Does the direction matter in the Stretch and Fold method?

Question

I am currently making Poolish Ciabatta bread from the recipe in Bread Bakers Apprentice. Within the recipe, one of the methods used to shape and work the dough is the "Stretch and Fold" method. Essentially, you stretch the bread until it is a long rectangle and then you fold the two sides down letter style.

My question is, does it matter what direction to fold the dough in. Do I have to continue folding in the same direction so the bread dough begin to "line up" the gluten development?

Asked by Jay

Answer

Stretch and fold should be done in both directions.

One stretch and fold, in most techniques that I read, is stretching like you stay, folding, then rotating 90 degrees and repeating.

You can see an excellent example of stretch and fold in this video and here. Where they do it and then turn it - that's one stretch and fold.

Answered by rfusca

Check more discussion of this question.

How much “alternative” flour can I substitute for white wheat flour?

Question

Most of the bread and bagel recipes I use (such as no-knead bread) call for only white wheat flour. I'd like to integrate other flours (such as whole wheat, flaxseed, and buckwheat) into the recipes.

• How much of the white flour can I replace? 50%?
• Which grains are better than others for wheat bread?
• Are other changes to the recipe necessary?

Asked by kevingessner

Answer

Mark Bittman actually includes a very handy quick-reference flour substitution table in How To Cook Everything (mine is the 10th anniversary edition, not sure if it's in previous editions). This assumes that the bread recipe calls for all-purpose flour and tells you how much you can substitute for the quantity the recipe calls for:

• Whole wheat: use up to 50% in recipes
• Rye:
  • light: up to 40%
  • medium: up to 30%
  • dark/pumpernickle: up to 20%
• Cornmeal: up to 10%
• Buckwheat: up to 20%
• Rice: up to 25-30%
• Nut: up to 25-30%
• Soy: up to 25%
• Spelt: up to 100%; then either decrease water by 25% or increase flour by 25%
• Oat: up to 25-30%

The reason that different types of flours substitute at different ratios is primarily due to gluten content. Breads (both quick and yeast) made with alternative flours, especially non-wheat flours, will be heavier, denser, and less elastic; the substitution ratios above are meant to provide a nice balance between the nutritional and flavor advantages of the alternative flours with the texture qualities of all-purpose flour. For more information about the specific properties of each type of flour listed here, see the section called "The Basics of Flour" in How to Cook Everything (p. 835-838 in the 10th Anniversary ed.)

_{Note: These substitutions are specifically for breads, where you want a sturdy, elastic structure. Low-protein or low-gluten flours may substitute at different ratios in other types of baked goods like desserts where you want a finer, more tender crumb. But I didn't get into that since the question was specifically about bread.}

Answered by Laura

Check more discussion of this question.

Why does bread with filling separate and how do I prevent it?

Question

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 make the product more difficult to eat because it tends to fall apart when bitten.

This doesn't always happen and I don't want to go to the other extreme where the layers in a cinnamon roll are indistinguishable.

What causes this separation and, more importantly, how do I control when it happens.

Asked by Sobachatina

Answer

The most recent Cook's Illustrated has a cinnamon swirl bread article that discusses this problem. According to them, the root cause is a lack of binding between the dough and filling. Gas from the yeast, and steam generated during baking, push into the spiral, creating pressure that compresses the dough and widens the gap.

In the specific case of cinnamon bread, they recommend using powdered (confectioner's) sugar instead of granulated, and using a large amount of cinnamon. The finer sugar dissolves more easily in moisture from the bread, quickly creating a paste that is reinforced by the cornstarch and by starches in the ground cinnamon. Misting the bread before adding the filling also helps.

In order to make a sausage filling adhere to the bread, you would need a sticky, water-soluble element. Cornstarch or powdered gelatin spring to mind immediately as possibilities.

The other tactic they employ is to actually expose the filling during proofing, preventing the yeast's gas (and later, steam) from building up alongside the filling. Once the filling is rolled into the dough, the loaf is cut in half lengthwise. With the two halves laid side-by-side, cut face up (exposing the filling), they are wound around each other, folding the left piece over the right until the end is reached (this is called a "Russian braid"). The ends are pinched together, and the loaf is placed in the pan to proof. This, obviously, should help with any kind of filling, not just cinnamon sugar.

