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Tips and Techniques for Bread Baking
Having baked well over a thousand breads over the years, I thought I’d write some things I’ve discovered while baking baguettes, batards, and boules. I’ve used techniques from many people – Bernard Clayton, Greg Patent, Julia Child, Peter Reinhart, Jim Lahey, others. I still chan... | Alternative links?
The links look like they would be interesting but act like they are on a dialup-after 10 minutes I got the title only.Is there an alternative link?Your synopsis represents a lot of experience and useful techniques! I agree about the handling of the proofed loaf-as little as possible or let it rise on... |
Levain mix: 1:1:1 versus FWSY 1:4:5
I’ve started making Levain loaves using the Flour Water Salt Yeast book. In this book he uses 1:4:5 for levain:water:flour parts of the levain renewal. So that’s 80% hydration, and the levain culture put into the result is only 1/10th of it by weight.Compare that to the standard “wet... | I haven't baked recipes from
I haven't baked recipes from that book, but you can maintain your starter with 1:1:1 ratios if it works for you for maintenance, but build a separate offshoot levain using the ratios in the recipe you are following. Higher ratio generally makes for a stronger starter, and changes in hydrati... |
FINALLY got some good "singing" from my bread
Did a batch of saltless white (70% hydration, fresh yeast, room-temp ferment + 2 proofings) to simulate bread I was eating in Italy during a recent vacation there, and got an OUTSTANDING crackle from the crust. You can even hear it over the noise of the oven fan in this Yo... | Beautiful to look at and
to listen to :) |
tartine bread wet after baking
i have been struggling with tartine bread. after a fabulous first loaf, the next 4 loaves were flat and uncooked inside. i discarded my original starter and have a month old starter which is rising and falling predictably. yesterday i baked beautiful loaves but they were a little wet, e... | Oven seals
There was a post a few weeks ago about wet bread. It turned out the seal on the oven door was faulty.
Jim |
Parchment paper problems
I've been having total hit or miss luck with my parchment paper. if I make something with oil, like foccacia bread, it sticks to it hard. If I make scones and just lightly spray it with oil, it seems I end up with either the paper sticking to the scones or the scones coming off just right.
I'... | Parchment paper
I have always had very good luck using Reynolds parchment paper whenever I'm baking either scones or my Irish soda bread. |
Question
I've been baking breads for many years and thought I'd write out some techniques, tips etc that I've garnered from others and some and I figured out myself. When I went to post them, I received the message: <Your submission has triggered the spam filter and will not be accepted.> Can someone tell me why? | the SPAM filter has a mind of its own
Voodoo? Black magic? Quantum computing experiments? Annoy people at random? If the SPAM filter told everyone exactly how it works inside, spammers would just use that information to figure out a way around it. So the SPAM filter won't tell anybody exactly how it works (or doesn't w... |
Soaker doubled -- use?
Hello,Reading about amylase enzyme activity online, it seems the ideal temperature for its activity of converting starches to sugars is around 30C / 86F, thereabouts. So I tried it. Yesterday I mixed a preferment using my starter (100% hydration) keeping it at 10C, and separately, a flour soa... | Perhaps Leuconostoc mesenteroides
I think it is called "spoiled dough". See what Debra Wink has already written on the subject at:http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1Doc |
Soft SD hamburger buns recipe - can't find!
I'm looking for sourdough hamburger buns recipe, very soft hamburger buns. Is here anyone who can help me? Thanks! | My favorite soft sd buns
Sylvia's Levain Buns:http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/18829/sandwich-buns-liquid-levainMaybe not the absolute softest of buns(not dinner roll soft), but by no means are they hard, or chewy, if you use an appropriate flour. If you want to ensure they are not so chewy, don't use a flour any highe... |
Advice on using a pate fermente/old dough
Can any of the experts on TFL be kind enough to give me some advice on using the pate fermente/old dough method in a recipe please? Assuming I have a pc of 50 grm "old dough" to be used in a regular/normal recipe (not using an old dough) can I just add this 50grm (as if makin... | How does the 50g of pate fermentee
compare to the weight of the rest of the dough you intend to make? If you plan to make 500g of dough, the pate fermentee would equate to 9% of the finished dough and that would be enough to make me want to account for the pate fermentee's contribution of both flour and water. If you... |
What to make for Teacher Appreciation Week?
Next week is teacher appreciation week at my daughters school and Friday is the designated "Candy, fruit, or treat for the teacher" day. We baked sugar cookies for her at Christmas and she loved them but I don't want to go that route again, I want something special (i.e. bre... | Kolaches, sticky buns, croissants,
Danish, pain Allemandes aux fruits, Portugese sweet bread, sweet vanilla challah, the list goes on.Paul |
Rolling crackers evenly
I just spent the whole #@$%@#$% afternoon turning my regular ciabatta recipe into crackers.This was a pain in the #@$%@#$%. If it's going to be this hard, perhaps I should buy my crackers.
Actually, it was a two-day process, I made a poolish, then made ciabatta dough the next day, added spices t... | One inexpensive option to
One inexpensive option to help with even rolling is to buy rubber rings to fit at the ends of a rolling pin:
http://www.amazon.com/Regency-Wraps-Rolling-Hills-Rings/dp/B000I1ZXBC/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1304661024&sr=1-1
Or get two thin wood strips from the hardware store. Lay the... |
Crazy idea....ustard in bread flour?
I have been trying to make my on mustard recently (and failing miserably). I was laying bed thinking about all that mustard powder I had and what to do with it, when I had the (seemingly) brilliant idea....why not add some into some flour and integrate it into the bread!
Obiously, ... | Mustard Gas
Extreme care must be taken when grinding mustard seeds. Mustard gas can be lethal. I can't imagine what would happen if you baked the seeds and wouldn't try it myself.
