After the second rise, do you have to bake it immediately or can you wait?

Sometimes I start it early in the afternoon but dinner's not until 6:00 or so, and by then the bread's not warm anymore so I'm wondering if it can sit awhile until I'm ready to bake it.

I would not let it sit too long. You can always punch it down and give it a third rise.

No you can't wait. It will turn to a flopped/deflated bread pancake.
What kind of bread is it? Then I'll have exact directions to have toasty just baked bread for din din.

Mike

If it sits too long it gets weird air bubbles, or it will rise over the pan and then fall.

An extremely important part of the bread making process is to let it sit and cool once it is done baking. The flavor/texture improves as it cools. Therefore, you should still bake it in the afternoon and by the time dinner is ready, it should have cooled properly.

Ok I've got to run. Have to go get some sorbitol, and caramel rulers

Back to the bread. I'm assuming this is a basic bread. Your final intenal temp wants to br 205-210.

So you want to bake it when it's ready to 175-180. This will let the interior structure set. You want your bread to sit/rest 20 minutes before cutting. So if you put it back in the oven about 45 minutes before din din your golden.

Mike

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mike, it's french bread. So you're saying I can bake it partially and then finish it off before dinner? That's awesome, I had no idea you could do that.

Most cafe sandwich places, like Au Bon Pain (sp), don't bake their own bread. they buy it in cases, partially baked and frozen. Then they finish them off in their own ovens as they need them. We did this in a sandwich shop I used to work at. They came out as good and fresh tasting as you can imagine.