Answered by Josh Caswell

Check more discussion of this question.

Should I preheat my bread baking containers?

Question

I have read that artisan breads turn out better when they are baked in a container that can trap the steam. Examples I have read are baking bread in a dutch oven, a ceramic, lidded bowl, or even a covered roasting pan.

The instructions that I have read for baking bread on a stone always call for the stone to be preheated with the oven to maximize the oven spring when the bread is introduced.

Should I do the same with other containers and preheat them with the oven? If so are there any tricks to getting the dough into the container without burning myself?

Asked by Sobachatina

Answer

If you are using a additional containers or surfaces in the oven for baking, you should absolutely pre-heat it with the oven. Use an IR thermometer to measure the actual temperature of the container - a dutch oven or heavy stone will take longer to come up to temperature than the air in the oven will, so the oven will claim to be preheated sooner than it is actually ready.

Remember that temperature and heat are two different things - one of the benefits of using a baking stone or dutch oven or other "heavy" thing is that it stores a lot of HEAT. Air at 450F and Cast Iron at 450F contain very different amounts of heat, and it is heat that will bake your bread. You can tell that they have soaked up as much heat as they can when their temperature is close to your oven set-point, which will take a while.

The only possible exception to this would be if you are just using a thin sheet metal steam tray to cover your pizza stone to trap steam, since it has so little thermal mass. A thin tray could probably be put over the bread without preheating the tray since it won't absorb or store much thermal energy.

To prevent burning, choose containers with a good, solid handle, and get quality oven mitts, preferably with long-ish sleeves to protect your forearms.

Answered by Sam Ley

Check more discussion of this question.

Why add malt to bread?

Question

Several bread recipes that I have been looking at recently call for rye malt.

I know that malt is sweet but what other effect will malt have on a bread recipe?

Asked by Sobachatina

Answer

Malt syrups and powders come in two forms, Diastatic and Non-Diastatic. The Non-Diastatic kind is just sugar, and is only useful for adding a little sweetness and flavor.

Diastatic Malt Syrups and Powders are made by taking grain (usually barley, but others can be used, like rye), allowing it to sprout, then toasting it lightly to halt the sprouting process. The little roots and stuff are rubbed off, and the grain is ground into a powder, or soaked into a syrup. This is very similar to the process used to convert grains for beer-making.

The syrup is rich in enzymes that are created by the sprouting grain, for the purpose of converting the seed's starch reserves into sugar for the young plant. Non-Diastatic versions have these enzymes deactivated by heat, leaving the syrup "inert".

The enzymes and sugars do three important things

1. Provide nutrients for yeast.
2. Facilitate the conversion of starch into sugar, making bread more flavorful.
3. The little shot of extra sugar also gives yeast an initial boost.

Here is an article on malt syrups and powders and how to make them yourself: http://artisanbreadbaking.com/flour/malts/

And King Arthur Flour sells a version of the powder, along with some recipe examples: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/diastatic-malt-powder-16-oz

Answered by Sam Ley

Check more discussion of this question.

What is 'Bread Improver'?

Question

I purchased a bread maker years ago and am happy with the bread I make with it. I was at a cooking supply store and saw Bread Improver for sale in a jar, apparently for bread makers.

What is it? Does anyone else use it, and what does it do?

Asked by calico-cat

Answer

Bread Improver is a mix of various acids and enzymes that serve to strengthen the gluten in the flour and feed the yeast, both of which yield a better loaf. The idea is to give bread a similar texture and taste to sourdough-based loaves, without having to go through the laborious feeding process usually involved with that method.

For more information, look at this Wikipedia article.

Answered by ElendilTheTall

Check more discussion of this question.

Why didn't my 100% whole wheat bread proof?

Question

After enjoying many of the recipes out of The Bread Baker's Apprentice I moved on to Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads to learn about how to make hearth-style 100% whole grain bread. Unfortunately my first loaf reminded me of the total flops I used to make before reading through BBA and using its recipes. It was like a bread brick. I ended up deciding that croutons were the only suitable use. Since then I've made more recipes from the book, but always using his "transitional" variant of half bread flour, half wheat flour. These have risen and proofed perfectly.

