Bread how to make bread

How to Make Bread with Step-by-Step Instructions and Recipes

We will show you how to make bread at home with step-by-step instructions and bread making tips that will soon have you making fantastic homemade bread all the time! Homemade bread really does taste better than store-bought bread, and there is nothing better than the smell of bread baking in the oven.

I first started making bread at the age of about 14 following a recipe that unfortunately was not accurate. When it came to proving the dough the recipe, instead of reading «put it in a warm place» as it should have done, it read, «put the dough in a cool place». Never having made bread before, and doing it on my own, I didn’t know any better, so put it in the fridge.

Of course the bread dough didn’t rise, and so I left it overnight, thinking that time would help. It didn’t! Then I thought, well perhaps the bread will rise after I put it into the oven. So in the bread dough went, still flat. Well, when it came out of the oven it remained flat and you couldn’t even get a knife through it! My father very dryly commented that perhaps I could submit it to our local brick and tile factory as a new prototype for bricks!

I have been making bread now for the last 30 years and so pass on my bread making tips to you.

Once you know how, then try our bread recipes and tell us about your experience.

HOW TO MAKE BREAD: GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The most convenient and easiest to obtain, these days, is dried, instant yeast. It comes in either tins or sachets as granules. Plain dried yeast is better than that specified for bread. The latter is often expensive, and you have to use more of it.

When buying yeast, check the ‘use by date’ as if you use old yeast that is not fresh your bread will not rise. After opening, you may keep your dried yeast in an air-tight container in the fridge, or even in the deep-freeze if you are not going to use if for a while. However, if you do this, make sure that the quantity of yeast that you have taken out for use for your next batch of bread is brought to room temperature first, before you use it.

We have some bread making tips for you below on how to bake with yeast, as the yeast is the most important ingredient to get right when learning how to make bread.

The best type of flour to buy is your bread flour, rather than white flour which is better for cakes and pastries. Bread flour has a higher gluten content which will give you a less crumbly texture and a better end product.

Wholemeal flours should be fresh as they go stale far quicker than white or bread flours. They are also more moist and therefore you may have to add extra flour to the dough for easier handling if you find that it is sticking when kneading. You can also add gluten flour to certain bread recipes, especially those using rye flour, however, this is optional and not strictly necessary. If you are looking for gluten flour you will find it at your local health food shops.

If you have the right flour and your yeast is fresh, kneading the dough is the next important step in your bread making. When making bread you cannot escape the fact that you will have to knead your bread for 10 minutes to get the gluten to develop in the flour and to create that light, even texture in your bread that you are after.

The way to knead your dough is to take it out of a bowl and place it onto a floured surface. With the heel of your palm press down on the dough and then fold the top-end of the dough circle back over to meet the bottom end, folding the dough towards you.

Then press down on the heel of your palm again, knocking out the air bubbles and repeating the process. You can also use two hands in the kneading process, although I often only use my right hand. While you are doing this, you will also need to rotate the dough quarter turn after each folding and pressing so as to make sure that the bread is well-kneaded on all sides.

After 10 minutes your dough should spring back when your lightly press down with a finger, and the texture should be smooth.

Grease the bowl that the bread was originally mixed in with a little oil. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl when it rises. Place your smooth, springy dough into the bowl and lightly oil the top. Now, either cover the bowl with cling wrap or a kitchen towel to keep the heat in, to prevent a skin from forming and to aid in the rising process.

The dough should be left in a warm place free from draughts. I often place my bread in a sunny window, or if I am in a hurry, and I want my bread to rise that much quicker, I fill the sink up with a little hot water, place the bowl in the water and cover the whole sink and bowl with a heavy blanket to trap in the heat. However, don’t make the water too hot, because if you hasten the rising process too quickly you can end up with a sour-tasting loaf.

You will need to wait for the bread to double in size. This can take a couple of hours, depending on conditions. If you want to leave this dough overnight to rise, then place it in a fridge for 12 hours. It should have doubled within that time ready for you to use in the morning for that nice loaf of homemade bread!

Once your dough has doubled in size you will need to remove the covering and knock out all the air that has formed in the rising process.

This is called ‘punching down’ and is done so that when you do bake your bread you will get an even texture.

If you want great looking bread, then don’t leave out this important process to making your homemade bread.

If your tins are small, you may have to divide the dough. Remember that your dough will be left to double in the tin again before it is cooked. So this should give you an indication as to whether you have the right sized tins.

Take your dough, flatten it out to a rough rectangle, making sure that the long side is the same size as your tin. Roll it up like a Swiss roll and pinch the edges together well. Place it in the oiled tin, seam side down and press it gently in the tin. Oil the top, cover and leave to rise again until it reaches the top of the tin.

Once your dough has reached the top of the tin it is time to place it into a pre-heated oven. Here your bread will still rise a little more before the heat kills the yeast and the rising action is stopped.

Do not open the oven for the first half of the baking process to prevent your bread from collapsing.

USEFUL BREAD MAKING TIPS USING YEAST

The most important tip I can give you is that your yeast must be fresh.

Yeast cells are living organisms which multiply under favorable conditions, and produce carbon dioxide, which leavens the dough, as well as alcohol which is responsible for the unmistakable smell of yeast dough while baking.

To be successful in yeast baking the yeast cells require moisture, food (sugar or carbohydrates) and the correct temperature. If you don’t have these 3 things, your yeast will not activate and you won’t have good bread.

If you are in a hurry or when the environmental temperature is very low, yeast quantities may be increased in moderation. However, there are several ways in which you can help the dough rising process without adding more yeast, which can compromise the taste.

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OUR RECOMMENDATION: BEST SELLING BREAD BOOKS

Baking bread at home can save hundreds of dollars on groceries every year. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will help you re-create great artisan breads in your own home, without investing serious time or money.

The process is simple. You mix water, yeast, salt, and flour in a large bowl with a spoon or just your hands. It doesn’t take five minutes. You let it rise for a couple hours, then put it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Whenever you want a nice crusty loaf of bread, just tear off a chunk, let it rise again, and bake it. Not only is this much cheaper than store-bought bread, but you get to control the ingredients, and there’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh-baked bread just out of the oven.

With this easy method, each loaf; deliciously crusty-on-the-outside, moist-and-chewy-on-the-inside, will cost you only about 50 cents and five minutes a day.

Now you can fill your kitchen with the irresistible aromas of a French bakery every day with just five minutes of active preparation time, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will show you how.

You can Add your own Comments, Tips and Ideas on How to Make Bread Here!

We have lots of pages where you can contribute to throughout this homesteading website. We love hearing from our readers, and hope you will be one of those we hear from too. Look around our homesteading website. If you have some comments, tips, recipes, questions or ideas on how to make bread of your own, please submit them. All you need to do is type and submit. We will do the rest!

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How to Bake Bread

Introduction: How to Bake Bread

I also dabbled on the King Arthur Flour website and tried various recipes from around the internets, and finally thought «I should check Instructables!»

In this instructable I’ll try to explain all the things I’ve figured out that no one told me. I hope it will be a help to any of you other bread noobs out there. 😀

Step 1: Ingredients

Step 2: Feeding the Yeast

First things first, you need to make the yeast happy!

Pour one cup of warm water into a large bowl, and add two teaspoons of yeast. After that, add one tablespoon each oil and honey. (Or white sugar!) Mix this together until the honey/sugar and yeast dissolve. Then pour in one cup of whole wheat flour and the teaspoon of salt and mix well. Once everything is nice and wet, cover the bowl with a clean towel or some saran wrap and wander off for a half hour or so.

