My tips for baking bread

[RicROC]

I'm no professional baker, just a recent retiree who loves freshly home baked bread.

Weigh ingredients. My go-to proportion is 4 parts flour: 3 parts liquid. For a smaller loaf, 400g flour with 300g water (or total of water, milk, egg and olive oil). This will result in a relatively wet dough.

Add a little butter or olive oil because I feel it keeps the bread from drying out to quickly.

Use good yeast, like Platinum yeast, available online.

Warm the flour in a microwave for 30 seconds. If you have a powerful microwave, cut back on the timer because you don't want to cook the flour. This warm flour speeds up the first rise.

If you use regular all purpose flour, add a 1-2 Tablespoons of Vital Wheat Gluten.
If you skip this step, I'm sure you will still have a nice loaf of bread

For the first rise, place the bowl in the trivet in an Instant Pot and press the Yogurt function.
I also use the IP for the second rise.

Consider withholding olive oil or butter until the 1st rise and dribble some over the surface of the dough so the dough doesn't dry out.

Between the 1st and 2nd rise, sprinkle some flour on the dough such that you can knead the dough. Try to stretch & fold the dough on itself at least 10 times- it results in a rise which won't collapse. (This secret I learned from a chef on YouTube.)

Just before 2nd rise, insert an oven temperature probe in the dough. I use a tall sided silicone veggie strainer with holes, so the probe goes in one hole and out the opposite side.
Silicone can be placed in the oven and after the finish bread cools down, the silicone peels away from the bread without ripping the crust.

I read cautions about using too much salt in the dough because it may interfere with the action of the yeast. So, I use no more than 1 ½ t. in the dough but after I place the dough in the IP for the second rise, I crack some coarse pink Himalayan salt on the surface of the dough.

Forget trying to time the length of time in the oven, base your results for removing the bread on the temperature probe reaching 200ºF. Sometimes I wait until the temperature reaches 205ºF.

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Please add your own tricks because I am constantly searching for the ultimate recipe and techniques

[cilla4progress]

1. Nice!

For years now we've been making a delicious no-knead rustic bread with part whole wheat that we LOVE! You mix up the dough, enough for 4 loaves, and then can leave it in the fridge for a couple weeks, pulling off hunks for each loaf! Bake it on a pizza stone.

Yum!

[SheltieLover]

14. Wonderful idea!

Ty for sharing!

[Pantagruel]

2. Recipe is unnecessarily complicated

Ratio:
2 to 1 unbleached flour to water

For 4 cups flour, use 1/8 tsp yeast ( no need for fancy, Fleischman's works fine), under 1.5 tsp salt (to taste) and 2 c water.

Mix ingredients in large metal bowl until all flour incorporated, transfer to large clean , oiled bowl, cover w/plastic wrap.

Most important, leave it alone for at least 10 hours. Yeast will do the work.
(Actual Work Time (AWT) under 5 minutes."
Note: If baking schedule disrupted, dough can sit in fridge at least 3 days and only seems to get better with age.Just bring back to room temp.

After 10+ hours:
With a spatula or plastic scraper, dust with a bit of flour and go around the outside of the dough to deflate (AWT one minute). Recover w/ plastic and let sit while you oil a large , pot with tight fitting lid. Heat oven to maximum , 500 degrees works for me.
Pre-heat pot and lid for 15-20 minutes.
Remove lid, "roll dough into pot", replace lid , bake for 20 minutes covered, remove lid, lower heat to 400 degrees and continue baking for golden color , usually 8-10 more minutes. Turn oven off.
For crispier crust, leave in off oven another 10 minutes otherwise remove to board for cooling and cutting. (AWT maybe 5 more minutes)

Personal choices:

I use EVOO to oil bowl and pot.

I've dedicated a large , 'le creuset" dutch oven to bread making since it bakes dirty (tiny brown spots) and is not worth the work to keep spotless. The pot cleans in seconds but it's never going to look new again without a lot of work but it remains totally functional for stews, etc. Any large, fairly substantial
pot with lid should work; the key is steam forming around the dough during first baking stage creates the crusty texture.

"roll dough into pot"
It's possible to use both hands to lift dough from bowl and drop gently into pot. I found scraping dough to edge of bowl , using gravity to my advantage , and dropping dough into pot is just easier and maybe safer to avoid hand burns from the hot pot. Both methods can result in misshapen looking dough balls-don't worry. Somehow the baking process fixes the shape into a classic boule .