Jim |
Good crumb inside and dense at the end
Good morning,recently, I've been getting a pretty weird bakes, meaning that the bread is very nice inside of the bread and gummy and dense at the ends. That's cut straight in the middle:https://imgur.com/hLulwRU And that's at the ends:https://imgur.com/JQlaqHx What can be the caus... | Are you sure those two pics
are from the same loaf? The crumbs are very different. |
Any word on "the book"?(Stan and Norm's)
I asked last week and got no comeback. Has anybody heard if their book is out? | update
Stan did post an update either on TFL or his Twitter.
It's due for a summer release I believe. |
What is best strategy for retarding yeast breads
Hi, I plan to bring a sesame semolina braid to a lunch and I would like to bake it in the morning. I won't have time to make it all in the morning, so would like to retard overnight. I have never retarded a yeast bread before, so don't know the best way to do it. ... | Look for BBA Pain Siciliano
I beleive that Semolina bread requires overnight rising in its final shape. Even if you don't use his formula, you can still use his technique.
mike |
First Time Baking Bread :) Quick Question!
So I have been baking all my life, but have never ventured into the land of bread (other than sweet breads, doughnuts etc.) and yesterday I decided to make the plunge and bake my first loaf of white bread.
My recipe made enough dough for two loaves, so I baked one loaf and... | If
IF you had it in a loaf pan, go ahead and bake it. Start the oven, take the loaf out, and bake after 30 to 45 mins. Your first loaf sounds like it needs more water. the overnite in the fridge will make up for underkneading, if that's the problem. If the second loaf turns out okay, it needed more kneading. If it is s... |
Storing yeast and needs recs for different "kneading" techniques
I just opened my first 1lb package of SAF instant yeast and now have no idea how to store it. I keep my AD yeast in it's glass container in the fridge but how do I store the instant yeast?
Also, I am following a recipe that gives three different "kneadin... | Storing yeast
Store your IDY the same as your ADY.
As for developing gluten, the type of dough dictates the best technique - specifically, how hydrated it is. Any dough in the 50%-60% hydration range is not going to give itself over to slap-and-folds or even stretch-and-folds. It would be best kneaded. Bear in mind,... |
No-knead that sinks in the center
Hi everyone -
Would anyone have an idea as to why the no-knead breads I make sometimes sink the center? I can't say for sure, but I think it tends to happen when I use Lahey's Pane Integral recipe (whole wheat). It's happened once with flax seeds, and my guess was that the seed was too... | Gluten?
You have less gluten to work with when you decrease the bread flour, therefore less "scaffolding" to hold up the bread. You might try adding some vital wheat gluten--that may give the bread a little more structure while still allowing you to use more whole grain flour.
Also, do you change the amount of water a... |
Moist/Dry Bread
Hello. I baked 2 loaves of plain Raisin bread. The crust and crumb out of the oven was very good. Next day the loaves were dry and crumbly.
I seem to be having this problem with all my bread. Not crumly crumb but very dry. The day they are baked nice taste and moist.
Next day dry and not a good crum... | Storage
Mr Bob,
How are you storing your loaves? Sounds like they're drying out because your house is dry. Try a paper bag for storage.
Jim |
I can bake again!
My old stove malfunctioned and I spent months with a stovetop but no oven. Finally my appliance-repairman friend found the right part and got the oven working again. I mixed my first poolish in months that very night, and baked yesterday. I was surprised by how much I had forgotten during those long m... | I know that one well!
When we were forced out of our house just after the ice storm in 1998, we had to stay in an apartment hotel with the tiniest kitchen and the tiniest oven I'd ever seen. I made bread in that oven after tasting some store bought, and never has bread tasted so darn good. I am always grateful for my... |
Sticking prevention for baking in a dutch oven
I tried baking bread in a ss dutch oven years ago and the only thing I remember about it was that it stuck terribly to the bottom of the pot.
I have a Le Creuset combo cooker type of cast iron enameled pot that I would love to try to bake a small loaf in (it is a 2 quart p... | Parchment Works
Put a ring of parchment paper around the interior sides and another layer of parchment on the bottom. Problem solved ... |
Malt Loaf - "Soreen Style"
The famous Soreen Malt Loaf is a dense sticky loaf of bread that so many love. This is my interperetation of this classic UK loaf of bread. While not identical, the flavours are there and the result is damn tasty.
Ingredients:
375g Bread Flour
10g Active Dry Yeast
25g Vegetable Shortening
... | Never had one
but I think I would like it. Lovely bread, Kiint.
Paul |
Need help with Dolfs spreadsheet
This is my first time using this spreadsheet so forgive me if this is a dumb question.
I am using the "Reverse" tab in Dolfs spreadsheet for a recipe that has volume measurements and none of Dolfs previous calculations are changing. I am on the website that explains how to use the spre... | Just Guessing
I'm not familiar with this spreadsheet so I can't speak to its formulas with any certainty but I wonder if your entry in "D4" should read "822.1" or "822.1g" instead of "822.1 g" |
Why martin´s potato rolls are so hard to mimic?
Hi, I´ve been searching for a long time for a recipe of martin´s potato bread and I had no luck so far.I know that martins is an industrial bun, but they are by far the best for burgers and since in my country are not available, I just wanted to recreate a similar style b... | Topic sounds familiar
Are you "related" to a poster by the name "ckrhodes" ? A very similar topic was posted few years ago.HERE is the link for that. Take a look at the information in those responses as they would apply to your query now. It is probably impossible to emulate a commercial bread and get a 100% match as... |
bread fell when put in oven
bread rose nicely above the pan but fell when put in why | More info needed
First guess - overrisen. Have you baked this bread before with no problem? Fell when put in or after bake? Fell quickly when put in oven? Enriched dough or straight dough? How did it look after it came out of the oven.
