Baking in the Extreme Heat

Too hot to bake!?! Bah! We live in a brick bungalow, which means three things: we don't have central air (gas-forced air wasn't around in the 1920s when this house was built), there are a TON of windows and after a couple of days of high heat, it kind of feels like you're being baked in a brick oven. Our window units just can't keep up! But that doesn't mean I still don't bake. Perish the thought!

Temps here in Chicago have been in the upper 80s, low 90s for about a week now and while I've modified my baking schedule a little, I'm still firing up the oven! As I was staring at a rash on my right arm, trying to decide if it was a heat rash or whether I've developed a late-in-life allergy to peanut butter, I realized there are some tips that you should heed if you step into the kitchen during the hot summer months.

1) If you're working with yeast, expect it to rise FAST. Sometimes, twice as fast as it does during colder months. Try to have it rise in a cooler room in the house (not too cold, mind) to slow the process. Bread that rises too fast tends to not hold its structure as well.

2) Bake early in the morning or later in the evening, especially if your kitchen gets a lot of sun. Baking when the sun isn't at its peak makes a difference.

3) Keep it short. Sure, I love getting everything done at once, but if it's hot out, maybe you shouldn't piggy-back your bread baking with your dog-treat baking. Staying in a hot kitchen for 3 hours is just no fun when it's 90 degrees outside. (This is what I did on Friday when that mysterious rash appeared.) If you do have to bake something a while, try and have it be something that you can put in the oven and walk away from (like the cherry crisp I made last night).

4) If you do have to be in the kitchen while the oven is on, drink lots of water, wear light clothing (but for heaven's sake, don't bake naked because...ew!) and take breaks as often as you can.

So, get out there and bake! Unless you live in Arizona. Then get out to the nearest bakery...but only after the sun goes down.