Questions tagged [bread]
Questions about kneading, baking, storing, and culinary use of any kind of bread.
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Is there anything I can add to homemade bread to preserve it?
I love making our own bread - we rarely buy shop bought, but it tends to go off very quickly. Part of the appeal is that it doesn't have any "junk" in it - artificial preservatives - which I'm sure ...
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What are the pros and cons of storing bread in various locations?
Why should/shouldn't I store my bread in the fridge/freezer/breadbox/plastic bag/etc?
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How do you raise your dough in cold seasons?
It is winter down here in Australia and I find it challenging to find a warm spot to raise my bread dough. What I have been doing is placing the dough in the oven (not switched on) with a pot of hot ...
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Good breads for evening cooking?
Are there good bread styles or techniques for baking bread in the evening after a day at work?
Specifically, there's a couple of us who have taken to bringing food for a meeting every couple of weeks,...
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How can I create steam in a normal oven to promote bread oven spring?
Oven spring and a crisp crust on bread are largely due to high heat and high humidity. Commercial bakery ovens have steam injectors. How can I replicate this high humidity environment in my home ...
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What makes a bread either close or open crumbed/textured?
What causes the texture of bread to be open, ie with lots of large holes, or close, ie a regular, uniform tender crumb with no large holes? How can I achieve either?
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Why stretch and fold vs traditional kneading of bread dough?
Many recent recipes I'm seeing for bread, this one for example, are using a strech and fold technique rather than a traditional knead. Whats the advantage here? It sure seems to work, but I'm not ...
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What's the purpose of a bread box?
For some reason I always thought bread boxes were supposed to be wood, and that some property of wood helped keep bread fresh. Like a cigar box, perhaps. But after looking for a bread box, I see ...
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What effect do different slash patterns have on bread oven spring?
Slashes in bread loaves are designed to promote oven spring but there are many different patterns. Some running the length of a loaf, some in a checkered pattern. I've been told this is to promote ...
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Bread doesn't split at the score
I've got to the point where my bread springs beautifully (I can see it grow). Unfortunately, no matter how I score it, the score always spreads open gently, then hardens along with the rest of the ...
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How warm must dough be in order to rise?
While making some focaccia this afternoon, my wife said, "sure the house is 'warm'; it'll be fine." One hour later, no rising. It may be worth noting that our house is 66F. So we stuck it in a warm ...
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My sourdough starter is bubbling but not rising, suggestions?
I've been trying to grow my own sourdough starter; I went with a 'pure' method, with 50g each of hard-wheat flour from a local mill and water. I've fed it once and it seems to be bubbling nicely ...
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Can I refrigerate bread dough after the first rise and bake it later?
I do not have enough time to bake my bread. Can I refrigerate it or let it sit on the counter and bake it later in the day?
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Create my own high-gluten flour by mixing vital wheat gluten and bread/AP flour?
Has anyone had success with giving their bread or all-purpose flour an extra gluten kick by adding vital wheat gluten? I would like to know what ratio to mix the the two ingredients with, or perhaps ...
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What temperature of water will kill yeast?
In other words, what is the maximum temperature of water I can use in yeast bread dough? I don't proof the yeast, I use rapid dry yeast and I just add it to the other ingredients and knead it in.
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Egg replacer for bread dough?
I've been reading (most) questions and answers (here) about baking bread (which I love) and how to replace eggs in many recipes (which I wish I didn't need). Turns out, I too have egg allergy (not too ...
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How to convert a recipe calling for active dry yeast into rapid rise yeast?
I have a recipe for rolls where the first stage calls for 2 packages active dry yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water to be mixed until the yeast is proofed, and then 1/4 cup cubed butter is ...
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Powdered milk in bread recipe
I have a book with several bread recipes that call for 1-2 tablespoons of powdered milk. This isn't something I usually use and I was thinking substituting it with normal milk, and putting less water ...
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Techniques to get a nice golden-brown crust on bread
How do I make sure the crust of a baguette, etc. turns out a nice golden-brown when baking?
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What ensures big holes in my bread?
Is it a high hydration rate? Minimal kneading? High-protein flour to hold hydration?
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Uses for stale bread?
Community wiki question. I'd like to compile an index of uses for stale bread. Here's a couple off the top of my head. Feel free to just go ahead and edit this list:
As an ingredient
Breadcrumbs, ...
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Why does my bread collapse in my bread machine?
I have a bread machine and when I follow the recipes in the included booklet that came with the machine, the bread rises for about an hour, but the collapses back on itself and comes out rock hard and,...
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In my new mixer, my bread dough gets wrapped around the kneading hook. What should I do?
I just got a new stand mixer - a nice, heavy 500W mixer with a 5-liter bowl.
Until now, I'd been making bread by hand and kneading it on the countertop.
So the first thing I tried was using the mixer ...
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What to do about yeast that doesn't work?
I am using a new container of yeast from the store; I keep it well-sealed (it's a small jar) and refrigerated.
I make sure to use warm water in bread recipes - I check the temperature using a ...
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Preheat the Dutch oven (and the oven itself) for No-Knead Bread?
I'm trying the America's Test Kitchen tweak of No-Knead Bread. The video segment on the website conflicts with the attached written recipe (sorry, paywalled). The video clearly says to preheat the ...
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Can I successfully bake previously-frozen bread dough?