Step 3: Add the Regular Flour

Add in one cup of all purpose flour and stir. If you’ve only let the yeast eat for 30 minutes, the mix should ball up and come away from the sides like the photo.

If you let the yeast eat for a little longer, you might need to add more flour. Keep adding and mixing until it pulls away from the sides and isn’t overly wet. It will still be pretty wet and crumbly, and that is fine.

Step 4: Kneading

You’ll notice we didn’t add a lot of all purpose flour in the last step. That’s because we’re going to knead it in! I’ve found through my experiments in bread making that if you knead in the extra flour instead of trying to mix it in it works much better. Doing it this way means the bread dough takes on just as much flour as it can handle, instead of mixing in too much and making a really dense bread.

Flour a large work surface and your hands. Scoop out the dough onto the surface. Sprinkle a little flour on the top of the dough as well.

To knead the bread, first press away from you with the heels of your hands, and then turn the dough 90 degrees, fold it over, and press again with the heels of your hands. After your first few times doing this you’ll be a pro! 😀

Step 5: First Rise

Add a layer of flour to the bottom of the bowl you originally mixed the dough in. Place your dough ball into the bowl.

You’ll want to sprinkle a little flour on the top of the dough, too!

Step 6: Punch It Down

Pop the dough out of the bowl and PUNCH THE HELL OUT OF IT

If you were feeling bad about anything you will definitely feel better afterwards. 😀

Step 7: Second Rise + Preheating

Form the dough into a flat, loaf like shape. You just want it to fit nicely in your loaf pan. 😀

Spray the inside of the loaf pan with cooking spray and pop the dough inside. Now you’ll let this rise until it comes over the edge of the loaf pan.

While this is happening, I like to preheat the oven to 350 F. This will heat up your kitchen and help the dough rise quicker!

Step 8: Baking + Cooling

Once the loaf has risen and the oven is nice and hot it’s time to pop it in the oven!

Place in on a rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. This is where things go into the trial and error part!

At first I tried baking my loaves for 30 minutes, but it was not long enough. After they had cooled, they were still pretty wet in the middle. I’ve found that it’s best to bake them for 40 minutes. It will really depend on your oven, though! You’ll figure this out the more you bake bread. 🙂

Once you get the loaf out of the oven, you’ll want to turn it out of the pan and leave it to cool on a baking rack. You can definitely eat it when it’s still warm, but I’ve started to let mine cool completely. 🙂 I feel like it tastes better over the next few days and keeps its shape.

Step 9: Storing + Eating

After the bread has cooled I like to wrap it in freezer paper and store it in a cool place.

How To Make Bread

Here’s How To Make Great Bread

At its simplest and most straightforward, yeast bread is made up of flour, water, salt and yeast. That’s it. Let me list them again: flour, water, salt, yeast.

This page will teach you in detail what you need to know to make great bread at home but if you want to get right into the process, check out my Basic 4 Ingredient Bread Recipe here.

Just four little ingredients, but never have four ingredients sparked such fear and awe. People say in reverential tones, “I would love to make homemade bread like my mom!”

All kidding aside, making bread can be a very intimidating proposition, even for the most seasoned home cook. Someone who doesn’t think twice about putting together a traditional cassoulet with an ingredient list as long as their arm might experience a pang or two of doubt when faced with a bread recipe with those four little ingredients.

It’s All In The Technique

Baking bread is really all about technique. It’s about developing a feel for the ingredients. And you can’t do that without practicing. Let’s all swallow our fear and take a closer look at the magic that is yeast bread. Remember, flour is cheap, so if you really want to do this, get ready to practice.

First, we’ll take a brief look at bread’s basic ingredients and find out what makes them tick. Then, we’ll address the necessary equipment and techniques you must master to make great bread. Last, we’ll look at additions and/or substitutions you can make with the basic ingredients to change the taste, texture and look of bread. Take a deep breath, and get ready to get up close and personal with one of the oldest prepared foods known to man: bread.

What’s In The Bread

Flour provides bulk and structure to the bread. Wheat flour, specifically, contains two proteins, gliadin and glutenin which, in the presence of water, combine and produce gluten, the stretchy protein substance that lets wheat breads rise, rise, rise, and then set, locking in the cells where the air bubbles used to be. The higher the protein content of the flour, the more gliadin and glutenin are in it, and the more gluten will form. The flours highest in protein are made with hard winter wheat. Look for them labeled as Bread Flour or even High Gluten flour.

Water provides for gluten formation and yeast reproduction. Without water (either straight water or as a component of another liquid, such as milk), all you have is a pile of flour, salt and yeast. No amount of tossing together will yield a dough unless water is added to the mix. Water re hydrates yeast and activates gluten formation. For bread making, harder water works better than soft water because harder water will yield more stable dough.

Salt gives bread flavor, and it also inhibits yeast growth. This might sound counterintuitive, but without the presence of some salt, yeast growth will continue until the flour matrix can no longer support it, and your bread will deflate. Too much salt, and your yeast won’t give you enough rise. Too little, and your bread will rise too much. The trick is in getting the right salt to yeast ratio.

Yeast are single celled organisms that live solely to eat sugars, give off gasses, and reproduce. In the US, your choices for yeast are fresh, or cake, yeast, active dry yeast and instant, or rapid rise yeast. For a home baker, fresh yeast is difficult to find, can get moldy if left too long in the refrigerator, and can be temperamental. Many bakers swear by fresh yeast, but there are more standardized choices for the home baker.

Rapid rise, or instant yeast, is a relatively new type of dried yeast. It can be added along with dry ingredients without the need for proofing, and it produces a very rapid rise. However, what you gain in time, you lose in flavor, so the third choice is probably the best.

Active dry yeast is just that—active yeast that are dormant until you add them to water. Active dry yeast does better if you proof it first—add it to slightly warm water with a bit of sweetener (for food) until it gets bubbly and creamy. When using a recipe that calls for fresh yeast, use ⅓ to ½ of what is called for. For example, for 1 oz. of fresh yeast, you will use ⅓-1/2 ounce (approximately 9-14 grams) of active dry yeast.

What Equipment Do I Need?

The absolute essential pieces of equipment necessary for baking bread are two hands and an oven. Honestly. Purists will mix and knead their dough right on the counter—no bowls necessary. For most of us, though, it’s nice to have a large, heavy bowl on a non-skid base (a damp towel will do) and a scale.

If you are going to be baking a lot of bread, you might consider investing in either a baking stone or just lining the bottom of your oven with a clean unglazed terra cotta tile. If you are interested in making homemade bread but not so enchanted with the idea of kneading for ten or fifteen minutes, invest in a very sturdy stand mixer with all metal gearing and a dough hook. Loaf pans of different sizes are nice to have as well, for sandwich bread, but wonderful breads can be made right on a stone.

Steps To Great Bread

There are quite a few steps to making bread. Don’t worry, most steps flow naturally from one to the next. Here they are: scaling, mixing, fermenting, punching, dividing, rounding, benching, panning, proofing, baking, cooling and storing. Whew!

First, you have to measure/weigh all your ingredients, then mix them together. This is where the kneading happens. Then, you have to give the yeast a chance to work, or ferment. (That’s where lots of recipes tell you to “let dough sit in a warm place until doubled in bulk”). After that, you need to gently press out the gasses in the dough and redistribute the yeast.

