HOW TO MAKE A PROOF BOX

For bread dough to develop well, it is important that it be left to rise in an area that is not only fairly warm but also draft free and moist.

A professional proof box is very humid; and I simulate the same conditions by inserting a trimmed cardboard box (with the top and one side removed, and large enough to accommodate the baking sheet holding your formed loaf or loaves into a large plastic (clean, unscented) garbage bag. When the bag is closed, you will have a humid hot house similar to a professional proof box, which provides the perfect environment for the bread to rise properly.

Alternatively, turn a large cardboard box or plastic bin upside down over the proofing bread, and let it proof on the table.

LOOK FOR VOLUME
Proofing time must be adjusted depending on room temperature, humidity, and temperature of the ingredients. Bread made from the same recipe may need 2 1/2 hours to rise one day, yet may proof another day in half the time. Look for volume. The dough should double in volume.

Source: Jacques Pepin Celebrates by Jacques Pepin