Making Bread at Home is one of those fundamental skills everyone should master. And get the whole family involved, kids love bread making. Bashing the dough around, watching it grow and seeing it bake. That gives them a better understanding of what bread and real food is. It’s not that flour-based sponge wrapped in plastic that keeps forever. If that’s your idea of bread, you might as well eat the cardboard box you brought your shopping home in.

Don’t be put off, It’s easy-

The wonderful thing about bread making is that it can be as simple or complex as you care to make it.

Let’s take a in depth look at some of the products and processes involved. Some of this is quite chefy, and I make no apology for that. You don’t need to absorb it all. Use the information to make sense of a recipe and gain an understanding of what’s happening, or why it’s not happening

Read this in conjunction with the bread recipes on our site and be sure to read our pages on Demystifying Perfect Pastry to compare the processes. Also be sure to read A Guide to Flour Types and Uses to understand the flour you are using, and What is Yeast to get the best from its powers.

I would also recommend having a look at breadopeadia.com for more tips on bread making.

So, let’s get on and make some bread.

In it’s basic form all we need to make bread is flour, water and yeast. Let’s work through the processes need to make our bread.

How warm is ‘warm water’?

If you’re not sure how warm your water should be, here’s a simple baker’s trick.

Take the temperature you want your dough to be, let’s say 26˚c then double it, that’s 52˚c.

Take the temperature of the flour you are using. Let’s say it’s been in the larder and is only 18˚c.

Take that from the target temperature, and that’s the water temperature you need- 52˚c-18˚c =34˚c.

How should I add yeast to my bread?

The straight dough method is the simplest. We simply add all the ingredients straight into the flour. It’s important we remember to keep the salt and sugar away from the yeast

The second method is to make a ferment.  Here we mix the yeast with some of the flour to be used and leave it to naturally ferment and multiply. This gives the yeast a boost and a head start, perfect when making rich products like sweet buns.

When yeast starts to ferment, a complicated series of enzyme changes takes place. This causes the production of carbon dioxide and alcohol. This also allows the gluten of the dough to become softened and more elastic over time.

There are two routes we can take in starting our dough off.

Basic all in one method.

This is great for beginners. Dissolve the salt and sugar if using in the water. Crumble or mix in your yeast then work in the water followed by your oil or melted butter. You can then move on to kneading the dough and leaving it to prove.

The Autolyse method.

If time is not an issue this is a good way to insure as much of the protein in the flour forms gluten.

Autolyse is a French term relating to allowing the gluten to form naturally in the dough. Both moisture and time are needed to hydrate the dough. Often with the all in one method very little time is given before kneading. The idea was formed in the 1970^s to combat the trend of overly aggressive production of bread. This spoilt the flavour and natural colour of the bread.

How to Autolyse

Measure out any salt or sugar needed and put to one side.  Measure the cold water for the dough then add the yeast and mix into the flour. Form into a dough then cover the bowl and leave the dough to stand for twenty to thirty minutes. When the dough has had its rest, work in the reserved salt/sugar and any fats to be used. The theory is that by allowing gluten to form within the dough before the kneading starts, we need to knead less. This means less work, and produces a better quality of loaf.

Why do you knead bread?

Now we have a slightly sticky dough formed in the bowl the tendency is to want to dive in and begin to knead the dough. This is the part a lot of people love. The chance to take out all that pent up aggression on a ball of dough and improve the bread as well. But does it?

Kneading the dough has two advantages. The kneading fully mixing all the ingredients together producing a smooth dough. The kneading process also stretches the strands of gluten formed in the dough and makes then more elastic. Over kneading, however, will make a tough, stiff dough that will lack volume. Under kneading will give us a weak dough that will be unable to stretch enough in baking. The loaf will rise in the oven, then collapse giving us a flat uneven loaf.

How do you knead bread?

I have my own method of kneading I use. I find this works well without feeling like you have done a round in the gym afterwards.

Stand with the right foot a little ahead of the left. (If your left-handed, reverse this) Keep your right hand straight with the palm turned downwards. Place the base of your hand on the dough and rock forward onto the right foot. This will push the dough and stretch it forward. Roll the hand counter clockwise to turn the dough 90˚and pull it back towards you going back onto the left foot. Now rock forward repeating the stretching movement until the dough is smooth and elastic.

By using this method we are using our upper body weight to do the work and not relying on our arm muscles to do the work.

Why leave bread to ‘prove’?

We now need to the yeast time to work. The yeast cells will begin to feed on the carbohydrates in the flour. As they do this, they will produce waste gas (carbon dioxide). The yeast also divides and multiplies increasing the amount of yeast available in the dough.

It’s the carbon dioxide gas that’s the key to a light loaf. As the gas is heated within the bread it expands and forces the dough out and up to form the finished loaf.  The kneading process has produced the elasticity the bread needs to swell in the oven without breaking.

How do I know if the dough is proved?

The common measure of when a dough has proven is that it has doubled in size. What’s important here is your perception of WARM. The ideal proving dough temperature is just below blood heat. Anywhere the dough is placed to prove should only be just warm. So many people put the dough next to the oven or radiator because of what THEY feel to be warm, not what the dough needs.

