I worked at Subway when I was in high school and college. High schoolers and college students are rarely experts on baking bread, however, we each could bake bread perfectly. The dough was frozen when it arrived at the store, so we didn't need to knead it. We also had an expensive specialized oven for baking the loaves and an ingenious appliance called a "proofer." |
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The glass cabinet below the oven in most Subway stores is the proofer.
It differs from an oven in two ways:
1. The proofer contains moist air heated by a water pan at the bottom and circulated by a fan throughout the cabinet.
2. The proofer is not hot like an oven; the moist air is slightly warm.
It is this same warm, moist air which helps the bread rise.
You can buy a bread proofer for $150-$800 or you can create your own out of your microwave.
Directions:
1. Place 2 c. of water in a microwave safe measuring cup or coffee cup in your microwave.
2. Heat for 4 min. on high.
3. Place prepared bread dough in microwave and close door. Keep water cup in microwave if you have room.
4. Allow to rise for 30 minutes. DO NOT turn microwave on when bread is in it.
5. Bake bread in oven as directed.