Jim |
In Memoriam: Bernard Clayton
In light of Bernard Clayton's recent death, and in gratitude for his Complete Book of Breads, this weekend's bake is dedicated to him. I have a batch of his Italian Bread and his Pain Siegle fermenting right now. More to follow in my blog as the breads are completed.
Anyone else who wants... | I didn't know
either Bernard Clayton Jr or that he had died recently. But his book was an inspiration, as anyone who reads my bread posts her and elsewhere will realise. OK, so there were problems withy some of his recipes; I don't care. They helped me. So, thanks Paul for the news. I'll think of him next time I want t... |
Bakers Percentage Spreadsheets
I'm looking for a spreadsheet with bakers percentages, I'd gotten one from here last year but it was deleted from my computer and I can't remember who it was from.
Any suggestions? | Sourdough Spread Sheet
The most usable spreadsheet I know about that is made for sourdough breads is HERE. It is the work of Kurt Janz who has mastered the technique of maturing rye sour for great German rye breads. If you look for the Home link on the spread sheet, you will find plenty to read on developing a starter.... |
bread taste
what gives bread its tast is it salt or what sometimes bread taste very bland | Read up on slow fermentation
Read up on slow fermentation and overnight fridge retardation. Basically the slower/longer your bread rises, the tastier it will be.
There are many many threads on TFL regarding this. |
dough spreads out when rising
Hi all. What are some makeshift ways to keep dough from spreading out while rising? I remember something about making a little hammock for your bread out of kitchen towels? I can't seem to find the articles and posts on this subject. I'm trying to make batard shaped bread. Thanks! | couche
try looking up couche, or baker's couche.
or for something fancier, brotform or banneton for something more structured as an alternative.
good luck. |
Recrisping Bread
Why does everyone recommend misting a loaf with water before recrisping an already-baked loaf of bread? | some mist when re-crisping loaves
The initial bit of mist is to compensate for the drying-out effects of reheating. The finished loaf had exactly the desired ratio of moisture (right?-). If you then put that loaf back in a hot oven, it would lose a little more moisture and become dryer than you intended. Adding a bit o... |
100% whole wheat low sodium bread machine recipe
Hi!
My question crosses topics, and I did search the forum best I could. I want a 100% whole wheat bread machine recipe that is low sodium. I was just given a bread machine(used), so I've never made bread in it. I have baked bread once or twice manually in my life so ... | Did you get a
Did you get a manual/instruction book with your bread machine? If so, I would start with a recipe in that book, use the yeast amount as-is, and reduce the salt and sugar both by 1/2 (note - I personally like the flavor of blackstrap molasses in red wheat bread, and it has less simple sugar than light mola... |
Cold start
I had been afraid of trying the method of " Cold start" which means you start to bake from a cold oven. So I finally tried it out.
I was surprised how rise the dough in the oven. I really don't noitce the difference of the taste between " Cold start" and " Regular start " I tasted slightly more moist in... | Thank You
Thank you Akiko for posting these pictures. i have read about cold starts here too but have been experimenting with other things and haven't tried it yet.
A couple of questions. Do you have a baking stone in your oven? I ask because I have one in mine and it takes longer to heat things up with it in it an... |
Flawless Choc Chip Hot Cross Buns
This is one of my oldest and most reliable recipes. Choc chip hot cross buns, while not "traditional" they are most definitely a firm favourite with the kids (and adults alike). The secret to these buns is a combination of things, for one the vegetable shortening is essential for that ... | Those look delicious Kiint!
Those look delicious Kiint! I love the addition of coco and chocoloate chips. I agree with you: don't stint on the ingredients, otherwise it is not worth doing. In cooking and baking it is all about the ingredient. I like your glaze, too. I am sure that it makes it slightly sticky and s... |
Can you "Pretzel" it?
I'm on a mission to perfect Pretzel Rolls and Buns...and see just what else on earth I can "Pretzel."
I know pretzel dough requires a lot of flour in order to be chewy...but the yield for rolls and buns is very disappointing.
I thought I'd try an Italina Bread recipe, something big and high-rise a... | Done that.
Pretzel rolls have been done before. There are recipes to be found here and elsewhere. Happened to be one of the first recipes I tried from this site a while back. But, please don't let that discourage you from developing your own recipe.
I certainly did not feel the soda bath hindered the rise in any way. I... |
Lesson Learned pretaining to Slap & Fold
Looks like a number of us have recently jumped aboard the Slap & Fold train. The technique is not new, and many of us were late to join. I thought it good to share our experiences here so that we can exponentially increase out knowlegde concerning this technique.All I know so fa... | My experience with slap and fold
There are 3 stages:Dough goes from a shaggy mass to more structured.Seems to get stickier again and some structure is lost.Starts to gain more structure again and then goes from strength to strength. |
To ear or not to ear
One of the things I wonder about is whether to strive for ears or not. I have two ideals for what I would like my breads to look like (after the apocalypse, I guess.) One is a loaf by Larry: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17236/agony-defeat-and-thrill-victory (see second picture down) a pain... | Ear and grigne
Hi, Varda.
Generally, those who strive for ears do so with long loaves like batards and baguettes, not with boules. However, I don't know that ears have any functional value, except that scoring that results in ears does probably prolong oven spring and increase bloom. (I can explain, if needed.)
Grigne ... |
Atmos Pressure
We're still learning about variables in baking. A few days ago I baked 2 sourdough loaves, one for me, one for my neighbor. The oven spring was less than normal - slightly dissapointed. When I gave my neighbor a loaf I appoligized for the density of the bread. She said it may have something to do atmosph... | weather much less significant than altitude
Although flying to 35,000 feet does indeed cause a very noticeable change in air pressure, I think weather causes much less. Even the worst hurricane seems to be equivalent to moving upwards less than 4,000 feet, and a really severe storm (the kind that happens only once in ... |
making bread by using ice water
I just moved to United States from Indonesia not long ago and I found out that all the recipes for bread making here has a big different step. During the first step we mix all the ingredient (flour, sugar, yeast, salt) with ice water while in United States , the recipes always says warm ... | hot weather
If you use warm water, your dough will probably ferment too fast in hot weather like there is in Indonesia. Ice water slows down the fermentation time to help you develop flavor.