After that, you’ll divide the dough in pieces the weight that you need (if you’re just making one loaf, you’ll of course skip that step). Next, you’ll round your dough and let it hang out, covered for a few minutes. These two steps are optional, but follow them, if the fermentation has really heated up your dough.

The rest period gives the dough a chance to cool off a bit—you don’t want to kill those little yeasties by getting them too hot before they’ve given you all the rise that they can. After that, you’ll pan up your dough, and let it proof in the pan. Last, you’ll bake, cool and then store (or eat) your creation.

The step that most of us have the most difficulty with is mixing. Two questions come up:

“How do you know when you’ve put in enough flour?” and “How/how long do I knead?”

I’ve seen the same recipes you’ve seen. Ones that say “5 to 6 cups of flour.” How frustrating is that, not to know exactly how much of an ingredient we’re supposed to put in something?! It kind of makes you get a little hot and sweaty as you slowly keep adding flour, hoping that the dough will eventually look “right.” The sweating continues as you frantically knead, eyes on the timer. When it goes off, you still wonder, “Have I done enough? How do I know if I have done enough?” Let’s look at these techniques one at a time.

Mixing the Dough

First, almost any bread recipe will give you a range for the amount of flour called for. This is because, on any given day and depending on the protein content of your particular flour, it will accept more or less water depending upon the humidity and temperature in the air and the humidity and temperature of your flour.

If making a standard, four ingredient bread in a stand mixer, a good rule of thumb is to add the last few ounces of flour a bit at a time, stopping when the dough doesn’t stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl when kneading. If you’re making the dough by hand, knead in the last few ounces a bit at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. Even that is a vague instruction: add flour until the dough is soft and smooth, not wet and sticky, but not completely dry, either. (See why I say that this takes practice)?!

To get a better feel for this, make your dough with a stand mixer, and then take it out of the mixer bowl when it clears the sides and bottom. Now you can examine it for feel and texture before you knead.

Here’s another rule for you: never add more than the maximum flour called for in the range. If you have to err, err on the side of too little flour rather than too much flour—a bit too little flour will give you a very good rise; too much flour will yield a dense loaf.

Now, on to kneading.

First, here’s a quick definition: kneading is the process by which you align and elongate gluten strands to develop them to the point that it can hold the gasses that the yeast give off. This makes your bread rise and then set in the oven. The more well-developed your gluten “web,” the more gasses your bread will hold, the higher it will rise and the more open and airy its texture.

Kneading also helps to evenly distribute the yeast and the gasses it creates throughout your dough. This will result in a more even crumb in your finished loaf. Everything you try so hard to avoid doing to pie dough, you try to do when making bread.

Pie dough = minimal mixing.

Bread dough = long mixing time.

Pie dough = short, weak (or no) gluten strands.

Bread dough = long, tough gluten strands.

You can accomplish kneading in a variety of ways. As long as you have enough water in your dough and work it well, you’ll get good gluten development. The most-often described method of kneading is to push the dough away from you with the heel of your hands, fold the dough over, give it a quarter turn, and do it again. I’ve seen people lift the dough up and slap it on the table to develop the gluten.

The next trick is in knowing when you’ve kneaded the dough enough. When your dough is well kneaded, it should be very smooth and springy—it should bounce back when you pull on it or poke it.

Windowpane Test

You can also double check to see if you’ve got good gluten development by doing the “windowpane” test. Take about a one ounce piece of your dough, shape it into a ball and then start pinching it flat like a little pizza. Once you’ve gotten the dough thinned out, spread it out with your fingers. If the dough stretches until translucent, and you can see the gluten strands, you’re done. If the dough tears or doesn’t stretch to the point of translucence, keep kneading.

Some cookbooks warn you not to over-knead to avoid breaking the gluten structure down, but if you are using bread flour and kneading by hand, you shouldn’t have to worry about that. If using a stand mixer set on low for kneading, check your dough after 5 minutes and every minute after that to guard against the possibility of overworking it.

Now that you have an idea of the function of the basic ingredients of bread as well as the fundamentals of making it, check out this basic 4-ingredient bread recipe. It will walk you through the entire process in simple step-by-step instructions.

Substitute Ingredients To Make Different Types of Bread

There are many kinds of breads on the market as well as products made similar to bread but are know as something else like bagels, pizza, croissants, cinnamon rolls, etc. They may all be based on the basic four ingredients in classic yeast bread, but these substitutions are important for the final end product.

To learn more about these bread ingredient substitutions and how they change the characteristics of the bread, click on the link.

I’m a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me. Read More…

Reader Interactions

Comments

December 12, 2012 at 3:48 pm

very helpful thank you!

December 28, 2012 at 11:06 am

I want to make a yeast free bread for communon, how do I do that, and what temperature do I bake it at, and for how long?

February 01, 2014 at 4:30 am

I used to make short bread for communion. Scotch shortbread. 2 Lb flour, 1 Lb butter, 1/2 Lb sugar. cream together. Roll or press 1/2 inch thick on a cookie sheet, prick with a fork. use parchment paper to bake on at 280 degrees F for 30-40 min. No yeast and taste delicious.

January 03, 2013 at 1:49 pm

You’ll really want to look for a recipe for crackers or lavash @Allan since that is pretty much what an unleavened bread is. You could probably also go with something like a flour tortilla. A quick google search yielded over 27000 results for «unleavened bread recipe for communion.» This one looks promising: http://www.food.com/recipe/unleavened-communion-bread-115865 Good luck!

February 05, 2013 at 3:27 pm

enjoyed your lesson

February 08, 2013 at 10:30 pm

February 18, 2013 at 1:33 am

February 25, 2013 at 12:14 pm

how do I get a good crust on my bread

January 19, 2014 at 4:20 am

I feel I gained knowledge after reading this article, because I am currently working as a pastry and bakery cook at a hotel in Bali. I hope someday to become a pastry and bakery lecturer currently in Bali because there are many schools of tourism. so that such expertise will be greatly needed in the future

January 27, 2014 at 10:15 pm

I need to make a bread for church only using flour yeast and water and I am really confused on how to do so. Please help!

June 15, 2014 at 7:06 pm

How many different times are you supposed to knead the dough? I like mixing the ingredients in my bread machine, then taking it out and doing the rest by hand. Is it mix (my bread machine calls this first step kneading), rise, knead, place in baking container, rise, bake? or did I miss a kneading step there?

November 18, 2014 at 8:19 pm

No measurements listed?

G. Stephen Jones

November 20, 2014 at 7:31 am

Lena, this is a basic description of the bread making process. If you want an actual recipe with measurements listed, try going to http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/basic-bread-recipe/
Hope this helps.

November 25, 2014 at 7:20 am

Your description of bread making is like a never ending Soap Opera,
you never say anything except to lead people in circles from
one site to the next and still not say anything about making
a loaf of Bread.

December 12, 2014 at 9:01 pm

Thomas she explained the basics. The chemical reaction and the science behind bread making. You should’ve Googled bread recipe instead of bread making secrets.

February 17, 2015 at 10:05 pm

Thank you so much for explaining everything so well. I’ve always wondered how each ingredient does its bit when it comes to bread. I finally understand.

June 22, 2015 at 8:54 am

Very credible recipe! Thank you

January 31, 2016 at 6:23 pm

Thanks a clear and informative article that delivered what I was expecting

March 05, 2016 at 6:17 pm

Aside from the standard 2% bakers percentage for salt and 0.5 to 1% for yeast, how does one figure out the proper yeast to salt ratio?

