Thursday, February 25, 2010

Working with yeasted bread, a primer

Bread is not scary. Repeat that to yourself several times.

kneading
{kneading}

I am certainly not an expert breadmaker, just someone who happens to love bread and has been making for years, with generally good results and a few disasters. Making your own bread is incredibly rewarding and the entire process is peaceful, once you get the hang of it.

naan resting
{resting}

For those of you who are intimidated by bread recipes, here are some of the tips I've picked up along the way. Feel free to ask questions in the comments and I'll answer.

homemade pizza dough
{homemade pizza dough}

Ingredients - at its most basic, you're looking at flour, yeast and water. Most recipes throw in a teeny bit of sugar and a few teaspoons of salt. Fancy-schmancy recipes add eggs and milk and flavorings. It really doesn't matter - the concept is the same.
Flour - I use all-purpose flour and frequently substitute some whole wheat flour (up to half and half, usually). I don't recommend going completely whole wheat unless the recipe calls for it. Whole wheat flour is coarser and a bit of white flour helps keep the texture of the bread workable. Not all white flours are equal (King Arthur brand is known for having a higher gluten content, which makes it great for bread making) but don't stress yourself out about it. You can make excellent bread with just about any flour.

Yeast - I use active dry yeast, which is what you'll commonly find in the grocery store baking aisle. It comes in packets or in a little tub. Unless you are a dedicated bread maker, you probably won't use up your tub before it expires. Get the packets and store them in the freezer. There are other yeasts you can use and I'm sure they're wonderful, but so far I haven't had any experience with them.

Water - Most recipes specify lukewarm water. Some even note that it should be 110 degrees. If the water is cold, the yeast won't become active. If it's boiling, you'll kill them off. Before you start stressing and break out the thermometer, just dab a bit of the water on your wrist. It should feel comfortable - neither warm nor cold. That's good enough.
Recipes - bread recipes are pretty similar, once you get used to the formula. You generally mix the wet ingredients with the dry, let it rise, punch it down (and possibly shape it) and then let have a second, usually shorter, rise before baking. Easy, right? The problem is that some bread recipes assume you know this formula and they don't give you much explanation.
Proofing the yeast - this means exactly what it says. You are testing out the yeast to make sure it's still viable before you use it. You can skip this step (and some recipes do) but I prefer to know the yeast is working before I start putting the effort in. You just need to mix the yeast into a bit of lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar (might be a folktale, but I was always taught that a little bit of sugar helps the yeast) and wait about 5 minutes. That's it. If the mixture is starting to foam a bit, then you know your yeast is good. Go forward.

Building up the gluten - flour contains gluten, which contributes to the unique texture of bread. We build up the gluten by mixing and kneading, which is why you never want to overmix your cake or cookies - you lose the delicate texture and end up with bread-like product. To get a good start, I use my stand mixer for the initial mixing of the wet and dry ingredients and let it work the dough for a while. You can also do this by hand with a wooden spoon. When the dough forms a ball (if you're using the mixer) or is thoroughly combined (if you're doing it by hand), it's time to move onto kneading.

Kneading - I really don't think you can do this wrong. I did a quick search and found this helpful video on Epicurious. I don't knead the bread with exactly this method, but it's very similar - I think everyone has their own style. I enjoy the kneading process, because it gives me time to think and just enjoy the moment. In general, dough takes about 10 minutes of kneading.

Rising - Shape your dough into a ball and put it in a bowl (usually with a light coating of oil). Set it in a warm place and let it double in size. Times are all approximate. On warm days, your bread will rise more quickly. I'll usually search out a little patch of sunlight and put the bowl there, to facilitate the rising. If there's no warmth to be found, I'll just set it on the stove top (turned off) in hopes that the pilot light will help it along. Unless it's actually freezing, your dough will eventually rise. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or a piece of plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

Punching down - Less violent than it sounds. I usually just push it down with my fingers, turn it out of the bowl and knead it a couple times to get it back in a ball shape and then put it back. At this point you'll either shape it according to the recipe or let it sit for a second rise.
I highly recommend working with your mistakes. I've had dough that didn't rise and I've finally just tossed it in the oven in desperation. Sometimes it even comes out well. Funny looking bread still tastes good, so don't worry about appearances - shaping takes practice.

I certainly don't make bread everyday (or even weekly, anymore), but having it in my arsenal is hugely helpful. And as much as I love the product, I find I enjoy the experience of making bread even more. It isn't quite like anything else you do in the kitchen.

Questions? Extra advice? I'll respond to all of it in the comments.

33 comments:

  1. just a great post. and i do have one quick question: james and i recently came into possession of his mom's vintage stand mixer. when you mix your dough do you use the bread hook? does it matter?

    thanks, friend!

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  2. i really wish that i made bread. the only problem with that is that i would eat it, a lot of it.

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  3. This was very helpful! You're right about the sugar — it's not an old wives tale. The sugar becomes food for the yeast; that's why you can tell if it's active when it foams, because the yeast is basically eating the sugar.