In the US generally the weather is more mild (but not everywhere): some places it's very cold, and some places it can be similar... |
Portuguese Sweet Bread
I did a search and found that a lot of people liked Mark Sinclair's recipe for Portuguese Sweet Bread. I tried clicking on the PDF for the recipe and it won't come up. Does someone have a copy they can send me or direct me to another recipe that I may have missed in my search?
Thanks! | You can ask Marc himself you
You can ask Mark himself you find him under the screen name MCS.
Thomas |
mothers bread receipe
just found an old receipe of my mothers, (died) for bread. It calls for 2 qts. milk, 5-6 eggs, 1 1/2 c sugar, 1 tble. salt, and 1/2 c butter melted. Hear is the catch, it calls for 5cents worth of yeast mixed with warm water, then add flour plus rest of ingredients and knead. What exactly is 5 ... | A "college try"
Wow, not easy. If we assume a 50-55% hydration, it looks like this recipe will make about 12 loaves. (A bit over 3kg of milk, eggs, sugar & butter.) If you want two loaves, then divide everything by 6. Thus ...
1 1/3 cups milk1 Egg1/4 cup sugar1/2 tsp salt1 1/2 Tbsp butter, melted
I usually add abou... |
bread
made a white bread receipe which includes 3 cup of ap flour 1 cup very warm milk, 2 tble. melted butter, 2 tble, honey, 2 tsps. instant yeast and 1/2 teas. salt, I mixed 10 min. in a kitchen aide , rose 1 hr, shapped into loaf and put into bread pan to rise. Bread did not rise above the pan. Baked at 350 for 40... | My guess
Just a guess but I'd say give it more time, particularly if your house is cool. More like 90 minutes on the first rise and an hour or so on the second.
Better luck next time.
-Floyd |
stiff rye sourdough
hi all,
I was trying to follow that recipe : http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com/2011/03/sourdough-rye-with-raisins-and-walnuts.html
35% Rye with walnuts. but, I had a problem with the starter. It wass very very stiff ?
does anyone think it has wrong quantities ? even after 16 hours its remain st... | it's normal
rye preferments don't grow at all if they are stiff, but it doesn't mean that yeasts aren't there. If you dissolve your starter in water and you see that it makes bubbles and foam (most likely) then it's full of yeasts. I'd go on as for the recipe (except that I never add baker's yeast). |
Steam Oven - another one
A German gal is testing the new Sharp AX-111 http://kochtopf.twoday.net/
Alas, on reading the specs, seems only to steam up to 100 degree Celcius (212F).
http://www.sharp.de/cps/rde/xchg/de/hs.xsl/-/html/smarte-kueche.htm | maybe max 100C is the steam itself rather than the oven
My German isn't good enough to figure this out; Google translate is flummoxed by it; and I suspect it was re-translated from an intermediate that was already fractured, which in turn came from Chinese.
My guess though is the 100C is the maximum temperature of the... |
ADM Flour availability
I am on the east coast in PA, wonder if anyone can direct me to where I may purchase a bag of ADM Sprig up flour.
Thanks
Chet | ADM milling "contact us"
ADM "contact us":
http://www.adm.com/en-US/Milling/Contact/Pages/default.aspx
ADM Distributors:(Page now "works")
http://www.adm.com/en-US/Milling/Pages/Distributors.aspx
Several PA distributors. |
Let's share unfortunate kitchen mishaps
I was making overnight ciabatta yesterday. Very wet dough but I managed to get them shaped and flipped nicely onto the back of a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I opened oven, took the cookie sheet with the two beautifully bubbly pieces of dough, ready to slide them onto... | kitchen mishap
By far, my worst kitchen mishap was with a cheesecake. I was taking it out of the oven, and the bottom of the springform pan dropped onto the floor, leaving the rim in my hands. I shutter even now these many years later. What a mess -- a hot soupy mess. |
Low Calorie Sugar Substitutes for Bread Baking
Made Del’s Hawaiian Sweet Bread today using Monk Fruit No Calorie Sweetener for baked goods. I decided to give the Monk Fruit a try since it worked so well with the Bran Muffins and Banana Bread. It was a complete flop! I think the bran muffins baked up so sweet and well b... | Thanks for posting - it can
Thanks for posting - it can be surprising what substitutes work for some purposes, but not others. |
where can i buy in NYC Baker's Couche ?
where can i buy in NYC Baker's Couche ? | Try King Arthurs website, or
Try King Arthurs website, or www.nybakers.com |
Honey Bread
From 《美味面包巧手做》, written by 王传仁
translated by Hening
Ingredient Original Personal
bread flour 1000g 250g
salt 15g 3-4g
milk powder 20g 5g
liquid honey200g 50g
water 580g 185g
fresh yeast 30g 3g instant yeast
unsalted butter40g 10g
Actually I used 210g water this ... | No Sugar?????
Actually, you have added sugar to your dough. Honey is composed of glucose and fructose, both are SUGAR. You are adding 20% sugar, based on flour, to your dough.
Ford |
Lahey 1st rise is rising too big for the bowl - what to do?
