Finally – they invented a proofing box for the home user

[Shalmanese]

Can you crank it up to max and record what the max temp is?

According to the tech specs, it's 120F which is a shame because it's just a hair too low for versatile low temp cooking. If it could hit 125, it would at least be safe for meat cooking. Still, it might be useful for steaming fish.

The advantage of this over a Sous Vide machine is that you wouldn't have to bother mucking around with plastic bags, you could just set a plate of food in there and let it steam.

[KitchenQueen]

It ain't no Sous Vide but it's one helluva proofer and yoghurt maker !

[KitchenQueen]

I've never tried salt rising bread. But if that's what it needs, this is it.

[dcarch]

A Thermoelectric Cooler/heater Peltier device can be bought for under $5.00

An aquarium temperature controller is about $20.00

Add a $5.00 fan

You can have a proofing box that keeps accurate temperature from cold to hot, or a chicken incubator, or a yogurt maker or --------

To keep humidity, just put a wet towel inside the box.

dcarch

Do you use a computer fan for something like this? Can they run off regular wall current if they are spliced into a power cord?

Most computer fans are 5VDC or 12VDC. They cannot run on 110VAC.

dcarch

[dcarch]

Can you crank it up to max and record what the max temp is?

According to the tech specs, it's 120F which is a shame because it's just a hair too low for versatile low temp cooking. If it could hit 125, it would at least be safe for meat cooking. Still, it might be useful for steaming fish.

The advantage of this over a Sous Vide machine is that you wouldn't have to bother mucking around with plastic bags, you could just set a plate of food in there and let it steam.

In any case, I would not try to cook any low temperature food using a regular thermostat. They are highly inaccurate.

dcarch

[Shalmanese]

Can you crank it up to max and record what the max temp is?

According to the tech specs, it's 120F which is a shame because it's just a hair too low for versatile low temp cooking. If it could hit 125, it would at least be safe for meat cooking. Still, it might be useful for steaming fish.

The advantage of this over a Sous Vide machine is that you wouldn't have to bother mucking around with plastic bags, you could just set a plate of food in there and let it steam.

In any case, I would not try to cook any low temperature food using a regular thermostat. They are highly inaccurate.

dcarch

There is ultra-precise SV which is useful for precise temperature over extended periods of time like 48 hour short ribs or 63C eggs. But there's also ghetto sous vide which is still useful. For example, toss a chicken breast into a 70C oven with a probe stuck into it and take it out when the core reaches 65C. It won't be perfectly uniform but it will still be 95% as moist and succulent as the SV version.

At the very least, it should be useful as a resting box to keep meats warm while you prep everything else.

[Shalmanese]

Got mine today. When empty, it stabilized at 91F when set to 90F but once I loaded it with some yogurt and dough, I measure the air temperature as 83F but the yogurt and dough are both 87F (this is after 2 hours in the proofer so everything should be stable).

[Margaret Pilgrim]

What am I missing? I cover dough tightly with Saran and set the bowl on a stand several feet from a heating vent. Our house is a constant 68 degrees, and rises to perhaps 75 with the heat on. The area near a vent -> perfectly risen dough. I don't think I "get"/want/need a proofing box.

[Shalmanese]

I bought it for a couple of reasons:

1. Consistency when rising dough, I live in SF and like to keep my house unheated so room temp can go as low as 55F. A known temperature leads to a known doubling time

2. I want to be able to experiment with different proofing temperatures and their effect on the dough.

3. Yogurt making requires a higher temp than dough proofing and it's great to have a single box to do both.

4. Yogurt consistency is also dependent on proofing temperature and I want to be able to experiment with different textures.

4. It should be an excellent place to put chocolate that you want to keep in temper if you want to enrobe a few dozen truffles for example

5. Cranked to maximum, it serves as an acceptable holding cabinet for roasted meats, meaning I can let meats adequately rest without the outside cooling off too much and I can make sure I take my time getting all the sides ready and keep the meat ready to serve.

Really, #5 was the biggest selling point, I've been wanting to figure out an acceptable holding cabinet situation for a while and this seems to fit the bill.