This recipe is incredibly forgiving, don't be afraid of the process and the reward is terrific , fresh
baked , real bread worthy of a French bakery. Do it 3 times and you'll be an expert ready to experiment with salts and seasonings, etc.

[RicROC]

4. Thang Q!

I'm going to try your method. BB&Y is closing a local store..I wonder if they have a nice LeCreuset Dutch oven left.

[Pantagruel]

6. LeCreuset Dutch oven

Mines 35 years old, a veteran of 1000's of dishes and still going strong and IIRC I paid an outrageous $35 for it in the early 80's. Now they're well over $100 but there's lots of other options. I had an old stainless pasta water pot , plastic handles had fallen off making it oven proof. Found a snug stainless lid and it worked beautifully. Rather than spend on a Creuset that will stain immediately, look around for a substitute in your closet or maybe check out a Goodwill store? Most important is creating steam around the dough to produce the chewy crust.

[GemDigger]

3. My recipe is much easier, I buy frozen dough.

No dishes to clean up and it's darn good bread.

[Pantagruel]

5. "No dishes to clean up"

You have to bake it in something?

Mine requires rinsing out just 2 bowls and a scraper and just 5 minutes measuring and mixing.
Each large loaf costs around 50 cents in ingredients and the warm oven heats the kitchen and imparts an indescribable smell on cold mornings when I bake. Even better, the wife glows when I have hot, fresh baked bread waiting for her in the morning . And frankly, I find the entire process soothing to the soul.

[GemDigger]

7. One pan. Grease it, slap the loaf in, thaw, rise and bake!

Bread is done. Actually, I started that in the spring when yeast was hard to find and the bread isle was empty. When walking through the frozen section I caught them in the corner of my eye. They do work in a pinch and they taste just like mine.

[Major Nikon]

8. Good tips. Here's mine some of which are a bit different

Always measure flour by weight, not volume. Volumetric measurements of flour are wildly inconsistent, especially if you are using someone else's recipe. It's also helpful to measure everything else by weight, but to measure the yeast you really need a scale that's accurate to .1 grams. If not you could be off by as much as .5 grams. This isn't really a problem as I will explain later, but just leads to inconsistencies.

Think in terms of baker's ratios and scale up or down your recipe as needed.
My basic bread ratio is as follows:
1000g A/P flour
720g water
22g salt
4g instant yeast
This will make two 1.5lb loaves. To make 1 loaf just halve the recipe.

From the basic you can adjust the quantities as necessary to achieve desired results.

Do your mixing and fermenting in a round polycarbonate tub from the restaurant supply. A 6qt tub is suitable for 1 loaf. A 12qt tub works for 2 loaves. The tub has graduated measurements you can use to judge volume of rise.

Different types of flour generally refer to their protein content. A/P flour is between pastry flour(low protein) and bread flour(high protein). This is a pretty good range so not all A/P flour is created equally. White Lily has a low protein content and is closer to pastry flour. It works great for biscuits, but not so much for bread or at least dense artisan style breads. King Arthur flour has a high protein content and is closer to bread flour. Most other A/P flour is somewhere in between those two. I prefer to use King Arthur flour for bread.

Always just your fermentation(1st rise) and proofing(2nd rise) by volume, not time. Whole grain flours will usually rise to somewhere around double. White flours will rise closer to triple in volume. Generally speaking you want to aim for those volumes regardless of how long it takes. If you think the rise was going to take 2 hours and it hasn't doubled, do not fret. Just be patient. So long as your dough is still rising you are good.

The variables which affect rise time are temperature, time, and the amount of yeast used. You don't always want to aim for the shortest rise time. Longer rise times equate to more flavor and more gluten development. Within the flour are natural bacteria and yeasts which will develop significant flavor, especially with whole grains, given enough time. You can achieve rise times of 2 hours to 24 and even beyond those numbers by varying those three things. So if you use a bit more or less yeast than usual, this will just result in a faster or shorter rise. Since hopefully you are judging rise by volume and not time, the results should be similar.

As mentioned above, the temperature of your water (and flour to a lesser degree), will affect rise times as well. I usually shoot for 90F water which results in a final dough temperature after mixing of just above my room temperature.