The usual bowl I use for the Lahey 1st rise was not available, and the bowl I chose is too small. I might wake up tomorrow morning to a re-enactment of The Blob. Can I just dump it (or, I assume, place it very carefully) into a larger bowl, or will that ruin ... | The Blob
Not a ridiculous question. I think you can sefely move it to a larger bowl. If it were in the middle of the final proof, it might be a different story, but since it's just the first rise, and it'll be deflated eventually anyway, it shouldn't matter that much. Go ahead and put it in another bowl. |
substituting butter in cinnamon bread & dinner rolls
I am avoiding diary restriction due to health-related reasons, and one of the persistent questions is what to do with the butter. I don't like the idea of using margarine. I've read that coconut oil works and when I tried that while making cinnamon bread the other da... | this sidesteps your questions a bit
but one of my favorite recipes online is martha stewart's pumpkin challah recipe, where i take out the spices, and use baked sweet potato instead of pumpkin. (oh and i use 3 eggs in lieu of the 11-12 egg yolks because, come on, that's a lot of egg yolks).
it has no butter, just a ti... |
What's the name of this fine bran?
Hi,
I have a special kind of rye bran: it's very fine, with good amounts of flour in it. It's very light, just like bran, and takes a lot of space. Its color is light grey. It looks like a sifted bran, including only the smallest parts of it. There are no middlings and no gritty parts... | Is this any help?
It does
Is this any help?
It does seem to be a form of milling, because I've seen it mentioned as a wheat product, but also as cruschello di avena... |
problems with retarded bread
I own a small Italian bakery. I recently installed a retarder. I am having problems with my bread and rolls. I mix my dough, rest it for 1 1/2 hours with a punch. I cut it, form it, stretch it then put it in the retarder with no proof. That night I take it out of the retarder, let it s... | The retarder may be too warm,
The retarder may be too warm, or you might be leaving the dough out too long afterwards |
Cracker recipe with only rye flour
I've been looking for a recipe to no avail for a Rye Krisp or Wasa cracker. All the ones I see have mixed flour (graham, whole wheat or white) and rye while the ingredients on the packages of crackers state only rye, water and salt. Does anyone have a clue on how to bake these with ... | wafers are complicated
Wafers like these are difficult to manufacture at home, because of the specialized technology used to make them.
For a good overview, see the "Wafer Biscuits" chapter of Technology of biscuits, crackers, and cookies By Duncan J. R. Manley, available for preview on Google Books.
In a nutshell, wa... |
Question about emylse
Hi,
so , I understand the roll of the enzyme called emylse. I understand it break up the complex starch molecule to suger which feed the yeast and help for crumb color.
but, why not adding suger ? what is the advantage for the chemical procees on the simple table suger ?
yuval, | actually it's called amylase(s)
The effects of sugar and of amylase on the baked bread are different. Amylase can produce a much more aromatic and somewhat darker bread than sugar.
Scent matters! |
Brave souls who bake weird stuff!
On another forum dediczated to historical foods there was a link to Blood Bread from a book
Blood Bread.“Make as ordinary wheat bread, using about 20 per cent of uncoagulated blood from raw flesh, preferably beef. It is nutritious and anti-scorbutic.”The Complete Bread, Cake, and Crack... | um, yeah im just not that
um, yeah im just not that adventurous :) |
what leavening brings to flour, nutrition-wise
So I was reading "Cooked" by Michael Pollan, which is a wonderful book about the natural history of food preparation. He has a long chapter about bread. He begins with a remarkable thought. He quotes a food chemist at UC Davis saying that you could not survive on wheat flo... | Reduction of phytates
This article has a great review of the topic: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261201/In short, fermentation, through various means, helps inhibit some of the factors (tannins, phytates, protease inhibitors) that limit our body's ability to process, absorb, etc. certain proteins and m... |
Loaf Pans
I was talking with someone regarding the dimpled loaf pans and they don't like them because of the aluminum. They only used stainless steel.
What are your thoughts about the metal for bread pans and what pans do you think are best?
Thanks for any input.
Angelia | No Fan of Aluminum
I don't use aluminum cookware because, while it does heat quickly, it tends to develop "hot spots" and doesn't bake as evenly as glass, steel or silicone.
I don't use stainless steel because it is a relatively poor conductor, when compared to other steel cookware, of heat. |
over proofed my Tartine levain
Hi-
I have baked the Tartine Country recipe twice now with good results. My levain usually takes 18-24 hours to float. I planned for the same time but instead it was ready at 12 am & I didn't want to start it then. I waited until 7 this morning &then it didn't float. I got the book a... | I don't know what the fix is
I don't know what the fix is but last week I made my levain early in the day instead of the evening and it was floating by the end of the day. However I wasn't ready to bake so I put it in the fridge until the next morning when I took it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature... |
How to get a good gluten sheath on a batard
After struggling more or less unsuccessfully with Hamelman's written instructions for shaping a batard (which includes a prefold and a rotation) I switched over to Ciril Hitz's approach (see his video on Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgqPli_sLLM) This video is f... | Mark's methods
Seems, for me, I get the best results using Mark's methods for all my dough shaping. I make mostly buns, so his "rolls" method is what I get the most practice with. But his batard method is the starting point for most of the other shapes I do: pan loaves, sub rolls, hot dog buns, and occasionally a batar... |
Leavening strength for butter rolls
Hello,
About a month ago I began a new sourdough culture, been making simple white or a mix of white + whole-wheat breads from it, and quite pleased so far. Great flavor and leavening capability. So far, my breads are flour, water, salt, and the starter only, nothing else.
For some... | questions
when you bulk fermented, how much did the dough expand in 90 minutes? Did it almost double? (I kinda doubt it)
did you let it almost double again during final proof after shaping?
the point is this: when using natural leaven, it will take longer to rise, so you'll need to wait...much longer. You'll need to l... |
Hard Rolls
Today's experiment. I got tired of chasing hard rolls for my husband's lunches and these worked out well. I rolled 4 oz of dough and put three in each oval brotform to rise. Then baked them in oval clay bakers for 30 mins and an additional 5 mins uncovered to darken. Egg white/water wash with sesame. H... | Hard Rolls
Your rolls are beautiful. I have a question, when you say "ale" what exactly do you mean? Like a beer? I'm new at baking bread and would love to try to make these rolls. Also where can you find the ingredients dried buttermilk and malt powder |
Can time between Bulk Fermentation and Proofing be exchanged
I frequently get into situations where I have dough on the counter and I will be out of the house at the time to do a step, and this makes me wonder if you can substitute time for final proofing with time for bulk fermentation and vice versa. For instance, ... | Lets say that at a given
Lets say that at a given temperature, and a given amount of yeast that bulk fermentation takes 2 hours. Final proofing takes roughly another hour after shaping. If you were to switch the times your dough would over proof and fall, so thats out of the question.