The technique from Whole Grain Breads involves pre-doughs. Flour, a very small amount of yeast, and water make up one dough ball that is placed in the refrigerator overnight. More flour, salt, and water are left as another dough ball on the counter overnight. Both enzyme activity and the rise in the fridge contribute to the texture and taste of the resulting bread, at least as far as I understand the theory. The next day the final dough is formed, allowed to rise once and proof once, and bake.

With my first loaf I attempted a free-standing boule. I know that surface tension is critical to getting a boule to rise up and not out, but I am pretty sure that my surface tension on the boule was correct. For the transitional loaves since I've used a loaf pan and a sandwich shape, which may have helped them to rise. I've also done transitional pitas which seemed to puff up just fine during rising, even during proofing as small boules before rolling out.

I don't want to try the 100% whole grain recipe again without knowing that it will work. I know that some bakers add vital wheat gluten to 100% whole grain recipes to ensure that they rise, but it seems like Reinhart's recipes should work without the additional gluten. Any other ideas for what may have gone wrong?

Asked by justkt

Answer

You said that the dough rose but then didn't proof.

Lightly textured whole wheat bread is difficult for two reasons-
1- There isn't as much gluten.
2- The gluten that is there tends to get cut up by sharp wheat fragments.

The result is, as with all poor gluten development, that the loaves have trouble maintaining their structure, don't rise as well, and the result is the dense, tough, or doughy bread that most people think of with horror when they think of whole wheat.

There are a couple ways to deal with this problem-
1- Use very very finely ground wheat flour. If you can feel gritty shards then it will have trouble rising.
2- Add vital wheat gluten. This may be seen as cheating and is similar to the transitional recipes that you said you had success with. Many whole wheat recipes call for extra gluten.

If you don't add more gluten in some form you can make a successful boule but don't expect it to be as light and open as one made with white flour.
What you might lose in delicateness you will more than make up for in flavor and nutrition.

Answered by Sobachatina

Check more discussion of this question.

Why do you need to refrigerate bread dough overnight?

Question

I'm making a no-knead bread (actually my very first time making bread!) and right after mixing the dry ingredients with water, it's supposed to sit for a couple hours to rise and then be placed in the refrigerator for some long period of time. Well wouldn't you know, after mixing the ingredients I accidentally let it sit all night - so it sat at room temperature for some 8-10 hours before I realized it. As soon as I found it in the morning, I put it in the fridge, where it has sat for now about 9 hours.

The dough's consistency seems fine. Is there any reason I shouldn't go ahead and bake it? (after bringing it back down to room temp, as the recipe calls for) Why does it need to be refrigerated after rising at room temperature for a couple hours?

Asked by Ricket

Answer

The reason for doing delayed fermentation in the fridge is that the yeast development is slowed down, while still allowing the enzymes that naturally occur in the flour to do their work (converting starches to sugars, making a more flavorful dough).

The risk of doing it on the counter instead of the fridge is that the enzymes are working AND the yeast is working, which can over-leaven the bread, and they'll eat up the sugars you are trying to create with enzymes. Over-leavened bread isn't ideal, but it isn't the end of the world either. There is a lot to learn about bread baking if you want to really excel at it, but "just bake it, it'll be fine" is always present as you experiment - glad the loaf turned out well!

"No-Knead" bread is a great introduction to "rustic" doughs (very high water content), and to cold fermentation. Cold fermentation is about the best thing you can do for your bread as a home baker, whether or not you are using the no-knead recipe - I cold ferment nearly everything I bake.

If you want to learn more about the process and jump off the deep end, Peter Reinhart's book "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" is a great place to start. It is detailed without being pedantic, simple without being over-simplified, and oriented for the home baker without forgetting the reasons that professionals do things the way they do.

Answered by phidauex

Check more discussion of this question.

Can I bake bread with long-life milk?

Question

My normal breadmaker recipe uses milk as the main liquid ingredient. Normally I use fresh semi-skimmed milk for this and get great results. However, at the moment I only have "long-life" (UHT treated) milk. Is this an acceptable substitute on its own, and if not, is there a way I can tweak the recipe to work better with this milk?

Answer

Yes, you can definitely use UHT milk in bread.