In the first 1-2 hours after mixing the dough, I will fold it about 3 times. Folding is not kneading, but like kneading aids in gluten development. You do it simply by grabbing a handful of dough, stretching it slowly so it doesn't break, and then folding it over on itself. Repeat about 4 times. I will do the first folding about 20 minutes after mixing and then 20 minutes thereafter for subsequent folds. Between each folding operation you will notice the gluten development and the dough will feel different.

Baking in a dutch oven works very well if you want to achieve an artisan style thick and dark crust. When you bake for about half the time with the lid on, and half the time with the lid off, you are simulating a steam injection oven which professional bakers use.

For dutch oven baking, banneton proofing baskets make your life easier. Flour them very liberally or they will stick.

[Pantagruel]

9. And I thought

the first recipe needed simplification!!
I'm guessing, as accurate and informative your discourse was, you managed to discourage a room full of potential bread bakers.

[Major Nikon]

11. Your "simplified" recipe was as long of a read as the OP

So I'm not sure why you think it's simpler, but neither the OP or I produced a recipe. We are discussing tips which apply to pretty much any bread recipe and not any in particular and there's plenty of useful tips in the OP.

If you want simple, follow the recipe on the back of the bag of flour. It's less wordy than yours and produces the same results.

You'd be surprised at how far off the mark your guess is. Believe it or not the C&B group fairly often discusses advanced breadmaking topics such as using natural yeast which are far more complicated than anything you'll find in this thread. There's certainly nothing wrong with simple, but with those who are passionate about C&B sometimes want something that goes beyond simple.

[Pantagruel]

13. Major

I gave you full props, sorry you missed my point.

My discourse was originally meant to be shorter and simpler but trying to be clear about each point got me into expanding and rambling on about my personal , always evolving techniques. Mea culpa.

I've been trying to get a great product with the least work, least equipment, lowest cost and lowest stress levels. My way involves a measuring cup and spoons, one plastic scraper, two bowls and an old Dutch oven. Things found in most kitchens. Cost per boule approx. 50 cents.

Your excellent, professional approach incorporated a triple beam balance or gram scale, "a round polycarbonate tub from the restaurant supply" , expensive ( 2X more at least) , hard to find during the pandemic panic, King Arthur flour, more (4g) and probably more upscale yeast, and banneton proofing baskets. I bet your bread is fabulous but my point is I'm sure most casual readers would like to keep it a bit simpler, that's all.
Amazing how bread making inspires spirited debate.

[Major Nikon]

15. I still think you are missing the point of the OP

The OP wasn't a recipe, it was tips to provide more options. If you want to make the simplest bread or the cheapest loaf, that is certainly a conversation worth having here, but this isn't the thread the OP started. If you want to make a separate thread for that, I think most people here would welcome it, myself included.

If someone makes just a few loaves per year and wants to use basic tools they probably already have in their kitchen and the cheapest flour at the market, I can think of several tips to do just that including how to turn all of those things into an artisan loaf, but it won't be simpler.

OTOH, if you are making many loaves per year, a few supplies which aren't that expensive can make your life a lot easier. Do you need to use them? No. But the advice I'm giving comes after decades of doing it as you describe and I wished I had known about a better way earlier.

A poly tub at a local restaurant supply costs 5 bucks and makes mixing, fermenting, and cleanup a lot easier and more precise. Fermenting in a bowl works fine, but mixing and fermenting in the same vessel and being able to judge volume increases not so much. A poly tub solves those problems. Easier, faster, and better.

So why buy a digital scale for breadmaking? I could write an entire thread on this subject to explain why, but to keep it short measuring flour by volume really sux and you don't realize how much it sux until you do it by weight instead. I paid $10 bux for my scales 6 years ago and they are still going strong. It's the single best investment you'll ever make for breadmaking.

Banneton proofing baskets also makes your life much easier if you make a lot of loaves. They are cheap and last forever. Easier, faster, better.

As far as flour goes for artisan style bread I think King Arthur works best. Sometimes you can get it on sale for little more than store brand. Don't want to buy KA? The OP had an excellent suggestion. Add vital wheat gluten to store brand A/P flour and bingo, you've got flour better suited for certain types of bread because you've upped the protein content. Can you just make bread with store brand A/P flour with a low to medium protein content? Sure, but the results aren't going to be the same because with the lower protein content it's better suited for sandwich bread or baking powder breads. Nothing wrong with either of those, but I suspect it's not the type of bread the OP is describing.