I think the best answer for you... |
Sour milk?
Hi,
recently I'm taking a lot of a beverage that I prepare fermenting for one day UHT whole milk at room temperature using cultred buttermilk as a starter.
That isn't buttermilk because I use plain milk rather than the residue of milk cream churning and it isn't yogurt because I don't use yogurt ferments.
Is... | "...cultured buttermilk as a
"...cultured buttermilk as a starter."... See the irony there?
The "cultured buttermilk" (in your starter) is not made from "residue of milk cream churning". It's made from plain milk(whole, lowfat, nonfat,etc). At least in "US speak".
Unless you are asking if the "UHT" makes a difference? ... |
"Flute"
hi all,
I am looking for recipe to "flute" which is kind of mini baguette but i think its softer.
thanks, | Flute
Made some the other day, very good. Used recipe from "Local Breads" Daniel Leader. Have had the book for 2 weeks now and have baked two of the breads. Hate to step on any copyrights so I'll give the percents.
Poolish 36
water 55
yeast 1
bread flour 91
corn flour 9
salt 2
The book is a great read of bread making i... |
Retarding rye, it works!
Lately there's been some speculation between Mini, Andy and me regarding retardation for rye breads.
I tried it yesterday retarding in the fridge the already formed "loaf" from 9 to 20. I found it a bit risen in the fridge, so I moved it to a warm place for 3 hours, then I baked it as usual at ... | Do you think it was the sugar?
Sugar acts as a preservative, changing osmotic pressure enough to slow down fermentation. Have you tried this without the cold temps? |
Bread Baker's Apprentice (BBA) Recipe Recommendations
I've owned this book for a while now, thanks to my daughter, and I've baked maybe a quater of the recipies. I have a list that I keep of breads that I want to bake from it. After seeing GSnyde's post on "Vienna Bread with Dutch Crunch" that bread has now gone to #... | My BBA favorites
I frequently make:
1. Italian Bread
2.English Muffins
3. Challah
4. Ciabatta
Oh, and his recipe for pizza dough is the best I have found. I like to make pizza on the grill by grilling the crust first and his recipe works great for that. |
How to find the year of manufacture for an Electrolux Assistent?
Hi All, I was wondering if anyone knows how to read the serial number on the back of an Electrolux Assistent to get the year of manufacture? I've seen this explained for other Electrolux appliances, but can't figure it out for Assistent. The model is A... | Electrolux code breakdown
https://www.electrical-forensics.com/MajorAppliances/ElectroluxDateCodes.html |
old bread STALE BREAD
so i know we all make some of this
and i have read of a technique whereby you can incorporate this back into a new batch of bread
what are the results like? i read about it in hamelman's BREAD and it was in a pumpernickle concept but am curious to adapt it if purely for the waste not want not asp... | Try searching for Altus
I may be wrong but I recall reading about using the crumbs of dried or stale bread in pumpernickel and the crumbs were called altus. |
japanese white bread
I only baking Japanese Bread. My family love the airy, moist, soft and fluffy texture very much. This is an excellent recipe for the light diet. Good for making either sweet or salty sandwiches.
White Bread bread flour (or all purpose) 100% 250G--for a 450G loaf pan instant yeast 1.2% 3G water ... | Soft and light! Nice bake.
Soft and light! Nice bake. What temperature did you bake at and for how long?
Syd |
Is LB Casei mesophilic or termophilic?
Hi,
I'm taking a probiotic drink which is supposed to contain only one lactobacteri | L. Casei. I'd try to culture it in milk as if it were yogurt, but:
-do I have any chance to succeed? :)
-is it a mesophilic or a termophilic bacteria? It's important for setting the right temperature. I don't want to cook the little friend.
Thanks. |
Cocao powder Vs gluten development
All,
Do you think adding Cocao powder to the flour ( in my case i going to bak chocolate rolls) has any effect to gluten development ?
Thanks,
Yuval | I sometimes mix a bit of
I sometimes mix a bit of cocoa powder or coffee granules to my dough to add some flavour. I'm not sure if it's to do with development of gluten or not, but both of them certainly make dough a bit dryer and tighter, resulting with slightly denser crumb. So I usually add a bit more water and tin... |
Noodles, anyone ?
Now here is a fun way to make noodles :)
This young man does it beautifully.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/8-Mesmerizing-Food-Videos/2
anna | Wow!
Great post. Thanks! Noodle-making seems to be a full body workout. |
My first Focaccia
I've never made a Focaccia before so thought I'd try the one in BBA. Instead of the poolish I used my starter which I left overnight. I also 1/2'd the recipe...
It tastes very good - and looks pretty - but I'm not sure if it's too 'bready' looking - is it supposed to have big 'ciabatta' like holes? | that looks great
I think your foccacia looks great and looks "right" in my eyes.
Foccacia to me should be a little bready, soft and spongy, like thick deep-dish pizza crust, with not too many big holes. |
Huge amount of seeds and sugar...
My sister in law brought back a recipe from her travels (to South Africa) for a "best ever" bread, but I'm uncertain about even trying it. My experience in bread baking so far is limited to lean sourdoughs, so this recipe seems extraordinary.