June 02, 2020 at 3:51 am

This is very enlightening. I love this publication has it would help me redefine my baking proficiency.
Well done!!

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Who Is The Reluctant Gourmet?

I’m a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me. Read More…

Learn how to make sandwich bread

Do you want to learn how to make bread?

Great! You’ve come to the right place. We love baking bread and want to share our passion with you.

The 12 Stages of Bread Making

Let’s learn the basics of how to make bread by going step-by-step through the twelve stages of bread-baking. We’ll be making a Classic White Sandwich Bread. The recipe is from King Arthur Flour.

Step 1: Mise en Place or “everything in its place”.

The success of your bread-baking experience depends on how organized you are so don’t skip this step.

Begin by getting all of your tools and ingredients ready and within arms length.

Read the instructions from start to finish to make sure you have all of the ingredients and the necessary tools as well as the timing down. Scale your ingredients by measuring them with a scale or using the scoop method – i.e. using measuring cups.

Ingredients for Classic White Sandwich Bread:

*Use the lesser amount in summer or humid climates; the greater amount in winter or drier climates.

Step 2: Mixing

Mixing can be performed by hand using a large spoon, your hands or a dough whisk; or by machine, using a bread machine, stand mixer, or food processor. Mixing has three purposes: to distribute the ingredients, develop the gluten, and initiate fermentation.

For the classic sandwich bread, mix all of the ingredients in the order listed to make a smooth dough. You can use a dough whisk, large spoon, or a mixer to mix the ingredients until are thoroughly incorporated.

Then, place the dough on a counter sprinkled with flour and knead it until it is smooth.

Use the push/pull method to knead it.

The dough shouldn’t be soft or stiff; it should be smooth and feel bouncy and elastic under your hands.

Step 3: Bulk (Primary) Fermentation

Fermentation is one of the most important steps in learning how to make bread.

It doesn’t matter how good your shaping technique is or how well your oven bakes, if the dough is not properly fermented, it will not produce a great bread.

To ferment the classic white sandwich bread dough, place it in a lightly greased bowl, or large (8-cup) measuring cup.

Cover it, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes. It should be quite puffy, though not necessarily doubled in size.

Step 4: Punching Down

Punching down is also called degassing. This is when the dough begins to enter its secondary fermentation.

Steps 5 and 6: Dividing and Rounding

Dividing the dough into individual pieces is the next stage, followed by rounding (a preliminary shaping) and benching (a rest period).

Since we’re only making one loaf, this dough doesn’t need to be divided. Nor does it need to be rounded either since we’ll be forming a loaf shape. Rounding is a method used with artisan breads, but with regular loaf breads, it’s not necessary.

Step 7: Benching

Benching is where you allow the dough to rest before shaping. The purpose of this stage is to relax the gluten so that it will be easier to handle during the final shaping.

We don’t really need to do that for this bread because this dough is easy to work with. We’ll just flatten the dough into a rectangle and then complete the shaping process. The rectangle should be about 5 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches long. This is a large loaf so my measurements are a little wider and longer.

Step 8: Shaping and Panning the Loaves

The easiest way to shape a sandwich loaf is to roll it up jelly roll style. Starting from the short side of the dough, roll up the length of the dough into a log shape one section at a time.

The loaf will spread out as you go and will eventually extend to 8 or 9 inches. Pinch the seam closed with the back edge of your hand and rock the loaf back and forth to even it out.

Place the loaf seam-side down in the pan. Keep the surface of the loaf even at the top. The ends of the loaf should touch the ends of the pan to ensure an even rise.

Step 9: Proofing the Loaf (Secondary Fermentation)

Cover the pan, and let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes.

Until it’s crowned 1″ to 1 1/2″ over the rim of the pan.

Step 10: Baking

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes. Check the loaf, then bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

To keep the top of the loaf from burning, tent it lightly with aluminum foil. Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. When inserted into the center of the loaf, the thermometer should display 195°F to 200°F.

Step 11: Cooling the Bread

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out onto a rack to cool.

If you want to fully taste the flavor of the bread, it’s best to let it cool completely by allowing it to cool at room temperature on a cooling rack. Using a cooling rack will prevent the bottom from getting soggy.

Step 12: Storing and Eating Bread

Now that we’ve learned how to make bread. Let’s eat and enjoy the bread.

When completely cool, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature. Either freeze the loaf or keep it in a cool, dark place. If you plan to freeze the loaf, it’s best to slice it first because then you only have to thaw the slices you want to use instead of the whole loaf.

Comments

Thank you for this wonderful bread making tutorial! In step 9 where the dough is due for second rise, my dough did not rise much, and consequently after I baked it, the output is v stiff and quite dry. Note: I use whole spelt flour 2cups, and 1/2 c milk as liquid, and 2tbsp oil, no other liquid used. Is the failure for the second rise because of a dry dough?

The dough felt elastic after the first proof. So, what did I miss?
Thanks master baker for your kind reply! I am truly grateful for this tutorial, you all are wonderful Angels!

Hello, I’m glad you enjoyed the bread tutorial. One thing to keep in mind is that this tutorial was created for white flour. When you substitute different flours, especially whole grain flour, the characteristics/variables will be different.

Here are some things to consider when working with spelt:

Spelt doesn’t absorb liquid the same way that regular white flour does so perhaps too much flour was added during the mixing of the dough. In addition, spelt makes a very delicate dough so it requires a shorter mixing time. Not sure how you mixed the dough, but I find that it does well using the fold and turn method in the bowl rather than mixing with a stand mixer. It’s also a good idea to give the dough an autolyse (rest) for 15-20 minutes before kneading to allow the dough time to absorb the liquid. This helps to prevent adding too much flour during mixing.

You also mentioned the failure of the second rise. Another thing to consider is that gas accumulates faster in doughs made with spelt so the dough should be slightly under proofed. Only let it proof until the loaf almost looks perfect. If it looks perfect, it’s over proofed. Perhaps this was part of the issue as well. Hope this helps.

thanks for the tutorial it helps me alot in my research

How to make bread at home – an essential guide to baking homemade bread

Everything you need to know to start making delicious bread at home effortlessly – the secret yet simple artisan techniques demystified for the home baker

There’s a lot in this how to make bread guide. Read it all if you’ve got time, or jump to the specific section you need by clicking the links below

This article covers everything you need to know to bake amazing artisan bread at home. But it’s not a bread recipe. If you’re looking for a good bread recipe you’ll find one here.

Introduction to “How to make bread at home”

Making a good loaf of bread takes only a handful of simple techniques. Yet most recipes aimed at the home-baker dumb down breadmaking and skip or ignore these straightforward steps. And that’s missing an opportunity. Because they aren’t the reserve of the seasoned, professional baker. They’re easily achievable for the amateur breadmaker at home. And they will transform your breadmaking.

Still, this is more than a how-to manual of breadmaking techniques. It’s a laypersons guide to the magic that happens when you make even the simplest loaf of bread. And understanding each stage will help you flourish as a breadmaker. And you’ll have the confidence to experiment and tweak any recipe to get the best results possible.

This is a reference to the techniques and skills needed to follow my bread recipes. Both how they’re executed and the benefits they bring to your bread. And it’s a guide to getting even better results with your favourite bread recipes.

But its real purpose is to help you thrive as a breadmaker. To give you the tools to adapt recipes and create breads that suit your unique tastes and circumstances.