I prefer my bread freshly baked (who doesn't?), but my mixer prefers kneading two loaves at a time to just kneading one. I have tried to freeze the second loaf before baking it, but when I thaw it, it ...
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How do I feed a sourdough starter?
The cookbook I'm using tells me how to make a sourdough starter, but not how to feed it after I take out what I need for the bread. What do I do with the starter once I've used some? I don't think I'...
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Amount of salt in bread
I've been baking bread on and off during the last two years. Now, finally, I found a nice recipe. It calls for 2% of salt (20gr per kg of flour). It gives a tasty bread.
On the other hand, the health ...
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delaying moldy bread
I always keep bread around, home-made or otherwise. Is there a way to keep it from molding, or at least delay the process?
I've tried the fridge with some success (extra day or two), but I don't ...
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Baking lots of bread - keeping a yeast starter
Like many people sheltering-at-home, I'm baking more bread than usual. My yeast supply is running low, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get more on demand. I'd like a simple way to make sure I have ...
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What should I cover bread dough with while it's rising?
If you let (bread) dough rise, the recipe always asks to cover it. Years ago, I read to cover it with a wet towel. Nowadays, I see more and more recipes that ask for plastic wrap (aka saran or cling ...
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What is the purpose of sugar in baking plain bread?
My recipe says 1 tablespoon of sugar per loaf.
This seems like too small an amount for flavor.
The recipe is as follows:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
1 tablespoon ...
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How do I make my bread/buns super soft?
I have recently started making bread (up to my sixth batch). All I am trying to do is make super soft, plain, white bread/buns.
I have tried a different recipe each time, but none of them have even ...
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What is "pizza crust yeast"?
Someone gave me a bunch of envelopes of pizza crust yeast, "specially formulated for pizza crust". The packets also say that no rise time or proofing is needed, and that it's "NOT recommended for ...
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Sticky and unmanagable sourdough
I've recently started a sourdough starter culture (using equal parts water and spelt flour) and have used it in a sourdough bread recipe I got from the Telegraph. I've halved the recipe in the article ...
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Why is butter incorporated into the dough last when making Brioche?
I made Brioche for the first time tonight using the Rich Man's Brioche recipe from Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice.
The recipe basically leaves out the butter until the very end when the dough is ...
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Why does my bread keep 'blowing out'?
Instead of swelling as a whole loaf, my loaf will often expand in the oven off to the side or the bottom - looking 'blown out', a big tear. This results in a loaf that leans to one side, doesn't rise ...
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How long can I keep bread dough in the refrigerator?
If I've made some dough and want to bake it later, how long can I store it in the refrigerator? Do I need to do anything special to make that work out? Are there any types of bread it won't work well ...
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Why does bread with filling separate and how do I prevent it?
Sometimes when I make sausage kolaches or cinnamon rolls the bread layers pull away from the sausage or the filling and leave an open space inside. The separation is cosmetically unattractive, and can ...
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Using low oven temperature to accelerate proofing
During wintertime it is often cold enough in my apartment that proofing takes much longer than in summer. I'd like to use my oven to create a warmer environment, in which the dough would rise faster. ...
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how to break up a bread recipe?
I found this recipe for a pull apart cheesy bread that I love. It turned out ok the first time, and I'd like to try it again for a dinner I'm having this week.
However, I don't have a lot of time to ...
user5672
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Techniques for making sourdough starter in cold/altitude
I want to try my hand at making sourdough starter but live in high altitude and cold weather. I'm not sure if the altitude is an issue but I don't think my house is warm enough on its own to allow a ...
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yeast substitutes and proper measurements
I was wondering if I could get some advice as I have intolerances to yeast and have heard of a few substitutions from: baking soda, baking powder, lemon juice, milk and yogurt.
The question comes to ...
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Prevent brioche buns from spreading during rise
I am trying to work out how to make the perfect brioche bun for burgers.
I followed the Pink Whisk recipe, but that had a few problems.
The main one was that the buns spread wide during the rise, ...
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Is there a bread you can mix in the evening, leave overnight, and bake in morning?
I'm afraid I know little about breadmaking.
Is there a bread where you could:
-- mix it and I guess knead it in the evening (say around 9pm),
-- leaving it out overnight (perhaps to rise (?) etc.?)
...
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From regular fresh yeast to sourdough
I know that there are formulas for switching from and to sourdough and or preferments, but even though my library grows I haven't found such a formula.
I have a general idea of the fact that a ...
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how to make dense texture bread?
I would like to make the dense&soft bread like the bottom one and the taste is plain not sweet. What techniques will make bread closer to the one I want? I also want it to be chewy, not just soft.
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How do I make soft chapattis?
I have been trying to make chapattis (an Indian flat unleavened bread, somewhat like a wheat tortilla), using the following recipe for the dough: 300ml water, 250g whole wheat flour, 250g white wheat ...
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Why should I let bread cool before slicing and eating?
Many recipes for bread and such suggest that bread should be fully cooled (like 2 hours or so) before eating. It's sooooo tasty right out of the oven - why wait? Does something important happen in ...
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How much salt can I safely add to bread dough?
I recently made ciabatta, which turned out very well, with a good crust and nice open crumb. However, I felt it could use more salt to give extra flavour. I'm aware that salt and yeast do not make ...
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