I’m pretty new to bread making (like many I’m sure) but today realized I could use the oven to help rise, as our house is kept cool. Basically turn on the oven at its lowest setting for a few minutes and then turn it off, and let your dough rise in the warmer atmosphere of the oven.
If your oven has an incandescent light, often that's just warm enough. Just leave it on. Same with gas ovens with a lit pilot. I recently noticed mine has a "proof mode" I had been meaning to test out.
You can also fill water bottles with hot water (I usually use two) and put them next to the dough in the oven. My oven gets slightly too warm if I turn it on to the lowest setting / light only.
