Baking bread is not as hard as everyone seems to think. It takes time, but most of that time is spent rising. The actual time you spend with the dough, mixing, kneading, and shaping, is about half an hour. It is easier to learn to make bread from someone who already knows. However, it’s not impossible to learn from a book. I had my mother show me how to make a loaf, and after than one time, I made several different recipes, which all came out well. So here is all I have learned about bread making. I encourage everyone to try it, the process is fun and the results are ten times better than anything you could buy. Below are the main ingredients in bread, and the technique that is more or less the same for all loaves.
FLOUR
Bread Flour- Bread flour has more protein, which creates a superior loaf. It produces stronger gluten which creates a higher rise and better shape.
All purpose—Is exactly that- it is generally good for most baking needs. Most information I have read says you can use all purpose instead of bread flour. I have never used it myself, but if you want to try out making bread and you have all purpose flour at home, it should work fine.
Whole wheat—Whole wheat flour doesn’t rise as much as white bread flour. Most whole wheat bread recipes use a combination of the two. If you want to use 100% whole wheat, you’ll probably also need vital wheat gluten or nonfat dried milk-- both will help the bread rise higher.
White whole wheat—This is a great flour for many things. When I first used it, I thought it was some sort of marketing ploy and I wasn’t really using whole wheat. Turns out, it is a different variety of wheat which is lighter in color. It has a lighter, less wheaty taste than traditional whole wheat. It creates a nice deeper taste to sweets (I love white whole wheat chocolate chip cookies). In bread, it can be used instead of traditional whole wheat in any recipe.
Stone ground whole wheat—This is whole wheat that has been traditionally processed which means slightly more protein and fiber per serving. It also means the flour is less fine, which causes a problem in rising because the grains tear the gluten and thus creates less of a rise. Basically, I’ve had a lot of Frisbee loaves. It doesn’t rise high and is much denser bread. However, I think if I used a loaf pan, the loaves would be forced to rise up instead of out. This is just a theory though, and as I’m not crazy about stone-ground wheat in general, I haven’t experimented much.
YEAST
Yeast is actually a living organism and what causes your bread to rise. If you see a recipe that says to proof the yeast, what it means is that the yeast is dissolved in warm water and if it foams, the yeast is active, or living. If not, the yeast is dead and you must buy a new package.
Yeast is a living organism, so you can kill it with high temperatures either in the water you add to the dough (it should be warm but not hot), or rising it in an overly hot place (more on rising follows). Cold will not kill your yeast, in fact storing it in the refrigerator or freezer will extend its life. You can also rise dough in the fridge, but it will take much longer. The two main forms of yeast you will see are:
Instant yeast/rapid rise yeast- This does not need to be dissolved in water, and it also only needs one rise (most recipes require two). However it is in the rise that the flour develops flavor so your bread will be less flavorful.
Active Dry Yeast- This is usually dissolved in warm water. I do the baby bottle test, and run the water on the inside of my wrist. It should be warm, but not hot. The package says the water should be about 100-100 F, but like I said, if it’s hot and comfortable on my wrist, that seems to work just fine.
(If you try making bread, and you really enjoy it, look into buying a large bag of yeast. Usually it is sold in packets of 2 ¼ tsp. a packet for about two dollars. It also comes in small jars for about five dollars. I bought a bulk bag for three dollars. The cost effectiveness of making bread at home greatly increases when you buy your yeast in bulk. You can look at bakery supply stores, bulk buying warehouses, or online)
MIXING
What makes making bread different from baking is that you can not expect to follow the recipe precisely. Many factors affect bread—the weather and the flour you use being two. Flours vary from region to region and by manufacturer. White bread flour is not all the same. The proportions in the recipe should not be too far off, but if you dough is particularly wet or dry more flour or water will need to be added.
Add all your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. I always use active dry yeast, so I measure out the water required for the recipe, and make sure it is warm enough. Again, I run the tap on the inside of my wrist. It should be warm but not uncomfortable.
I usually just dump in the moist ingredients, but you can also make a hollow in the dough and fill the hollow with the water and oil or butter if you are using them. Then, use a large spoon mix to incorporate the flour from the edges of the bowl.
Once most of it is incorporated, I use my hands to bring it all together. I think using your hands is important because you can feel you dough and feel how moist or dry it is. Usually it looks really dry and floury, but when I use my hands, I can feel that the dough is actually very moist.
KNEADING
I use a slab of marble, but you can use any flat smooth surface (like your kitchen counter). Lightly flour the surface. It is important to only sprinkle a light dusting of flour. If you cover your surface with flour, it will be incorporated into the dough and leave you with a heavy dense loaf. The flour is there just to keep the dough from sticking to the kneading surface. If you sprinkle too little and it starts to stick, you can always sprinkle some more.