Commercial bread yeast is commercial bread yeast. No matter how much you pay for it, it's all the same monoculture with only a few exceptions. The only differences are how it's processed and different types are used differently. Personally when I want commercial bread yeast I look for the cheapest I can get my hands on. Any type of bread yeast will work provided you know what the differences are and how to use them. Believe it or not we've had entire threads here discussing commercial yeast. Natural yeast is another subject we have discussed here at great length. You can make a starter for pennies and not buy commercial yeast at all, but it's certainly not simpler to do.

I wouldn't recommend any of these things if I wasn't convinced there's a great reason for getting them based on decades of making bread every way you can imagine.

You started on this thread by claiming the OP's suggestions were "unnecessary" which I took to mean useless. Well they aren't useless, and there's some very good reasoning behind the OP's tips. You may have another way of doing it and there's certainly nothing wrong with that with some of the advantages you described, but given what you described you just aren't going to get the same results. You're really talking about something different.

[Pantagruel]

17. Major , you're clearly a master baker

I am but an old cook who has recently evolved a procedure for producing a fine loaf or rolls every other day with simple tools and minimum time, cost and effort. Your loaves would win awards, mine simply provide delightful sustenance.

I did not mean to imply this, "the OP's suggestions were "unnecessary" which I took to mean useless.", in fact I noted to myself the vital wheat gluten addition as something I might try. My problem with flour differences is I ran a side by side with KA ( $6.99 for 5#) v. Kroger unbleached flour ($2.19 for 5#) and neither I nor my wife could taste or see much difference. This tester agrees but of course it's anecdotal:

Think we agree, not much difference with yeasts but I seriously doubt I'll get out the scale when cup measurements seem to work so well and just take seconds to use and clean.

I mix in a metal bowl and let rise in a glass pyrex bowl , I see no need for a special poly tub as I eyeball the rising dough to know when it's ready by height in the bowl, time , smell and bubbles on the dough's surface.

I consider the process more art than science, maybe that's where we diverge but I love your dedication and passion.

[Major Nikon]

22. A little bit of flour science for artisans

First of all protein content of flour most certainly does make a difference and you don’t need an experiment to know why. There’s a good reason why people don’t bake cakes and biscuits with bread flour and you don’t make yeast breads with cake flour. It’s all about the protein content.

Next you have to understand not all A/P flour is the same as far as protein content. White Lily is around 8-9% while KA is 11.7%. Both are A/P, but there’s a huge difference. 8% is in the pastry flour range. 12% is in the bread flour range. With more generic brands it’s a crap shoot because they could just as easily be 8% as 13% and they will also vary by which part of the country you’re in and/or what time of year it is.

In the video you posted they test Costco A/P flour vs KA bread flour. KA bread flour is 12.7% protein which they point out. But they don’t say what protein content the Costco flour is. The reason is they don’t know. Costco flour is produced by Ardent Mills(ConAgra). If you go to Ardent Mills website, they say their A/P flour is “9-13%”. Why the huge variance? Different types of wheat from different parts of the country from different seasons. The result is the huge variance. The flour you buy at your Costco might be 13% this week while mine might be 9%. So you get bread flour and I get pastry flour all labeled as A/P. Flour milled in the summer might be different and we get the same results. It could very well be the flour in their “experiment” had a higher protein content than KA bread flour. KA flours specify exact protein percentages down to the tenth of a percent. Why no variance? Because they are catering primarily to yeast bread bakers who want higher protein flours that are more consistent than generic brands.

The other thing is in the video they are making a 60% hydration dough(which they measure by weight, not volume, btw) which is hand kneaded with a quick rise because they are using a lot more yeast. If I were making that type of loaf, I’d use a lower protein flour than KA. But I don’t make that type of loaves. I make Dutch oven loaves, no-knead, with a much higher hydration with a much more dense chewy texture and harder crust. For that purpose higher protein flour makes a difference. I also live in the part of the country where cheaper A/P flours tend to have lower protein content. If I lived farther north where hard wheat is milled year round, then I would have less need for KA.

The reason I recommend KA is because it’s a literally a known quantity in terms of protein content. Costco flour or just about any other cheap flour isn’t. The reality is it’s all cheap. Even if you pay full price for KA, you still come in at less than $1 per loaf vs 50 cents for flour that costs half. Still cheaper than the bakery section of the supermarket and still better.

