Kings Bakehouse
Keep the dough between 24 and 35 °C, stop the bulk at 50–70% risen, and the loaf will still have something left for the oven.
Instant dry yeast has three thresholds worth memorising. Below 15 °C it slows sharply and every timing in the recipe stretches; between 30 and 35 °C it works at full speed, which is the temperature the dough itself should reach; above 54 °C it stops working altogether, and no amount of waiting brings it back.
The reliable way to hit a dough temperature is to adjust the water, because flour and room change slowly but water is easy to set. Measure the mixed dough with a probe: if it reads under 24 °C, expect the slow end of every timing; if it reads 26 °C or more, start checking early. The number on the dough, not the thermostat on the wall, runs the schedule.
Bulk proof — the first rise — runs 3–5 hours at 24–26 °C. The endpoint is not 'doubled' but 50–70% risen: the dough should look inflated and alive but still have strength in reserve. Marking the container at the starting level makes the percentage visible instead of guessed.
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After shaping, the final proof runs 1–2 hours. This is where flat loaves are made: a dough that is fully proofed before it reaches the oven has spent its gas and bakes flat no matter how hot the oven is. When in doubt, bake slightly under-proofed rather than over — the oven spring forgives it.
Sourdough plays by the same temperature rules with a slower culture, so the checkpoints matter even more than the clock: watch for the 50–70% rise rather than a fixed hour count. And for doughs above 85% hydration, the answer is a long, cold bulk proof — the paste-like dough builds structure in the cold that it cannot build warm.
Once the dough is proofed to the right point, the next decision is the oven: settings and internal pull temperatures are laid out in Oven Temperature and Internal Doneness (/oven-temperature-and-internal-temperature).
Further reading