Give a man a fish and all that…

Why make your own bread?

If you’re lucky, you have a local artisan baker in your town. A choice of delicious, healthy bread made with simple ingredients on your doorstep. But the artisan baker is an endangered species.

The truth is, almost all of the bread made in the UK is manufactured using the Chorleywood Process. It’s an industrial method far removed from traditional breadmaking. High-speed mixing, abnormal quantities of yeast, additives, e-numbers and enzymes. Modern bread is the embodiment of processed food. And the tasteless, doughy loaves lining supermarket shelves aren’t as traditional as names like “farmhouse” suggest.

Nor are they the health food many of them claim to be.

Enzymes

As industrial breadmaking has evolved enzymes have replaced additives. A legal loophole classifies enzymes as processing aids, not ingredients. And there’s no obligation to mention processing aids on bread labels. By replacing additives with enzymes, bread manufacturers “clean-up” their labels to suit the modern consumer. But a possible link between transglutaminase enzymes and an increased risk for gluten-sensitive people has raised questions around the safety of enzymes.

That’s not to say you should never eat manufactured bread. A small amount of any processed food can be part of a healthy diet. But if an ultra-processed food like bread is a staple of your diet, you might want to consider alternatives.

Because manufactured bread is ripe with unfamiliar declared and undeclared ingredients. And a basic tenet of successful healthy eating is ownership of the ingredients you consume. Make your own and you control what’s in the bread you eat.

Or maybe healthy eating isn’t your goal. Instead, you avoid bread as it triggers your sensitive gut. Gluten is the in-vogue scapegoat. But, in the absence of diagnosed coeliac disease or non-coeliac gluten intolerance, it may not be gluten to blame. Rather, the preservatives, acidity regulators, bleaching agents, flour treatment agents and enzymes essential to industrial breadmaking might be the cause. A simple homemade loaf with only four ingredients could be the way to re-introduce bread to your diet.

But for me, the main reason you should bake your own bread is that it tastes so much better. The flavour, smell and texture. Even the simplest homemade loaf is vastly superior to high volume, commercial alternatives.

And you don’t need the skills or experience of an artisan baker to make your delicious bread. So, let’s get started.

Bread Ingredients

Choosing your flour

Strong Flour

Breadmakers rely on gluten to give their dough the essential stretch and tear resistance needed for bread to rise.

All wheat flour contains gluten, but how much depends on the variety of wheat used to make it. Ordinary plain flour is ideal for cooking and baking, but it isn’t suitable for breadmaking. Instead, breadmakers use higher gluten flour to give their dough elastic strength.

Appropriately, breadmaking flour is more commonly called strong flour.

Flour is stored in papar sacks to let it breathe

White flour vs Wholemeal flour

A wheat kernel has three distinct parts, bran (14.5%), endosperm (83%) and germ (2.5%).

Bran is the outer shell and high in fibre trace mineral and phytonutrients.

The endosperm is the largest part of the kernel and is the energy store of the wheat seed. It is high in protein, including gluten, and starchy carbohydrates.

The germ is the sprouting portion of the kernel and has the highest fat content.

To make white flour the bran, germ and the nutrients they contain are removed and only the endosperm is used. By law white flour is fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin, but that doesn’t replace all the lost nutrients.

Wholemeal flour is made from the whole kernel, the bran, endosperm and germ. The ratios of each are specified by law. Only bread made with 100% wholemeal flour can only be called wholemeal. Nevertheless, some bread manufacturers stretch these limits. And marketing terms like wholegrain, multiseed and multigrain add more confusion for the consumer.

But even wholemeal isn’t quite as whole as you might think. Industrial steel mills separate the three components of the wheat kernel before milling. Wholemeal flour is made by reconstituting the flour in the appropriate ratios after milling.

Traditional stone milling can’t separate the parts of the wheat kernel. Instead, stoneground wholemeal is made by milling the whole kernel. But it’s a less efficient process and stoneground flour is more expensive.

Still, thanks to the legal constraints on wholemeal flour, it’s unlikely you’ll notice any difference between stone milled and regular flour in your finished bread. You must decide if the extra cost is justified.

Start with White Flour bread recipes

White is the most forgiving flour to work with and the best choice for novice breadmakers. And the lighter and springier homemade white loaf texture is the closest to industrial bread. And that’s quite important.

We are so conditioned to unnaturally light and spongy loaves that real bread is an unfamiliar taste. If you and your family are just starting on your breadmaking journey, start with a white bread.

As a nutritionist, of course, I recommend wholemeal bread over white bread. It packs a greater nutritional punch. But a bulletproof white bread recipe that’s easy to make and your family love instantly is the way to get started. Build your breadmaking confidence before you try “healthier” bread recipes.

Real wholemeal bread has more taste and is a genuine health food

And you’ll want to. Because lightness alone isn’t a reliable indicator of good bread. With growing breadmaking confidence you’ll be itching to tackle more complex loaves. And once your family is weaned from the industrial options, they’ll love them too.

Homemade wholemeal bread is a genuine health food

Wholemeal dough expands less than a white and the finished bread has a denser texture. The culprits are the minute pieces of bran and germ in wholemeal flour. They rip micro-tears in your dough, weakening the gluten structure and limiting the expansion of your loaf.

Bread manufacturers add a cocktail of ingredients to create unnatural volume and lightness in their wholemeal bread. Don’t expect the same results.

If you want a lighter loaf you can replace up to half of the wholemeal with white flour. Your loaf will be lighter but at the cost of nutritional content, flavour, texture and character.

But eventually, your go-to recipe should be a wholemeal one. Because homemade wholemeal bread is a genuine health food you can enjoy every day.

Other flours

The advantage of using wheat flour for breadmaking is the gluten content. Breads are made with other grains like rye, oat, barley or spelt. But the time and skill required make them less suitable for the home-baker.

A good compromise is to make bread with a backbone of wheat flour mixed with another flour like rye. The result may not suit the purists. Still, it will carry many of the characteristics of the alternative flour and be a delicious bread.

Water – more than hydration

Adding a water-based liquid to your dry ingredients hydrates them to create your dough. Pure water is the most common choice. But other liquids like milk or beer work well adding their own signature to the texture and flavour of your bread

But water does more than hydrate your dough.

Wetter, softer doughs ferment quicker than drier ones. They are also more delicate and so tricker to work with. They usually require careful mixing and multiple folds during fermentation. Ciabatta is a typical example of bread made with a high hydration dough.

And the higher the flour’s protein content the more water it will absorb. As a result, water absorption varies from flour to flour. So if you change your brand of flour you may need to tweak the water quantities of your recipe.

I’d recommend sticking to the volume of water suggested in a new recipe for the first few bakes. But with experience, you may choose to make adjustments to suit your local flour.

The best yeast for home breadmaking

My preference is fresh yeast. But I haven’t used it since I stopped baking professionally. Fresh yeast doesn’t keep and is difficult to find in the small quantities needed for home baking.

“Frozen-fresh” yeast is one option. But I’ve found dried yeast gives more consistent results and is the simplest option for home bakers. Consequently, I’ve adapted all my recipes for dried yeast.

Avoid quick-acting and fast dried yeasts. They come with unwanted additional ingredients intended to speed up fermentation. Whatever the yeast’s name, I recommend checking the small print for added ingredients. Yeast doesn’t need any help, it only needs time to do its job. Speed is the enemy of flavour in breadmaking.