UHT is not usable for some applications, because its proteins have been changed by the heat. But in bread, you don't need the proteins from the milk. Bread recipes include milk to make the dough richer, so it is mostly the fat content that matters. Using UHT won't change anything in the dough structure. I even think that the usual unpleasant taste won't be noticeable, but I am not so sure about that. Still, it gets diluted a lot in dough, so if you can drink UHT as-is, you shouldn't have a problem with the bread taste.

Check more discussion of this question.

Baker's Math Formula System - Why Isn't the Flour Mass in Corn Bread Formula 100%?

Question

I am currently in the middle of a challenge to bake every formula in the Bread Baker's Apprentice book (BBA). This book describes a principal called the Baker's Math Formula System where all ingredients are compared to the total flour weight in the formula as a ratio. (BBA referes to recipes as formulas.) By definition (or so I thought), the ratio for the total flour weight in a given formula is always supposed to be 100%.

The author includes this analysis for each formula in the book. Just last night, I looked at the Baker's Percentage for the Corn Bread formula in more detail and found that the ratio listed for the flour is actually 51.1%. How could this be if the total flour weight is supposed to be 100%? Would this have anything to do with the fact that this is a chemically leavened bread?

Answer

I decided to try to e-mail my question to the author, Peter Reinhart. As it turns out, there is a typo in the book!

"Together, the flour and cornmeal should equal 100%. It's the flour % that's listed wrong, not the cornmeal, because the total is 14 oz and the flour is listed as 8 oz. If you divide 8 by 14 you get 57.1%, which means the cornmeal is correctly listed at 42.9% So change the flour percent -- that's a typo I can see can easily happen since 1 and 7 are kind of similar looking and easily overlooked."

Check more discussion of this question.

Baking bread with spelt flour, without using a bread pan

Question

I ran out of "normal" wheat flour a few days ago, so I had to bake my bread with the closest thing - spelt flour.

I noticed the dough was a lot stickier than when using wheat flour, and when baked, the bread came out flat (like a thick pancake). The taste was fine, but because it was so flattened out, there was a lot more crust than usual (and the children don't like crust).

I usually bake my bread directly on the baking plate, not using any bread pan, and for wheat flour, that works fine. Do I need a bread pan to prevent the bread from running out, or is there something else I can do?

Answer

Although similar, spelt has more protein and less starch than wheat flour. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat#Nutrition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelt#Nutrition

This means that it will create a great structure but won't absorb as much liquid. This would result in exactly what you saw- it was sticky from water and protein and too loose to hold its shape but baked with a good crust.

The recipes I have seen use a mixture of flours that includes spelt.

Try adding less water.

Check more discussion of this question.

What job is the fat doing when I prepare bread dough, and what to expect if I use the wrong amount?

Question

I've been baking bread for years and no longer really measure the ingredients. But I'm no expert on the science of what I'm doing. I add fat (lard) because I've always added fat.

What job does the fat do? And if I have long been using too little or too much fat how would this affect my loaf?

And then, writing this up, I'm also wondering about yeast. I guess if I use too little yeast I am going to get a loaf which rises insufficiently. But what would be the consequences of using too much yeast?

Answer

Amongst other things, fats help moderate/impede gluten development, by not allowing water to activate the proteins.

Too much yeast and your dough will be flabby and over-risen.

Check more discussion of this question.

What are the ways of classifying bread?

Question

What words and dimensions are used to describe bread and their recipes?

I realize describing bread is subjective, I'm only looking for common words to describe bread.

Answer

As for judging crumb, my favorite two terms used by German Meister Bakers are juicy (saftig) and woolly (wollig).

The first, praise for tarter breads such as sour rye; the second for toast bread and lunch rolls.

An unflattering term would be cotton (Baumwolle) for flavorless and dry fluff.

Check more discussion of this question.

Topping bread with poppy seeds or sesame seeds

Question

Should the seeds be sprinkled over the dough before baking, or will they burn?

Should they be soaked first to prevent burning?

Should a wash (cornstarch?) be used to stick them to the dough?

Anything else I need to know?

Answer

You should sprinkle them onto the dough before baking. They shouldn't burn, but they will toast and release some tasty oils. You don't need to soak them either.

