Bread proofer gave up mid-shift at the worst possible time

I run the morning bake at a little spot in Portland and my proofer died right after I loaded 40 levain loaves at 4am... temp dropped 15 degrees and I didn't catch it till first pull. Ended up baking them anyway, got a dense crumb and a few pissed off regulars. Anyone else had equipment fail at the worst minute and have to decide between serving it or tossing the whole batch?

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annajenkins21h ago

Wait, your proofer dropped 15 degrees and you didn't notice for hours? That is wild to me. I check my dough temp like every 30 minutes when something feels off, I can't imagine loading 40 loaves and just walking away from it. Levain is so slow to bounce back too, so by the time you pulled them the damage was done. Honestly I would have baked them too, tossing 40 loaves hurts way more than a few side eyes from regulars.

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