Many recipes for leavened bread call for proofing, which normally involves letting the dough rest in a bowl at room temperature so yeast can rise. Waiting for bread to proof can be a hassle, especially for bakers with cold kitchens that make it hard to proof at room temp, but fortunately, there is an option to speed up the process.

You can turn your slow cooker into a tool to speed up proofing by filling it with water and setting the temperature to the lowest setting, creating a pool of warm water. Close the top of the cooker, but flip the lid so that the flat part is facing upwards, then place a towel on top of the flat lid and rest your bowl of dough on top.