Using a wash depends on the wetness of your dough. If it's fairly wet, you'll probably be fine. If it's a drier, more stable dough, use a simple egg wash, which will help the seeds stick and give a nice glossy finish to the top of your loaf.

Check more discussion of this question.

Bread for the very beginner

Question

First of all, thank you for reading this absolute beginner topic :)

I want to make bread at home. To be specific, I used to live in Germany and ate a lot of this type of bread:

It's called Zwiebelbrot in Germany.

I also have something like this.

For the very very, absolute beginner, what do I really need to make bread at home?
Do I need a bread-maker machine, or is my kitchen already enough for this task?
Are there any tip that you want to give me on my first bread adventure?

---

RESULT:

After my FIRST try ever to make bread, I'm so proud:)

After that, the raw product was:

The finished product:)

and the grande finale:)

Thank you very much :)

Answer

To make basic bread, including Zwiebelbrot, all you need is a place to mix and knead ingredients (clean work surface or large mixing bowl), a warmish place for rising, and an oven with reasonable temperature control.

For the onions you need a small pan, and a stove top. Or you can do them in the oven too!

Therefore, your kitchen looks fine.

Making bread is not difficult, or hard work. The effort and time required for kneading bread is way overrated. Also have patience, allow the dough to rise properly.

Expect a few failures; search the net about any failures, if you have them.

Use a marker pen on the oven dial when you find the right temperature (The calibration of the dials is usually not very accurate).

For Zwiebelbrot, you can cook the onions in a shallow tray or light pan in the oven while waiting for it to come up to temperature for the bread. Make sure you cool the onions before spreading on the dough. A simple way is to spread them out on a spare metal oven tray for a few moments first.

Check more discussion of this question.

What's the best approach to baking bread with whole grains?

Question

I have a plethora of whole grains (barley, rye, wheat berries, kamut, spelt) sitting around my kitchen, and I'm getting bored with soups and salads. Is it possible to use these in bread (yeast, preferably, but quick/tea breads are also okay)?

If so, what are the best approaches/ratios? Should I cook them first? Let them sprout? Pointers to recipes would be greatly appreciated.

Answer

I use whole grains in my bread- wheat, oats, quinoa, etc.

There are a couple considerations: 1- rehydration If the grain won't be adequately rehydrated from just sitting in water for an hour then it should be precooked. Wheat berries, for example, definitely need to be cooked. They just won't get enough water or time in the dough while it is rising.

A little experimenting may need to be done to get the water ratio right.

2- sharpness Adding hard ingredients will change the dynamic of your dough kneading. For example, if you knead in a mixer then you might have to go at a slower speed to keep from shredding the gluten.

Sprouting grains is fantastic. Sprouted grains are very nutritious and have a completely different flavor that I find very interesting. Sprouts also have a lot of sugar in them. I sometimes replace some of the sugar in my recipes with sprouted, dried, and ground wheat berries.

Check more discussion of this question.

Baking two loaves at one time (from Artisan Breads book)- need to change amt of water added?

Question

I'm following a recipe from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book and want to bake two loaves at the same time. For one loaf, you are supposed to add one cup of water to a container in the oven, which steams the bread while baking. If baking two loaves, do I have to increase the amount of water or should one cup be enough?

Answer

The water is used to create steam used to promote crust on the surface of the bread. The only reason you would need to increase the water for steam would be if you started using a larger oven.

Check more discussion of this question.

Where can I buy American style bread flour in Europe

Question

I live in Germany, and all the flour here is made from soft winter wheat. I can get some durum semolina imported from Italy and sold as "hardwheat flour" (Hartweizenmehl), and that's about it. But most of the ressources on bred baking I read are of American origin, and they are all optimized for American style bread flour, made from the endosperm of spring wheat.

Is there a source within the Schengen zone which produces high-gluten flour and ships it to Germany? I think I read a comment somewhere on the site that Sweden has such flour, so maybe there is a producer who ships to Germany there. But I don't speak Swedish, so I can't research that. But I don't care if it comes from Sweden or another country, as long as I don't have to pay import taxes.