[Kouign Aman]

This would be the key for me: "A known temperature leads to a known doubling time"

Its frustrating to have started making bread and have to interrupt it because doubling time didnt behave itself!

[takadi]

Just want to comment on this. On their website, Brod and Taylor guarantees that the temperature variance should at most be 2 degrees. They also make it known that the unit is calibrated not for air temperature but for the temperature of the contents.  That being said I did the recommended test they have on their website. A quarter cup of water in a metal cup, placed in the center on the rack on 84 degrees F for 60 minutes. Three tests averaged out to 81 degrees. Did the same test except at 120 degrees F. The results were even worse, with the temps at 110 degrees. 

 

I called them up and they sent a new unit. Tested this unit out using the same test. 84 degrees measured at 88 degrees F. 120 degrees measured at 128 degrees F. The unit they sent was even worse. I called them again and they said an "engineer" would call me up to speak to me, but for a unit that is 148 dollars but is made in China and is consistently inaccurate, I'm thinking about returning this and getting something else.

[lindag]

I'm sorry you had poor results with your proofer.  Does a few degrees difference really matter that much?

When I got mine I did a much simpler test of my own design, just used a Thermopen inside and checked it against the temperature set.  I was fine.  I've very happy with my purchase, but I can see that you many want to just move on.

[dcarch]

Based on the design, I can't see how it can maintain consistent and accurate temperature.

 

I think if there is a little fan inside, it can probably stay to within one degree +- accuracy.

 

dcarch

[GlorifiedRice]

I just put my dough in the over the range microwave, The heat from the lightbulbs underneath do the trick

[takadi]

I'm sorry you had poor results with your proofer.  Does a few degrees difference really matter that much?

When I got mine I did a much simpler test of my own design, just used a Thermopen inside and checked it against the temperature set.  I was fine.  I've very happy with my purchase, but I can see that you many want to just move on.

 

I don't necessarily have poor results, just disappointed that I paid a good chunk of money for a product that promises something and doesn't deliver. I've been making yogurt many times with the proofer and I adjust time accordingly to the temperature. I think it's better that it's colder than the stated temperature than hotter.

 

That being said, my complaints were actually addressed by the owner of the company, Michael Taylor. He was very attentive to detail and considerate and he is actually going out of his way to find a unit in the factory that has good temperature settings. He's not sure why these units have been coming in with different temperatures, as it probably is due to manufacturing errors/differences. According to him, making a proof that is accurate to tenths of a degree would make this unit cost several times more....though I found that comment strange because the website only guaranteed to 2 degrees accuracy, which would be perfectly fine for me.  Anyway, if I don't get an accurate unit, he offered to give me a full refund. Product might not be top notch but customer service really is

[nickrey]

Inspired by this and having a spare sous vide magic, a wine box, and some time, I decided to create a homemade proofing box.

 

Basically it is a wine box that has its interior heated to the proofing temperature by a 40 watt lamp controlled by my sous vide magic.

 

The outside looks like this:

 

 

Inside there is the light bulb, the dough that is being risen, a container of water to maintain humidity and the sous vide magic temperature probe that fits through a small hole on the side of the box opposite the light bulb. It is a bit slow to reach temperature given the low wattage of the bulb but stays steady as a rock because control is done via a PiD device.

 

[dcarch]

Inspired by this and having a spare sous vide magic, a wine box, and some time, I decided to create a homemade proofing box.

 

Basically it is a wine box that has its interior heated to the proofing temperature by a 40 watt lamp controlled by my sous vide magic.

 

The outside looks like this:

 

proofing box.jpg

 

Inside there is the light bulb, the dough that is being risen, a container of water to maintain humidity and the sous vide magic temperature probe that fits through a small hole on the side of the box opposite the light bulb. It is a bit slow to reach temperature given the low wattage of the bulb but stays steady as a rock because control is done via a PiD device.

 

proofing box (1).jpg

 

Nice!

 

I am not sure that cup of water can do much to increase humifity.

 

It is easy and cheap to have a real humidifier.

 

Here is one I made.

 

 

dcarch