Mix the dried yeast into your warm water and allow it to dissolve before adding it to your dry ingredients. No need to add sugar as often suggested.

And for a pre-ferment, it isn’t necessary to dissolve dried yeast at all. Instead, sprinkle it evenly over your dry ingredients before adding the water.

Sourdough

Sourdough’s rediscovery by San Fransisco hipsters elevated a once unfashionable breadmaking style to connoisseur status. And its legion of fans include health benefits in their list of reasons sourdough is the bread of the discerning consumer.

The near mystic appeal of sourdough is the starter culture. A mix of flour and water used to cultivate the wild yeasts, sourdough cultures have been used to leaven bread for millennia. Ancient, natural and just a little mysterious, sourdough is a marketer’s dream. Any self-respecting sourdough bread can trace its starter culture’s origins deep into the mists of time.

The truth is, making your own sourdough culture isn’t difficult. But, looking after your culture is a commitment. It’s like bringing a family pet into the home. If you struggled to keep a Tamagotchi alive in the ’90s, sourdough isn’t for you.

And in my view, the extra effort and inconvenience of keeping and using a sourdough starter aren’t worth it. The health claims are unproven. And the slightly sour flavour is different but not superior to a bread made with a pre-ferment and slow bulk fermentation.

But don’t let me stop you from experimenting for yourself.

Buying genuine sourdough bread is almost as inconvenient. The term sourdough has no legal protection. Many loaves labelled sourdough are made with sourdough flavourings, not traditional sourdough cultures. It’s worth checking how your local store’s “sourdough” was produced.

Why bread needs Salt

Salt adds flavour where there is none. That’s why it’s overused in so many processed foods. And no industry was more guilty than bread manufacturing. But there’s accumulating evidence of a link between salt and high blood pressure. In 2006 the UK government introduced salt reduction targets. By 2017 bread manufacturers had been required to progressively reduce the salt in their bread by 50%. And there are even tighter targets for 2024.

Nevertheless, beyond taste, salt has three other important functions in bread making,

High salt levels aren’t needed for breadmaking. But salt is one of the four fundamental ingredients. Bread can be made without it, but it isn’t as good.

Still, if you’re on a low salt diet you have the option to leave it out or replace it with a low sodium variety.

Other ingredients

You only need flour, water, yeast and salt to make fantastic bread. But as your confidence grows you can tackle more complex recipes. New ingredients will add variety and increase your enjoyment of making and eating bread. Fats, oils, sugar, eggs, seeds, whole grains, dried fruits there is an unlimited choice.

The magic of fermentation

Yeast does the heavy lifting in breadmaking. And we call the work it does on our behalf fermentation.

Yeast is a living, single-cell microorganism. And there are millions of yeast cells in the small amount you add to your dough. The original cells grow and multiply using the starches in your dough as food. As yeast metabolises starch it produces three important by-products, alcohol, carbon dioxide and organic acids.

Fermentation isn’t unique to breadmaking. It’s used to produce other foods like sauerkraut and brew every alcoholic tipple.

Alcohol is a by-product of fermentation, but your finished loaf contains none. Alcohol has a low boiling point and evaporates completely during baking.

It does, however, contribute to the wonderful smell of baking bread. Alcohol itself has no odour, but it acts as a solvent for other organic molecules. As your bread bakes, the alcohol evaporates and transports these wonderful smelling compounds to your nose.

Carbon dioxide builds up in your dough as it ferments. Some carbon dioxide is trapped as expanding gas bubbles and your dough rises.

But not all of the carbon dioxide produced is released as gas. A lot is dissolved in the water within your dough. This dissolved carbon dioxide is the key to the sudden expansion of your loaf when it first goes into the oven. The oven spring that’s so important to a good loaf.

Organic acids take hours to develop fully yet they make a vital contribution to your bread. They add delicious layers of flavour and contribute to the wonderful smell of good bread. They also help with gluten development improving the dough’s structure.

But organic acids develop gradually. And that’s why slow fermentation is essential to good breadmaking.

And you can increase the organic acids in your dough with pre-ferment. This traditional and simple technique improves your dough structure and the finished bread’s flavour.

Speeding up fermentation with technology

More than 80% of all British bread is made using the Chorleywood Process. Invented in the UK the process has been adopted in countries such as India, Australia and New Zealand. It cuts fermentation from hours to minutes with high-speed mixing, dough conditioners, added sugars, high yeast concentrations, very warm temperatures, emulsifiers and enzymes.

Scottish bread guru Andrew Whitely blames the Chorleywood process for the rise in bread intolerance. The science isn’t definitive, but there’s good cause for concern.

What’s certain is the technology doesn’t come close to replacing time. And every step of the process reduces the quality and flavour of the final bread.

Pre-ferments – the artisan bakers secret weapon

A pre-ferment is a favourite technique of almost all my bread recipes.

It’s a simple and traditional bread making step used to improve doughs. What it’s called depends on the cultural origin. Names include starter dough, pâte fermentée, poolish, biga, and more.

A little flour, water, salt and yeast are mixed in advance and allowed to slowly mature for many hours. By the time it’s added to the main mix, it’s replete with the organic acids so important to gluten development and flavour.

And if your making bread daily it can be as simple as keeping a little of today’s dough to add to tomorrow’s mix.

To make a pre-ferment from scratch mix flour with water, salt and a relatively small amount of yeast. It should be well mixed but doesn’t require kneading. Some pre-ferments are so wet they resemble batter more than dough.

Cover your pre-ferment and leave it to mature for anywhere between six and twenty-four hours.

The exact quantities and timing depend on the bread recipe.

There’s a lot going on when you knead your dough. But three sequential stages are the most important.

Stage 1 – the first and simplest is the uniform distribution and mixing of your ingredients.

Stage 2 – the hydration of the starch granules in the flour. As the starch granules absorb water your dough sticks together and your dough begins to form. At the start, your dough may appear too wet. Resist the temptation to add more flour. As kneading progresses, the dough will absorb the water.

Kneading gradually stretches the gluten molecules simultaneously ordering them into reasonably straight lines. The result is a dough that both stretches and resists tearing. You work hard to develop these properties in your dough. Every stage after kneading should preserve and enhance this hard-won gluten structure, not damage it.

A little bread chemistry

Gluten

Gluten molecules are made of two proteins, Gliadin and Glutenin. Gliadin gives your dough the stretch and glutenin its elastic qualities.

Rye, oats and barley have similar gluten molecules. But crucially they pair glutenin with alternative proteins to gliadin. The absence of gliadin’s stretching properties calls for slightly different breadmaking techniques. And breads made with alternative flours will have a denser texture.

The gliadin protein is also the most common trigger of the damaging inflammatory immune response in Coeliac disease. As it’s unique to wheat, some coeliacs tolerate other grains if they’re uncontaminated by wheat during processing.

Oxidation

Oxidation of the flour is essential to the development of the gluten in the dough.

Before it’s suitable for breadmaking flour needs a few weeks exposed to air to age and oxidise naturally. Traditionally, flour is packed in paper sacks to let it to breathe and oxidise.

But allowing flour to oxidise naturally is too slow for industrial milling and breadmaking. Storing huge quantities of flour as it ages organically isn’t good business. Instead, flour is treated to artificially oxidise and age it.

Chemically bleached flour requires almost no ageing. But bromide and peroxide bleaching agents are under suspicion of being carcinogenic. They’ve been illegal in the UK since the 1990s. Today enzyme preparations are the flour treatment of choice. And remember enzymes don’t need to appear on the bread label.

