Bread Baking Tips to Remember

1) If you want to speed up the rising of your bread make a homemade proofing box. simply place your bread in an oven with a pot of boiling hot water and close the door. The moisture from the water will keep the bread from drying out too much on top and the heat will make it rise faster.

2) Use as little flour as possible when shaping loaves. For most bread you should be able to handle the dough without any flour.

3) If you want a good crust on your rustic artisan bread place a shallow pan of water at the bottom of the oven while you bake.

4) Long slow rises with a small amount of yeast produces a bread with great texture and more depth of flavor.

5) Let hot bread cool at least 15 minutes before slicing. The bread will cut better.

6) If loaves are browning too quickly tent them loosely with aluminum foil.

7) To check if a loaf is done take it out of pan and tap it on the bottom. It should sound hollow. If you have a food thermometer the temperature should be between 190°F and 205°F.

8) After the first rise to see if the dough has risen enough press into it with your finger. The dough should give way easily and the dough should not spring up.

9) There are 2 ways to develop gluten in bread. You can knead it until it is smooth and elastic (around 10 min) or you can let it rise a long time (overnight or longer).

10) Cold slows yeast activity. It does not stop it. You can let dough rise in the refrigerator if you don't need anytime soon.

11) Hard (alkaline) water weakens gluten so bread will have less volume. If your water is hard you may consider using bottled water.

12) If your dough is too dry sprinkle water on it while you knead it to soften it up.

13) Don't use expired yeast. It is a living organism and if you've had it in the cabinet for years chances are too much of it has died.

14) Always start your bread recipe with warm water (about 100°F-110°F). The warmth gets the yeast working faster.   

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Shaping a Bread Loaf

Step 1: make the dough into a rectangle by gently stretching it out. Trim the rectangle if necessary so it if the same width as the pan.
Step 2: Roll the dough pressing down after each turn to make a log
Step 3: Seal the seam by pressing tightly, and placing seam side down in the pan.

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

I love to make pizza dough. It is versatile and very easy to make. The following is the recipe I use.

1 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (just warm to the touch)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2- 3 cups flour (50% bread flour and 50% all purpose)

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl, then add enough flour to make a soft, but workable dough. Pizza dough cannot be stiff or else it will be hard to stretch later. If it sticks to things a little that's alright. Knead it until it is smooth, about 5 minutes, then place in a greased bowl and let rise 1 1/2-2hrs. Punch it down and sit it in the refrigerator overnight. Pizza dough is really best after it ferments in the refrigerator 12...18...24....even 48 hours. The dough must come to room temperature before you can use it.

how to Make Bread Dough Starter

Dough Starters are a wonderful way to add flavor to bread. They also improve dough texture. A dough starter is like a pet you keep in your refrigerator It is basically yeast mixed with flour and water left to ferment and develop in flavor. It may use wild yeasts as in traditional sour doughs, or a store bought yeast. Those made from wild yeasts will develop a more interesting flavor, but they take longer to make. To make a quick starter mix about 1 1/2 cups of warm water with a teaspoon of sugar and a small amount of yeast (less than a half package). Then add enough flour (all purpose will do) to make the consistency of very thick pancake batter. Let the mixture sit for 18-24 hrs at room temperature. Your starter is now ready to use. If you are not ready to use it keep it in the refrigerator and take it out once a week to give it a little more flour and water and let it sit out at room temp. for 18-24 hrs. Never use it all at once. Keep a little to keep the starter going indefinitely. Above is my starter after sitting out for 12 hrs. Note how bubbly it is. Don't you just love the power of yeast?