Baking Better Bread

Susan: Do some reading. Just don't overdo it. Pick one bread book and read it from cover to cover. If you like it and it makes sense to you, read it again. Then try a recipe. If you like the result (or if it came out terrible but you know it has potential), make it again. And again and again and again. It is better to make one bread twenty times than to make twenty breads one time.

Beth: Don't be afraid to experiment. Once you've learned to bake one kind, using the same recipe, reliably. Then try a recipe that has a significant difference from the first — like using a starter or additional ingredients. You can compare the results and learn how the changes in recipe/method change the resulting bread.

Kevin: Get several books. One author's way teaching may make more sense to you than another's — even though both authors know what they're talking about.

Beth: Try long cold fermentations. Almost any bread is improved by a long, cold bulk ferment. Sweet or enriched breads don't benefit as much, but still some. You may want to reduce the yeast (by 25-50%, maybe even a bit more) so be prepared to experiment.

Kevin: Parchment paper is more reliable than corn meal, flour, or both for releasing bread from the peel.

Susan: Start with the very best ingredients. When you are creating something with only four basic ingredients (flour, water, salt, yeast), the quality of those ingredients is crucial.

Beth: It is easier to handle slack doughs when they are cold.

Kevin: Use a baking stone (sometimes called a pizza stone). Stones are capable of absorbing a great deal of thermal energy and then giving it up slowly which means the bread cooks at a more consistent temperature. And give the oven and stone plenty of time to preheat — at least an hour.

Beth: If you want a rustic, open crumb with those marvelous large holes do not 'punch down the dough' after the first rise. Instead, turn it out on a floured surface and fold the dough into thirds, gently stretching when needed. You want to degas the bread as little as possible while still creating surface tension in the shaped loaf. A little practice will make it all fairly easy.

Beth: If dough springs back When you are shaping it, let it rest a few minutes to relax the gluten. You may need to repeat the stretch-rest cycle a few times to get the dough into the desired shape.

Susan: Use a sourdough starter or a sponge or a poolish or a lump of old dough. There are all different types of "starters." Some are made in a few hours, some in a few days, and some live in your fridge forever. Any kind of starter will vastly improve the crust, crumb, and flavor of your loaves.

Susan: Sprinkle in the flour and stir like crazy. When you are mixing up your dough, add only about a handful of flour at a time. Use your whole arm to stir, making wide sweeping motions. This will "whip" the dough and allow the gluten to develop.

Kevin: Never add all the flour in the beginning even if you're using a stand mixer. You can always add more flour if you need it.

Beth: Those thin plastic "cutting boards" that you can pick up in multi-packs for a few dollars are a baker's dream. I've been using mine as rolling surfaces lately. You can even stack them with dough on them for resting periods so you free up counter space. If you use them for rolling dough, remember the untextured side sticks less.

Susan: Give it a rest, then add the salt. This tip not only greatly improves nearly any type of bread, but it also allows you to decrease your kneading time (which improves the bread even more).

Beth: Pizza stones radiate heat that can be used to give rising bread a kickstart. Place a warm stone on the stove top with a rack on top of it, then set the dough on top of that to rise.

Kevin: The oven can be used to speed up the dough rise. In most ovens, the light will raise the temperature in the oven to around 75F (24C), which is perfect for raising bread.

Susan: Catch yourself a couche. A couche is a piece of heavy canvas that is dusted with flour and used to support freestanding loaves, such as rolls and baguettes, while they are proofing. The couche cradles the loaves, keeping them straight and preventing them from sticking together.

Susan: Make some steam. Steam slows crust formation, which allows for the best possible oven "spring." It also gelatinizes the starch on the surface of the bread so that it develops a thin, glossy, beautifully brown crust.

Note: You can read more detailed versions of Susan's tips at Farmgirl Fare.

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