As far as breadmaking being an “art”, visit most any truly artisan professional bakery and I guarantee you they are using a healthy dose of food science in their craft. It also makes sense for the home cook who wants to advance beyond the flour bag recipes. Making yeast breads boils down to culturing micro-organisms. Sounds a lot like science.

[Pantagruel]

24. Terrific explanation, thanks

I will give KA another chance if I see it in the market.

How do you feel about adding barley malt and if so, approx. how much per loaf ?

[Major Nikon]

25. Never tried it

If I were to try it I would start by just substituting it 1:1 with your flour and keeping everything else the same. In other words if I used 100g of it, I would leave out 100g of flour and use the same amount of liquid ingredients. I don't think I would substitute more than 1/4th of the total flour on the first batch until you see how it's going to behave. I suspect you won't get the same volume rise as you'd get with 100% white flour.

If you do try it you should report back with a new thread on your results. Sounds kinda interesting.

[eleny]

10. I've started to use Professional Dough Imporver and there's a big difference

I still use the no knead overnight method. In the morning I degas the dough for a second rise. The crumb has been perfect and the oven pop is better. I'm pleased with the results overall. Only a little bit is suggested so the bag should last a good long time.

I got it from Megan's Dessert's online. It's often out of stock everywhere since it's a popular brand.

I also like SAF yeast.

[Major Nikon]

12. That's why the professionals use it

In reality dough improvers are better suited for the amateur, because it makes the whole process a lot more forgiving of technique.

[eleny]

20. No wonder I like it

[Warpy]

16. My tips

Don't bother trying to proof your yeast unless it's really old. In that case, just use part of it.

Whether you do knead or no knead bread, the best flavor development happens with a prolonged first rise, so consider using the sponge method for kneaded breads--mix the night before, cover, and let sit overnight. Finish the dough and bake the next morning.

Steam makes for a crunchy crust. A dry oven gives you a softer crust. It's counterintuitive, but that's how it works.

If you're on a salt free diet, that doesn't apply to bread. It's 1/4 tsp. per loaf. Go any lower and you get cardboard.

Barley malt also adds to flavor and since it's a glucose-glucose disaccharide, it makes the yeast go crazy. A little dab'll do ya.

When the bread comes out of the oven, it's not ready to eat. It finishes cooking as it cools. Cut in too soon, and the interior in the middle will be gummy and undercooked, while the outside will be dry.

Once you've made a few good loaves, the process becomes intuitive, even though it's always being affected by temperature, humidity, age of you flour, and a dozen other variables. It's pretty forgiving, once you get the hang of it.

[RicROC]

18. ahhh, barley malt

I've seen bags of it in the baking stores but didn't know it was for bread. I know where I'm going to shop tomorrow.

[Pantagruel]

19. Salt and yeast

I use at least a full tsp of salt, usually I throw a bit more in, hate salt free bread.
Never proofed yeast , never had to, simply throw 1/8 tsp on bottom of mixing bowl, then the flour, then the salt if added dry and then the warm water. It's always worked well with a 10+ hour wait period.
Will adding barley malt speed up my 10 hour minimum wait time??

Good tip on waiting for cooling but only if I restrain my hovering wife, 10-15 minutes is all I can finagle.

[Warpy]

21. My tip was for all of us poor slobs on salt free diets

Under 1/4 tsp. per loaf does. not. work.

The barley malt adds a little flavor and helps develop the full yeast flavor. I'd still let the sponge sit and fester overnight.

Understood about that first slice of warm bread. There were times I didn't exercise restraint and ended up with gummy/dry bread.

[Pantagruel]

23. barley malt

Best idea for quantity to add for a 4 c. flour loaf ?

[Warpy]

26. I did it by guess and by gosh

I never measured because the liquid is hard to manage (understatement). With the granulated malt, I don't think a tablespoon per loaf will go far wrong. It's going to take some experimentation. That much won't make the bread icky sweet but it will feed the yeast nicely.

I used the liquid because I got used to it in my brewing days.

[Pantagruel]

27. Looking at some bread recipes

I see a number asking for a teaspoon of sugar. If I find the granulated malt , I'll taste it for sweetness and then guess. Never even considered a liquid.