so I expected it would take longer to rise.
I was right; instead of 30 minutes in the air fryer on the ‘Proof’ setting, it took a good 60 minutes, although I did check in on its progress during the process. This time, rather than placing the dough to rise on my countertop, I divided it into rounds and put the buns back in the air fryer. I think they look quite pretty!
The second proof was a little shorter, but due to the nature of the sweet dough, it required more time than the white rolls.
The verdict
The proof is in the eating, and there haven’t been any complaints yet.
Would I use the air fryer proof setting again?
There’s no question about it. I loved being able to leave my dough to rise, knowing it was being left at the ideal temperature. The air fryer achieved the correct temperature, allowing the yeast to become active and produce carbon dioxide, which led to a well-risen and flavorful loaf.
You'll no longer see me trying to find the hotspots in my house — I'll put proofing my bread in my air fryer from now on.
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