Health concerns and dubious labelling aside, artificial ageing of flour compromises the flavour, aroma and texture of your finished bread.

Kneading incorporates oxygen into the dough. And oxygen assists in the gluten’s development.

But too much kneading over-oxidises your dough and damages the gluten structure. Your dough loses its elasticity, releases absorbed water and becomes sticky. And the flavour and colour of the final loaf will suffer.

So, over kneading is the death of your loaf. Still, it’s unlikely to happen if you’re making your dough by hand – unless you knead like it’s a Bootcamp workout. But if you make your dough in a mixer, I know from experience, it’s easily done.

Mixing too fast or for too long produces an over-developed dough. It won’t support the long fermentation and the organic acids so essential to great flavour won’t develop.

The secret to delicious bread is a slightly under-developed dough and a long slow fermentation. Time will allow the flavoursome organic acids to develop and they will strengthen the dough structure.

One or more folds during the bulk fermentation enhance the gluten strength further.

How to mix and knead your bread by hand

Mixing and kneading with a mixer

Before using a mixer, I encourage you to make your first few loaves by hand. When you go mechanically powered things can go wrong very quickly. What you learn kneading by hand will help you judge the progression of your dough when you eventually switch to a mixer.

Mixer design and speeds vary. Below is my suggestion for a dough requiring a ten-minute kneading by hand (based on my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer). You’ll have to experiment with your mixer to get the best results.

A word of warning, it’s very easy to over-knead your dough with a mixer. Walking away and forgeting your dough is easily done. I’ve learnt the hard way to use a timer, then I’ll judge my dough by eye for the last couple of minutes.

And finally, most home mixers only have the space for one large loaf. The extra effort of hand kneading can be worth it to make two or three loaves in one go.

Bulk fermentation – long and slow for good bread

As soon as you stop kneading your dough fermentation begins. How long it takes depends on the air temperature and the starting temperature of your dough.

The ideal temperature is around 25C. A little chillier than perfect for yeast, yet sufficiently warm to encourage growth. The slightly lower than optimal temperature slows fermentation and gives organic acids time to develop.

The temperature of your ingredients will determine the starting temperature of your dough. But there’s no need for pinpoint accuracy. Start with all your dry ingredients at room temperature. Use lukewarm water and after kneading your dough temperature will be about right.

25C is warmer than room temperature. So, an airing cupboard or similar warm spot makes an ideal location to prove your dough. If you don’t have a suitably warm corner, your bread will still work well at room temperature. Only it will need more time.

Place your kneaded dough in a bowl at least two and a half times larger than the dough. Cover with a heavy cloth or oiled clingfilm and leave it in your chosen fermentation spot.

As the dough ferments, bubbles of trapped carbon dioxide expand and your dough swells. The ideal increase in dough volume varies according to the bread. Judging the perfect time to end the bulk fermentation takes practice. Still, doubling in size is a reasonable expectation for most bulk fermentations.

All my recipes suggest bulk fermentation times. But they’re only a guide. You’ll have to make adjustments according to your dough and air temperatures.

A long slow bulk fermentation with a single fold halfway through suits most doughs. But lightly kneaded or wetter doughs can require two or more folds.

During the bulk fermentation, fold the dough as often as instructed. Try to space the folds evenly.

Folding – don’t knock your dough back

Too much carbon dioxide inhibits fermentation. So, degassing your dough during bulk fermentation is essential.

Most breadmakers knock-back or punch the gas from their dough. Knocking back your dough achieves the essential degassing. But it misses an opportunity to improve your dough and transform your loaf from average to exceptional.

The alternative is to fold your bread. It’s quick and simple and has three important benefits.

How to fold

Tip your dough onto a floured surface. It’s important that it doesn’t stick to your table. Unsticking it will tear the dough and damage the gluten structure. So use plenty of flour.

But incorporating raw flour into the dough can cause streaks in your final loaf. So you should carefully brush excess flour from the dough surface between folds.

Place the dough to your bowl topside up, cover and return to your fermentation spot.

Dividing your dough

I’m a lazy baker. So, I rarely make a single loaf. But when baking small quantities of bread the majority of effort happens before bulk fermentation ends. All that weighing, mixing, kneading and folding is the same effort for one, two or three loaves.

If you’ve made for multiple loaves, it’s important to divide the dough evenly once the bulk ferment is over. That way, your loaves will be ready for the oven at the same time and bake at the same speed.

How big is a loaf of bread?

The density of different types of bread varies enormously. Until 2008, UK law stipulated the size of a loaf of bread by weight to protect the consumer. Loaf sizes were multiples of 400g. Although no longer a legal requirement many bread is still priced and sold as either 400g or 800g loaves.

UK trading standards officers made regular unannounced visits to our Deli to inspect and weigh the loaves we sold. Extra motivation, if ever it was needed,our to weigh and divide our dough accurately.

Dividing your dough

First, divide the dough equally by eye with a dough cutter or a knife. Weigh the two pieces to ensure they’re the same weight. If there’s a difference (+/- 10g), trim and adjust accordingly.

Every cut divides the dough in two. Try use as few cuts as possible to maintain the maximum dough structure.

Pre-shaping – for a better shaped loaf

Pre-shaping organises the random cut dough pieces into consistent shapes. And that makes shaping the final loaves easier.

Even if you’re making a single loaf I still recommend pre-shaping. It helps create a uniform loaf during the final shaping. And that helps prevent uneven oven spring and baking.

A light working of the dough is all it takes.

How to pre-shape

[This motion stretches the top side of the dough, now in contact with the table. The stretching improves the gluten structure. But if it sticks to the table your dough will tear damaging the gluten structure. However, too much flour on your table will slide without stretching.]

Resting

The dough needs to relax before its final shaping. How long it takes depends on how tightly you’ve shaped the loaves.

Leave the preshaped loaves upside down (seams up) on a floured surface covered with a cloth or clingfilm.

5-10 minutes of bench rest is normally about right. As the dough relaxes the seams begin to drift apart indicating it’s time to start the final shaping.

Shaping your loaf

At home, the most convenient way to cook bread is on a baking tray. Your dough proves for the final time and bakes on the same tray. Loaf tins, oven stones and bannetons all have their place but aren’t essential to good bread.

A round loaf is the easiest to shape and ideal for the novice. I’d recommend mastering round loaves before experimenting with other shapes. It’s a simple skill you’ll use again and again in your breadmaking career.

Shaping your loaf

Shaping a round loaf

[Just as with preshaping, the flour on your table surface is important. The dough shouldn’t stick or slide. But it needs enough traction to resist the turning motion and cause tightening.]

Proving your loaf

Cover the shaped loaf and return it to your fermenting space to prove. Judging how long you to leave your and the best moment to bake your bread comes with practice. All my recipes give you guidelines. But the precise time your loaf needs depends on the dough temperature and how tightly you’ve shaped the loaf. Ultimately it’s your call.

Over risen or under risen and your bread’s appearance and eating quality will suffer. Leaving your dough to achieve its maximum rise weakens its structure. Your bread will collapse in the oven. Equally, too little rise and the bread will not achieve its full volume.

80-90% of its maximum rise during proving is about right. As a rough guide, poke your loaf gently with your finger. If the dough doesn’t rebound it’s time it was in the oven. Not a foolproof test, but a starting point if you’ve never baked bread before.

If in doubt, it’s better to have your loaf slightly under proved than over proved.

