Hello,

I am wondering if someone could please assist me? I love baking the cinnamon bread from the Bread Bible, but sometimes I don’t want to do it all in one day. I am not certain at which point I should put the dough in the refrigerator? I would appreciate any other tips of this sort (how to spread out the preparation time). Thank you.

I am also curious about the blog…I had to re-register. I was previously registered with the older site. Is this standard? This is not an important question, I am just curious as to whether I did something wrong or if I was supposed to re-register. This new site is beautiful and loaded with information! It’s great!

One final question - I live in Victoria, BC and wonder if anyone knows if Gold Medal flour can be bought anywhere near here or if it can be delivered? I have ordered KIng Arthur and had it delivered. I am a big fan of King Arthur, but curious about Gold Medal. Thank you.

Well, one thing you can do is make the sponge the day before and refrigerate it overnight. You could also do either the last rise before shaping overnight in the fridge, or the shaped rise in the fridge.  I find that a delayed shaped rise doesn’t work as well for this type of bread—at least as far as appearance.  If you aren’t concerned too much about appearance, then it doesn’t really matter. There are instructions for how to do an overnight shaped rise in the bread bible.

As far as registering again, I haven’t had to do that.

Hello Matthew,

Thank you for your prompt reply! I have some follow-up questions… If I refrigerate after the sponge is made, does that mean that I make the sponge, then add the “blanket” of additional flour etc. as per the recipe, and then put it in the fridge right away, or should I let it rest at room temp. for awhile first and then put it in the fridge?

If I put it in the fridge for the second rise, do I put it in the fridge right after I deflate it and give it a “business letter” turn, or do I give it time at room temp. before putting it in the fridge?

Of these two approaches, do you think one is better than the other? Also, how long should I let it rest at room temp. after it has been in the fridge? I have noticed that if I put dough in the fridge, it can still be very cold, even after an hour!

Thank you for your suggestions. It is such a feathery bread and I love cinnamon. I am thinking of giving this loaf as a “thank you” gift, and I am trying to figure out how to have the bread ready to deliver in the early afternoon without having to rise in the middle of the night to get it started. I’m also considering finding another recipe to try as a gift. If you have Any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated too. Thanks again.

I’m pretty sure Rose talks about all this in the bread bible, so I would read around a bit in case I am remembering this wrong. For the sponge, I think she says an hour before putting it in the fridge, but I don’t think it matters a great deal. For the second rise, I think it is 1/2 hour. I almost always do the sponge the night before just because it is easier—you can add the flour blanket before or after—again, it doesn’t really matter as long as the sponge is well covered in the fridge. I find doing a delayed second or delayed shaped rise doesn’t always work as well. A few things can happen, sometimes the bread doesn’t rise as high, sometimes it forms these little alcohol bubbles on the crust, sometimes the shape is uneven.  Nothing that ruins the bread, but it isn’t perfect either—but also really depends on the type of bread—-some works better than others.  Hour out of the fridge is the general guideline, but that depends on your room temp.  If I were making a gift bread, I would probably make the raisin pecan, the fig bread, or pumpernickel. Also, some of the quick breads would make good gifts.