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  4. We use a bread machine to make bread so we make our own loaves every week but we also use it to mix dough for rolls. I love seeing it rise, and the smell as it bakes.

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  5. I love baking bread, esp milk rolls omnomnom... saw this article today about butter, must try this out!

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/24/how-to-make-butter

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  6. Thank you for demystifying the breadmaking process! This post gives me enough to confidence to try my hand at it, I think. Have you worked much with wheat flours? Have you noticed whether the process varies at all when working with wheat (or other) flours? Thanks a bunch for such a great post!

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  7. i'm definintely referring to this post the first time i make bread. and i'll be repeating your mantra.

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  8. This is great! I aspire to make more bread once we're in our new house with a new, energy-efficient stove. I usually mix and rise the dough in my bread machine because my house isn't warm enough in the winter for it to rise properly :).

    I'm a bit of a whole-wheat freak and I've had good luck with using whole wheat pastry flour (milled more finely) or white whole wheat (made from white wheat rather than red). You might already know this, but just thought I'd mention it!

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  9. Thanks so much for this post - I LOVE making bread - the kneading is just what I need some days! I think more people would make bread if they knew how easy it is once you get the hang of it :)

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  10. Erin - I do use the dough hook in my kitchen aid, usually. It works pretty well with the regular beater, but the dough hook does an amazing job. Highly recommend it.

    Kate - If I'm working with a recipe that calls for all white flour, I'll usually go ahead and sub in half whole wheat flour. It's usually pretty safe. As J mentioned, you can also use whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat, both of which are available at specialty stores, or maybe even your regular grocery, if it's stocked well. Whole wheat flour will make the bread a bit more dense, which is why I start with a half and half mix and sometimes experiment from there. I also like to sub in rye flour, to give bread a different taste. You can't use too much of it because it doesn't rise quite as well, so I don't go half and half with rye.

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  11. Thank you for this post! I just tried making rolls from scratch for the first time with a sourdough starter. Let's just say, letting the dough REALLY double is an important step. I got to impatient and I think needed more rising time. The process was so "homey" though, I am going to try again soon! And this time I have your tips to help!

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  12. Rachel you are my culinary hero. I am going to try homemade bread one of these days. Thanks for writing such a lovely blog. Paisley Petunia really loves it!

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  13. thanks for this! the bit about testing yeast helped so much... i think mine expired a month ago, so i will test it out & see if it's still good.

    i've never made bread without my bread machine. could you post your fave bread recipe? i'll try it as my very first non-bread machine bread & see how it goes!

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  14. I haven't made bread in years. it may be worth doing again.

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  15. I've never had good luck with making bread - maybe I should try again!

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  16. I live in utah (where it is COLD) and so what I reccommend is putting a pan of warm water in your oven underneath the dough you want to rise. Just that heat being in there helps. Or you can heat your oven to 150 degrees, turn it off, and then place your dough in there.

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  17. you make it sound so easy. maybe soon. *deep breath* hopefully soon.

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  18. i love bread.. love the smell of it baking.. love it melting in my mouth.. unfortunately the only type of bread i know how to make is banana

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  19. I love making bread. I finally learned how this year. I find it relaxing. I do it while I'm studying and it gives me just enough interruptions to regroup and focus better.

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  20. My father absolutely swears by this no-knead recipe : http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

    Since I grew up with this (or a variation) I have always been scared to try a more complex recipe. You make is seem so easy, I might have to try it!

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  21. well, this is not as much a question about bread-making as it is about what helps you get there... I noticed your cookbook stand in the very first picture and am curious where you got it! Is it anything special, or just something you picked up along the way? You wouldn't think these things would be so tricky to find, but I've been looking for some time now without much success.

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  22. Wow, I love the photos. I love to bake but I can't eat gluten or wheat- at least for a while
    :( You don't know any recipes for bread made without gluten/wheat flour that are actually nice to eat?

    I can eat oat, tapioca and rice flour and I can use eggs but not milk.

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  23. thank you, rachel! i get such a thrill out of bread discussions. it makes me so happy. one of my many bread-baking goals includes making my way through your recipes archived here. thanks for keeping me stocked up on good ideas.

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  24. If you ever wanted to do 100% whole wheat. King Arthur makes a really good white wheat that is less coarse and makes a less heavy bread that using all whole wheat.

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  25. Thanks for the advice and tips! I'm always afraid of making bread and that I will mess it up.

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  26. Remember how i always used to screw up the experiments in AP bio? After the first few, i realized i needed to make sure i was in your group. I'm just not very precise or patient, which i think bread-making requires. I do make a great beer bread, though! That one is easy!

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  27. I tried pizza dough once and it was actually pretty good. You've convinced me to give it a go again.

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  28. ok....I want to make bread...and now I know is not scary

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  29. Thank you for all of the tips. I am always afraid to make bread, but when I do make it, it's almost always better than store bought.

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  30. very helpful! Thank you! Can't wait to make some bread!

    xoxo
    www.iplayinla.com

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  31. i just baked bread for the first time, i loved it!

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  32. Excellent blog post! I'd love to try and make homemade bread one day. :)

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