Tip.

In the hotel we would bake the bread twice a day, but only make it once. The breakfast person would mix the dough in the morning. The dough needed for lunch was removed and left in a cool place to prove. The balance would be stored in our cold room at about 3˚c. In the late afternoon the dough was brought back out, perfectly proved. We would then form our rolls to be baked later and served with dinner.

Second kneading -knocking back.

As I have mentioned the yeast feeds on the carbohydrates in the dough to produce the gas we need. The yeast cells can only feed on the food they are in contact with. So once all the food source has been used, gas production will stop and the proving stall. In conduction with this the yeast will stop multiplying within the dough.

To give the proving a boost we lightly knead the dough again. The objective where is not to toughen the gluten anymore but simply to expose the yeast to a new food source.  As the yeast now has a foothold in the dough. It’s also a suitable time to introduce any products (spices, butter, dried fruits) that might have affected the yeast earlier.

Shaping the dough.

It’s now time to shape the dough into the finished item/s. As soon as the dough has been knocked back divide if necessary and form into your loaves or rolls.

For rolls form a ball with the flat of your hand by moving the hand in a circle. As you feel the dough forming a smooth surface against your skin. Start to bring your fingers in, so the dough forms a ball against the cup of your hand and the table. Lay these onto a floured baking sheet.

For a loaf, flatten the dough out, then roll the dough over itself to form a loaf shape. This can then ether be placed on a floured baking sheet or in a baking tin.

The second proving.

I find the best way of proving loaves of bread if you don’t have a proving draw is to use a bin bag. A clear one is best as you can see how the dough is progressing.

Open the bag right up and lay it on the table.  Spray a mist of water into the bag then place the baking tray inside the bag. Grip the top of the open end with both hands then give a quick upward flick. Bring your hands down quickly and fold the end of the bag under the tray. This should create a balloon of air trapped in the bag with the tray inside. The dough will now create its own heat inside the bag proving the bread in perfect moist heat to avoid a skin forming.

Tip.

Some chefs in a hurry will waft the steam from a kettle into the bag to speed up the process. If you have a really cold kitchen, it a good one to keep up your sleeve.

What type of oven is best for bread?

At last, to the baking. What type of oven you use is personal preference. Commercial bread ovens tend to be of a letterbox shape.in these ovens, not only can the baking temperature be set but also how much of that heat comes from the top or the bottom. We also have an option to inject steam into the oven at the start of baking. This gives us total control of the baking. But if your oven at home is not as flexible a fan assisted oven is your best bet.

In general yeast good need, a high baking temperature. Bread rolls about 220˚c loaves of bread at bit cooler at about 195-200˚c. Rich buns containing a lot of sugar will be a bit cooler to avoid the sugar burning.

How do I get a good crust on my bread?

In order to get a good crust, the bread needs to start cooking in a steamy atmosphere. This hot steam forms the crust and produces gelatine on the surface to give the bread a nice shine. For that reason, a full oven always bakes better than a half empty one. A good dodge is to put a tray in the base of the oven as it warms up. When you put the bread into bake, throw a few ice cubes into the tray. The ice will form stream at first but then dry out to finish the bread off in a dry atmosphere.

With small crusty rolls spraying a mist of water with a little sugar dissolved will give a good glaze. This is done halfway through baking. However, this will only work if your oven can maintain its temperature with the door been opened. If not better to keep the door closed.

Dutch ovens.

This is basically a cast iron casserole with a shaped lid. The lid can become to cooking container or visa versa. The thickness of the metal means its less sensitive to the oven door been opened. And steam is retained inside the pot to help the crust. For a complete explanation look up theperfectloaf.com

Baking in a Dutch Oven can be done boy scout style outdoors but can also used indoors. This can be a very good way of baking a loaf when it difficult to keep and steam in your oven. If when you open the oven door you are greeted with a waft of steam and your glassed mist over, you’re ok. If not try out the Dutch oven.

How do I know if my bread is ready?

This is the traditional method of checking if your bread is ready.

After the recommended cooking time lift the bread using a tea towel or oven cloth. Tap the base of the bread and listen. The cooked bread should make a hollow sound. If the sound is a dull thud the centre is still wet and unrisen.

The second option is to use a probe thermometer. Lighter breads like Focaccia should be between 83˚c – 91˚c in the centre. Heaver rich breads should be between 88˚c – 91˚c in the centre.

To cool your bread, place it on a cooling wire to allow air to circulate freely around the loaf. Always remove your loaves from baking tins if used or the bread will sweat, and the crust become leathery. A good deal of restraint will be needed here. Nothing is as nice as freshly bread and good butter.

Finally, make sure your bread is completely cool before wrapping. Or again the crust will be spoilt.

Well, that’s about it. Use this information to help you make a better loaf. Come and go as you need, but don’t get overly wound up on all the details. It’s important that making your own bread remains fun, and the kids love it. You might need to book the cleaners in afterwards though…..

Enjoy Life!

John.

©John Webber. 2023