I'm trying to decide if it's worth investing in one of these things. I live in Southern California where it's typically pretty warm year around...if anything, I'd need a device that can bring down the temperature. Can a dough proofer even do that?
Consider a wine cooler, if you're trying to lower the temperature. A cheap one can do the job. For very fine control of the temperature, from room temperature down to the coldest the cooler can manage (45-50f), consider also getting an Inkbird temperature controller. The two together will cost $150 to $200 if you buy them new.
You can keep other things in the cooler as well, such as butter or leaf tea or other things that benefit from a cool, dark place.
This is my setup. It's worth the cost for me, as I bake bread nearly every day.
A random thought I just came up with reading this (I've never needed to lower the temperature since I live in a cold region) but you could place the bowl containing your dough into a larger bowl/tub/bucket, fill it up with a good amount of cool tap water to the temperature you want, and place the whole thing in a cooler or another insulating area. I imagine this could also work with warmer water as well. Just make sure your dough doesn't get flooded with water lol
Consider a wine cooler, if you're trying to lower the temperature. A cheap one can do the job. For very fine control of the temperature, from room temperature down to the coldest the cooler can manage (45-50f), consider also getting an Inkbird temperature controller. The two together will cost $150 to $200 if you buy them new.
You can keep other things in the cooler as well, such as butter or leaf tea or other things that benefit from a cool, dark place.
This is my setup. It's worth the cost for me, as I bake bread nearly every day.
A random thought I just came up with reading this (I've never needed to lower the temperature since I live in a cold region) but you could place the bowl containing your dough into a larger bowl/tub/bucket, fill it up with a good amount of cool tap water to the temperature you want, and place the whole thing in a cooler or another insulating area. I imagine this could also work with warmer water as well. Just make sure your dough doesn't get flooded with water lol