Hi,
I'm not sure if I'm the first to come up with this design but I
thought it was worth passing on. I'm an avid marine aquarist and I
used this design many years ago to cultivate rare wild mushrooms - it
works great as an incubator for anything. I've modified the design to
proof bread - works like a charm.
I've designed a proofing box that can be made at home with no tools
for less than $50. Here's how it goes:
Parts:
1. Two clear plastic bins and a single lid. The under-the-bed style
bins that are about 6 inches deep are perfect. The bins should fit
inside each other with a gap of air about two inches between the two
bottoms. Target has a great bin selection. If you want enough room to
fit tall/large mixing bowls etc in the finished box, buy bins of the
appropriate size - just make sure they have a decent gap between the
two bottoms - you'll see why below...
2. One SUBMERSIBLE aquarium heater (100W is plenty) - available at
any decent pet store (Petco etc) or online through any of the many
online aquarium supply houses. If you're having trouble with finding
one or want suggestions as to what brands are the best, email me.
3. One thermometer - the aquarium-style adhesive types are great and
cover the temperature range needed for proofing perfectly (70-90 degrees)
4. Optional: one small "powerhead" pump to circulate the water - not
totally necessary but the engineer in me included it in my final
design. These are small submersible pumps designed to circulate water
within an aquarium - the smaller the better as it must fit within the
space between the two bins.
Assembly:
Fill one bin with enough water so that the second bin will just float
when placed inside it. Attach the submersible heater with its suction
cups to the bottom of the bin with the water (if the heater is
"submersible" it's made to go under water - don't worry!). If you
opted to include the pump throw it into the water and aim it so it
pumps water around the perimeter of the bin. Set the heater to
whatever temperature you want by following the instructions for the
heater - some of the more expensive heaters are pre-calibrated or
have built-in digital thermostats - worth the extra $10-15. Once you
have the temp where you want it, float the dry bin inside the first
bin making sure to get all the air out so the heat transfer is
perfect. Now dough can be placed on a couche or board inside the dry
bin, covered with the bin lid and proofed at whatever temperature
desired. The inside of the proofing box can be misted with water to
maintain high humidity if so desired.
Enjoy - John.
john.mulholland@gmail.com
[[
Editor's note: These instructions and a photograph are on the
bread-bakers website under the "helpful links" link.
<http://www.bread-bakers.com/proofing-box.html>
]]