It's a recipe for a yeasted bread (20 gr f... | Interesting recipe-looks do-able-but sweet
It looks do-able but I'm surprised there isn't any kind of fat in it. Also,I think it would be sweeter than she thinks-it may be masked by the seeds or perhaps she isn't too sensitive to the taste of sugar.Some people aren't,esp if they are known to have a sweet tooth. They be... |
Lean vs. "All-in" pre-ferments?
Lately, for enriched breads I've been somewhat lazy by mixing in everything (sweeteners, oils, etc.) into my pre-ferments, reserving only some yeast and flour for the final mix. I've found this simplifies the process, and, more importantly, seems to improve the taste. If I had to sell it... | To Each His Own
Because it is possible for the enriching ingredients to coat the flour and make it more difficult to hydrate, I often wait to add those at the end of the formulation process. But if it's working for you I see no reason why you'd need to do anything differently. |
Is there a healthy preservative that I can add to my bread?
I'm small time, to be sure. I bake white and wheat loaves weekly for my family, and the occasional fun loaf (Anadama bread, artisan loaves, etc).
But, I'm a little tired of them drying out so quickly. They rarely last a week. The first 3 days worth of bread ar... | Lecithin?
Lecithin? |
Novice baguette results
Hello Experts,
I'm a novice baguette maker and I am easily overwhelmed by all of the information on this forum about making baguettes. So I picked one recipe and gave it a go. I tried using the "Basic Baguette Formula" ( link below), and got mixed results.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/910... | Steam, And start off with a
Steam, And start off with a high temp (450F) under heavy steam for 15 minutes, and 25 minutes without steam at 425F.
Your Baguettes look good to me..! Work more on your scoring and shaping... you'll get a feeling for dough after more trials.. |
Problem with proofing...
Hi all - My first post! I'm pretty new to baking. Have developed a keen interest in bread, about 20 years too late (was a stay-at-home dad, would have been nice to be baking fresh bread for my family at that time...), but am having a great time learning.Okay, so I think I have a problem with ... | Try proofing a little less.
Try proofing a little less. Enjoy! |
Deleted
None | Deleted
Deleted |
My attempt of Vermont Sourdough
Hello,
First -- wanted to say this is a wonderful place! I have spent much time searching and reading the archives. Great community!
I am still a newbie but here was my recent attempt at Hamelman's "Vermont Sourdough". I began my sourdough starter two weeks ago, and feed it twice a da... | JVZ, a novice? i think not,
JVZ, a novice? i think not, your scoring looks advanced to me! well done! |
carrot bread
i'm new here. i love baking Japanese bread.
this is my blog http://heningsun.blogspot.com/ , i made all of them by hand. no stand mixer, no bread maker
nice to meet all of you~ | Welcome to TFL! Your bread
Welcome to TFL! Your bread looks lovely. I took a look at your blog, too. I will definitely be checking it out again when I have some time. Thanks for posting all the recipes, too.
Best,
Syd |
Seeking help with creating customized sandwich bread loaf...
hello -
i'm interested in making my own sandwich bread recipe but since i'm relatively new to baking, i was hoping to get some help to avoid lots of trials and errors. my goal is to make a sandwich bread that is about 1/3 white whole wheat flour, 1/3 bread... | 8 oz unbleached bread flour, 1/4 tsp yeast, 5 oz water.
final dough: soaker, biga, 1 oz whole wheat flour, 5/8 tsp salt, 2.25 tsp yeast, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp butter.
my initial plan, a mentioned, was to substitute 3 oz of oat flour in each of the soaker and the biga.
thanks!
cc |
Rancid Tasting Brioche
I'm a beginner baker. I tried making brioche for the first time and it came out super light and airy (perhaps too much so) but it tasted overly tangy almost rancid. It smelled like a brewery. The final proof looked okay, What did I do wrong? I assume it had something to do with the yeast. | I would also suspect your
I would also suspect your butter. Had you recently purchased it from a legitimate grocery store that doesn't leave expired items on the shelves? Also, are you sure you didn't accidentally buy cultured butter? Cultured butter has a tangy note, but I don't know if it's strong enough to be mistak... |
How Many Loaves Have You?
March 4 is World Day of Prayer 2011. The theme this year is 'How Many Loaves Have You?'.
There is a preset program (world-wide, I think) which includes, at the conclusion of the service, all attendees being given a loaf of bread!
What to do? I belong to a very small Church in a rural area of s... | good luck!
That's quite a production line to have at home. Your loaves look great, and I'm sure you're getting a lot of good practice.
Best of luck on your bake! |
How to make soft all around (chinese) buns?
I'm interested in making buns like those sold in chinese bakeries. They are soft all around, no crust and have a sticky glaze (not really sweet). I haven't been able to find a recipe for these type of breads that aren't sweet.
Basically what I'm looking to make is a bread tha... | Link
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/chinese-soft-buns-recipe |
Powdered Dry Milk vs. Scalded Milk vs. Reconstituted Dry Milk
I have not had time to run any tests, but thought I would throw out the question.
Is reconstituted dry milk any better than milk?
Is it better to use dry milk powder mixed straight into the flour?
Should I scald the reconstituted dry milk to break down the y... | Personal preference.
I typically don't keep fresh milk on hand, and choose not to order the doubly expensive Baker's Dry milk, so I reconstitute store bought nfdm, and scald it. It's been proven that, generally speaking, scalded milk gives a better rise than non-scalded.
Some are perfectly happy with the results they g... |
Dough begins to break down!
Ok, I've been making bread several months and have not encountered this until I've become overly ambitious. I have a problem that started folding some dough that I stashed in the fridge for several hours, now with dough I'm kneading on the first go. It seems to begin to break down?! It goes ... | more details?
I'm wondering if you could spell out in more detail exactly what happened in a case where your dough broke down. I think the usual case is overproofing but that doesn't sound like what you are describing. -Varda |
Alkalinity?
Hi,
I'm curious to know if there are (wild-) yeasts that thrive in an alkaline environment, if it's possible to establish a sourdough -oops, alkadough:-) -culture with that feature and if -ultimately- bread itself can come out alkaline.