Answer

The UK has the right bread making flour in its supermarkets. I'd think that the UK has the closest to American style breads. Though it is outside of the Schengen zone, they do speak English and should be able to send you some. Try some companies such as Graig Farm, Wessex Mill, FWP Matthews or Flourbin.

These websites probably won't list delivery to Germany online however you can try telephoning them and see what other delivery options they have. The Wessexmill does list a retailer in Switzerland with there product.

Check more discussion of this question.

Sourdough in Bread Maker?

Question

Are there any bread machines that would allow making a sourdough rye bread? If not, could a bread maker simplify the process of making a sourdough loaf?

Answer

You could do it in a bread machine, but you're likely to get an inferior texture. Why? Well, sourdough starter is a a less consistent leavener than instant yeast, so the rise and proofing times vary considerably, even with the same starter. Each starter is also unique in how long it takes to rise bread. Some starters work almost as fast as instant yeast, others take 12 hours to reach full loaf height. I think you'll have a hard time finding a bread maker that can be programmed for a 12 hour rise.

Bread machines, which use a timer for the rise, will inevitably bake the bread when it is under-risen, or when it has risen and started to fall. The time window is actually quite narrow for a true sourdough; I've seen bread go from perfection to collapse in under 30 minutes.

For the best results, use a bread machine only to mix the dough, and do everything else by hand. Oh, and for the love of all that is good and holy, start preheating your oven early, because it has to be fully ready when the dough is. It's heartbreaking to watch helplessly as beautiful sourdough loaves collapse while your oven preheats.

Edit: A bread machine also won't do steam! The best artisan breads use steam during baking to get more oven spring out of their bread. You cannot do this with a bread machine, and you can forget doing baguettes, ciabatta, and many other fantastic breads.

Check more discussion of this question.

Bread postmortem (water to flour proportion)

Question

I made a bread that called for 1kg of flour and 700ml of water. That is a 70% hydration.

The problem was that the dough became absolutely soaked, so in the end I added more than 500g more flour. Which meant that my salt ratio was off...

The resulting bread was not too bad, but it wasn't great neither.

What is the 'proper' flour to water ratio? I've made bread with 55% water and that was OK. I know this depends on the flour, but some kind of rule of thumb must exist.

Edit I've made the same bread again. This time with 60% hydration as I'm using all purpose flour (11% proteins) and I don't have a mechanic mixer. It turned out alright, but a little bit low. I guess bread flour is really needed here.

Answer

Bread hydration varies widely. The "standard" bread using all-purpose (plain) flour has a ratio of water to flour weight (hydration) 60-65%. Flour with a higher protein level, labelled as bread, strong, or high-gluten, tend to use 65% hydration. Ciabatta and rustic breads generally use more water than normal. The extra water gives them more large, uneven holes in the interior of the bread (called the crumb), and generally leads to a higher-rising bread. These wetter doughs are often referred to as "slack" doughs in baker's parlance.

Here are a couple sample hydrations from Hammelman's bread baking:

• Baguettes with poolish, 66% hydration, all bread flour
• Ciabatta, 73% hydration, all bread flour
• Pain Rustique (rustic bread), 69% hydration, all bread flour
• Country Bread, 68% hydration, all bread flour
• Roasted Potato bread, 61% hydration, 85% bread flour / 15% whole wheat flour / 25% roasted potatoes
• Whole wheat bread, 68% hydration, 50/50 whole wheat and bread flour
• Semolina (Durum) bread, 62% hydration, 50/50 durum and bread flours

Mind you, it is quite possible to make a bread with even higher water content, if one is a skilled baker. Wetter breads (70% hydration and up) generally cannot be hand-kneaded normally, and require a mechanical mixer, stretch-and-fold kneading with a spatula, or autolysis. Autolysis is when you mix water and flour before adding yeast, and then allow it to sit. This allows enzymes in the flour to develop gluten before the rising begins, and can supplement or replace normal kneading.

Another approach, called double-hydration, is to add only part of the water before kneading. This allows you to knead the bread to develop gluten structure before it becomes too wet to knead.

For extremely wet breads, these methods may all be combined. I'm looking right now at a double-hydration, mechanically mixed, autolyzed, poolish-using ciabatta recipe that sits at 76% hydration.

Check more discussion of this question.