The actual kneading I find fun and relaxing. Holding the edge closest to you with one hand, place the heal of your other hand in the center of the dough and push away from you so that it stretches from the middle outward. Using the same hand that did the pushing, pick up the end you just pushed away, and fold it back towards you. Then, turn the dough a quarter turn, and repeat. Continue rotating the dough a quarter after every push away, fold back. As you knead the dough will start to smooth out, form a ball, and become more elastic. (The internet is a wonderful place; there are plenty of videos that demonstrate kneading technique)
Kneading should take about 5-10 minutes. The dough should no longer be sticky, and it should hold a nice round shape with a smooth surface. If your dough remains sticky, add a little more flour to the kneading surface. Do not over knead. Over kneading produces dense tough bread.
RISING
Most recipes say to put your dough in a lightly oiled bowl to rise. I put it back in the bowl I mixed it in, and I don’t bother to wash the bowl. So far this has never affected my loaf. Most recipes also say to cover your bowl with a tea towel, or cling wrap and to keep it out of drafts. I also don’t cover my bowl, a skin forms on the dough, but I briefly knead it before shaping it and the skin is incorporated into the dough, and again has not affected my bread. As to drafts, I started making bread in my parent’s 300 year old colonial house in the winter. My dough has never fainted or collapsed due to drafts. I wouldn’t worry about it.
The thing that is important is temperature. Ideally, you should place your bowl in a room with a temperature of 70-80 degrees F. Heat will kill your yeast, so don’t put your bowl on top of your heating system. If your house is cooler, your dough will still rise it will just take longer. Remember that heat rises so if your house is cooler, you can put your dough on top of a bookshelf. Most recipes will say to let it rise until it double in bulk. This takes about an hour, assuming you have a good place temperature wise.
PUNCHING DOWN
Once your dough has risen, you need to let some of the gas that has accumulated in it out. This is the fun part. Give your dough a good punch, and you can hear the air escaping from it. I usually also knead it just until it forms a ball again. I find it’s easier to make a shape form the ball.
ADDING FRUITS OR NUTS
If you are making a fruit or nut bread, this is where they are added. I have so far no come upon any information about the proper way to incorporate the ingredients. What I do is flatten out my dough, place the fruit and nuts, then bring the ends of the bread to the middle so that I have a little dough packet. Then I knead the bread so that the ingredients are evenly dispersed. You can also just put a handful in after you have pushed away the dough, then cover it as you fold it over, and continue until all is evenly dispersed.
SHAPING
Usually I go for the boule shape which means I just leave it in the ball form. You can also make braids, which means squeezing and pulling it into three strands and then braiding those together. Or you can gently squeeze and pull it into a loaf shape. I enjoy the free form shaping of the artisanal loaf. I also like to smugly say artisanal. You can also use loaf pans if you want a more uniform shape.
SECOND RISING
Once your loaf is shaped, it needs to rise again. Place it on a baking sheet and put it back in its warm rising place and let rise for about another hour. It should double in bulk again, and often I find the second rise takes less time, maybe 45 minutes.
SCORING
Scoring helps control the shape and rise of the bread as it bakes. Using a straight edged knife cut about half an inch into the dough. Usually with the boule shape, I just do a slash down the middle, but you can also cut a square into the center, or rings around the dough. With a loaf shape I usually do diagonal slashes like that on French bread, but you can also do a slash down the middle.
BAKING AND COOLING
Follow the temperature and baking time in the recipe. Usually bread is baked at high temperatures for 20-30 minutes, but recipes vary. Also keep in mind that if you decide to make a different shape than the recipe states, baking time may be changed. Many recipes say to use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This is another step I skip. My baking sheets are well used, and nothing ever sticks. You can be sure your bread is done when you tap the bottom and it sounds hollow. When you remove it from the oven place it on a wire rack. This is important otherwise you’ll have soggy bottom (or rather the bread will have a soggy bottom). I use the wire rack in my toaster oven for cooling.
SEEKING OUT NEW RECIPES
My first bread baking attempts were a disaster. I knew nothing about making bread and I was using a recipe intended for someone with one of those big standing mixers and a bread machine. From my experience, choose recipes that are written for the artisanal bread maker. Bread machines seem to be operating on their own level. I also like recipes that tell you what to expect from your dough. Some dough is wetter and sticker, some is tougher.
If you managed to read all of this, then you deserve some home baked bread. I enjoy the process; it’s a bit of the fun of playing with clay, with the happy result that you can eat what you end up with.