I know there's some (scary) microflora that causes salt-rising bread ... | Even if there is such a
Even if there is such a microflora, Nico, the taste of Alkaline Food is not detectable nor it is palatable. Acidity to a certain extent, on the other hand, is favored by our tongues. |
Question about a sweet dough recipe from my late mother in law
Hi!
I luckily inherited my late mother in law's recipe box as none of her children wanted it (unbelievable!). In there is her recipe for sweet dough used to make her cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, tea rings and Chelsea buns. I'd like to use it to make my husb... | I should add..
That I have been scaling it to thirds as the original recipe calls for 3 packages of yeast. It just makes a lot even for a 3rd of a recipe. |
Babka
Hi GuysLooking for some guidance from someone who has made or even just eaten a Babka before. I made a chocolate Babka over the weekend and the recipe called for a lot of butter to be incorporated into the dough, I proofed it over night in the fridge and I think with the cold temperature and the hardening of the ... | Cold bulk proof for babka?
From your description, that's my impression. Yes, any dough with that much butter in it will be very stiff when chilled. Here's a snip from a recipe on Epicurious.com: "let babkas rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough reaches top of pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Alternativel... |
Makeshift Bread Baking Experiences
I'm currently on vacation and am finding myself with absolutely no adequate tools for making a loaf of bread, but I'm doing it anyway :) I thought it would be fun to hear people's stories of making bread when they have none of their normal, or even acceptable, tools and hear about ho... | I baked without weighing for many years
so I came to figure three measures of flour to one measure of water. Anything will serve as a measure, coffee cup or soup can. I have baked bread in a gas grill with the lid closed but space the pan above the heat with a heat shield between. |
need help rolling croissant dough
Hi everyone,
This is my first post to the site. I am having a HUGE problem with rolling out my croissant dough. I'll give you some background info on it:
1) Last night I made the dough (similar to the CIA's recipe), let it proof until it doubled on the counter, and put it in the ... | Cooling vs. resting
Sorry to hear about your struggles, cor.
The cooling step keeps the butter firm so that it does not spread everywhere and/or penetrate through the dough layers.
The resting time, with or without cooling, is what allows the gluten in the dough to relax, making the dough more extensible and less elast... |
Newbie problem: good first rise, not so good second rise
I am still new to yeast baking, and am not sure what I may be doing wrong. I have started by trying to make a basic sandwich bread, and have used both the whole wheat bread recipe and the anadama break recipe in BBA. With both of these recipes, I get a very g... | Some possibilities, judithh
One is that the doubling you witness is actually more than doubling. If the dough is in a bowl during the first rise, it may be tripling or more before it looks doubled. When you then shape it and set it for the second rise, it may just be out of food and not able to double in the pan. Tr... |
kasier rolls to soft
just made norms hard rolls folld the recipe to t the rolls came out to soft like a hamburger roll what went wrong thanks mike | Questions re soft kaiser rolls
Hi, Mike.
Were the rolls soft coming out of the oven or some hours later?
What flour did you use? (Bread flour is better than AP)
Did you steam the oven? (You should.)
Did you glaze the rolls? (You shouldn't.)
David |
Is there anyway to make a real New York bagel here in Arizona?
Looking for a bagel recipe and directions. I never made bagels before and would love to repelicate a real New York bagel. | check this thread
A nice bagel recipe here:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bagels
Check that thread for more bagel recipes & comments. |
increasing recipe formula
All recipes posted have an exact proportion of ingredients. Can a recipe be simply doubled to create additional types of breads without losing the original recipe essence? | I believe the general rule of
I believe the general rule of thumb is that you can multiply or divide by 3 without changing anything. Above/below that you need to account for more/less yeast.
That being said, I have multiplied some recipes by 5-6 with no adverse affects. |
Can poolish go bad? What happens if it sits for days instead of hours?
What changes the longer you let poolish sit? The basic reciepe I use calls for an over night poolish sit but I have recently been pulled away from baking for a couple days so instead of 8 to 10 hours of the poolish doing its thing I have had it si... | it can have gone too sour
and killed the yeasts. Yeasts can't live below a given PH.
Better drop it, or at least not rely on it as a levaining agent. |
A few recipes or many recipes?
As a new baker, I am have been pouring over books and online recipes. Given my personality, I want to always try different recipes and tinker with things. On the other hand, my mother-in-law has baked the same 3-4 recipes for 50 years. Her wheat bread is always the same, her rye bread ... | do whatcha like
I like to experiment, that's part of my nature. That said, I gravitate to about 7 different breads that I've made in the past, constantly changing, revising, revisiting, but really just riffing off of those recipes.
One of them is a no-knead sourdough
Another is soft buns/rolls
Another is a buttermilk ... |
Preferment: Would milk be OK?
I've got a sandwich loaf recipe here that calls for a preferment that uses all of the water and a final dough that includes powdered milk, which I never have on hand.
The preferment is supposed to be very slack, batter like and fermented for up to 24 hours at room temp before use.
I know t... | I use it everytime
without problems. I doubt there can be side effects, unless the temperature is very high. What I'm suspicous about is the duration of the preferment: 24 hours are *many*, generally my preferments last so long only when they have acidify a lot (rye breads). |
Ovenspring - How to get?
How do you guys get an overspring? I can never get one, not even a 1cm spring. For my last batch of bread I preheated the oven to 500F for 15-20mins, put the dough (covered with alumminum foil) and brushed water on the top of the bread to keep the to soft then turned the temp to 350F but still ... | Don't overproof.
Hi Wek, you don't say much about your technique, so my answer tries to cover multiple places where you could be going wrong. This is targeted at bread in general, not just rolls. The top advice is to slightly underproof -- see item 5.
The main things that helped me get ovenspring are:
1. Don't work too... |
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