Scoring bread – more than decoration

Oven Spring

When your loaf goes into the oven the heat triggers three events that to cause your bread to expand rapidly.

A brief burst of intensive yeast activity and gas production before the heat eventually kills it.

Trapped carbon dioxide and ethanol gases heat up and expand

Water in the dough heats up releasing dissolved carbon dioxide as gas, a bit like opening a soda bottle.

Within minutes, expanding bubbles of trapped carbon dioxide force your loaf to swell. Some breads double in size. This rapid expansion during the early stages of baking is known as oven spring.

Score your bread to encourage expansion where you want it

Scoring your loaf

All your kneading, folding and shaping has produced a dough with a robust and even structure. Still, bulges will form randomly as expanding gases find the weak points in your dough. Unless this expansion is controlled, your loaf will be misshapen with an uneven crumb.

Scoring your loaf creates intentional weak points. And this encourages your loaf to expand where you want it to. The scoring pattern you choose has more to do with aesthetics than function. All that’s required is a sufficient and regular scoring of your loaf’s upper surface. This will encourage an even, upward expansion as it bakes.

The traditional scoring tool is a razor blade. In a pinch, a sharp knife works. But perhaps the easiest way to score your bread at home is with scissors. Multiple snips encourage the correct expansion of your loaf and make an eye-pleasing pattern.

How to bake bread

What happen’s during baking

Most bread is cooked in a very hot oven, around 240C/465F. That’s often the maximum temperature for a domestic oven. The high heat is necessary to optimise oven spring, flavour and colour during baking.

We’ve already looked at scoring and the mechanics of oven spring. But there’s more going on during baking to understand.

Enzymes convert starches to sugars before quickly succumbing to the heat. On the loaf’s surface, these sugars will eventually contribute to the browning of the loaf.

Kneading only moistens the outer surface of the flour’s starch granules. Now, with the help of heat, water penetrates to their core and they swell and then gelatinise to form the crumb.

At first, the pressure of the expanding carbon dioxide stretches and extends the gluten in the dough. But as the temperature rises the gluten coagulates, expansion stops and the loaf’s shape is fixed.

As the temperature rises, enzyme activity, initially accelerated, decreases and eventually stops as heat destroys the enzymes.

When the surface of the bread reaches 100C it starts to brown. It’s a complex process known as the Maillard reaction, involving heat, moisture, protein and sugars. (Browning during cooking is often a result of the Maillard reaction, for example, grilled meats.)

During baking, your loaf loses moisture. How much depends on the loaf size, ingredients, bake time and temperature and even oven type. 10-20% is typical.

If any of these events happen too quickly, your loaf won’t achieve its full volume, colour or taste potential. You can use steam to slow their unfolding and improve your bread enormously.

Steaming – the secrect of a beautiful bake

In a very hot oven, steam cools the surface of the loaf. The cooling effect delays the destruction of the enzymes on the loaf’s surface. They in turn convert more starch into sugar and the browning of the loaf is enhanced.

And steam slows down the crust formation. Once the crust has formed no further expansion of the loaf is possible. Slowing the crust development allows the maximum oven spring and increase your loaf’s volume.

Bread must to go into a moist oven and be steamed immediately or it’s not effective. Starting with a dry oven and adding steam later doesn’t have the same effect.

Still, the benefits of steam only last for the initial stages of baking. If the steam isn’t removed the bread will develop a thick and chewy crust. To achieve a thin crust the bread needs to be finished in a dry oven.

Most professional bakers use steaming ovens to bake their bread. But you don’t need a professional baking oven to effectively steam your bread at home.

Steaming your loaf at home

You can replicate the effects of a steaming oven with your domestic oven and reap the benefits. Here’s how you do it.

Pre-heat your oven with a heavy roasting tray on the bottom shelf, cast iron is ideal.

Two minutes before you bake your bread, throw two ice cubes into the tray. This will pre-moisten your oven, which is essential – but isn’t enough to steam your bread.

Moist heat can scald. Quickly and cautiously open the oven door and add your bread to a middle shelf.

Before you close the door, pour about a cup of boiling water into the roasting tray then quickly shut the door. As the water boils in the roasting tray it will steam your bread.

[Be very careful. This will instantly create a cloud of steam that can burn. Wear oven mitts to protect your hands and keep your face back to avoid escaping steam.]

At the end of the first third of the cooking time, check your bread. It should have started to colour and reached its full size. Carefully remove the roasting tray.

Close the door, but not completely. Leave it open a crack for the rest of the bake. This allows the residual moisture to vent and prevents your loaf from developing a thick, chewy crust. Instead, your loaf will have a deliciously thin, crisp crust. If needed, a metal teaspoon works well to hold the door open.

How to know if your bread is ready

The best way to judge when your bread is ready is its appearance. But it does take a practised eye.

When your loaf is ready the crust has an even brown hue. (Although the sides of bread baked in loaf tin will be paler than the top.) With a white loaf look for a golden brown colour. Wholemeal and other flours will be a darker brown.

But if your oven is too hot or you use insufficient steam, your loaf will brown before it’s done.

Still, a cooked loaf shouldn’t stick to the tray or loaf tin. But it will stick if your tray or tin isn’t well seasoned and properly oiled.

And when you tap on the bottom of a cooked loaf it sounds hollow. But many loaves sound hollow before they’re ready. And what about rolls and other small breads?

Can you use a thermometer to check your bread’s temperature instead? When bread is ready its core temperature is in the high 90C. But many loaves need time at this temperature, so testing with a thermometer isn’t actually helpful.

So, we’re full circle. Your bread’s ready when it looks ready. Judging it perfectly takes practice and becomes easier the better you know your oven and recipe. To begin with, err on the side of caution. It’s better to slightly overcook your loaf than undercook it.

Cooling – it’s worth the wait

It’s difficult to resist the heavenly smells of a warm loaf fresh from the oven, but you should.

When I bake bread I jealously guard it against the pilfering hands of my family. There’s a lot of love gone into that loaf and it should be eaten at its best. And good bread needs time to slowly cool to develop its true texture and flavour.

Granted, some industrial bread is almost inedible unless eaten warm. You know the type, plastic baguettes, mini ciabattas and the like. But well-made bread only reveals its full bounty and character when cooled properly.

You’ve come this far. Let your loaf cool, it will be worth it.

The hot loaf is still losing moisture as it cools, so

Leave it for two or three hours to cool completely before eating.

Storing – how to look after your bread

Going stale or ageing?

We’ve become used to soft, doughy industrial bread that remains unchanged for days before suddenly going mouldy.

But real bread ages gracefully and is a little different every day. How your bread ages will depend on the ingredients and loaf size – larger loaves age more slowly. Still, it’s important to understand, stale bread and aged bread aren’t the same things. All bread stales eventually. But part of the enjoyment of real bread is appreciating the subtle changes as it ages.

Bread will be softest on the day of baking and best eaten fresh. By the second day, the crispy crust will be lost and the crumb will be firmer. Nevertheless, store your loaf correctly and it will eat well for two or three days.

As bread ages it loses moisture, the gelatinised starch slowly re-crystalises and the crumb of your loaf hardens. With time your bread exchanges freshly baked softness for character and complexity. But eventually, every bread is better toasted.

Without all the added processing ingredients and sugar, real bread takes longer to toast. But it’s worth the wait. It’s so good that you may never again be satisfied with anything else!

Making bread that keeps longer

There are traditional methods of slowing the ageing process.