I’ve discovered a new hobby. I started baking bread a few weekends ago and found that I really like doing it. I think it stems from an experience I had a few years ago. I wanted pancakes but we didn’t have any mix so I looked up a recipe and I was shocked—shocked I say—at how simple it was. Before that moment I’d never given a thought to what was actually in pancake mix. Since then I’ve always made pancakes from scratch. I usually make a small batch just for Sunday breakfast but sometimes I’ll make a lot and freeze them and we’ll have pancakes all week.

Home-made tortillas are almost as easy except for the rolling process. Maybe one of these days I’ll pick up a tortilla press. Until then I don’t make tortillas all that often.

So I started baking bread on the weekend. I’ve only made about a half-dozen loaves. I write software for a living so it’s nice to make something real once in a while. I think cooking is easy for a programmer to get his head around and do well. Recipes are like little computer programs that make food and baking is basically just chemistry.

But I am having some trouble and I hope someone out there with more experience can help me. I’ve been making simple white bread and wheat bread and I’m relatively satisfied with the flavor of the loaves except for one thing: they’re not rising as much as I’d like. I’m cooking in bread pans but they’re just not making the nice tall loaves I’d like. The bread never rises above the top edge of the pans. I don’t know if it’s a failing in my process, the recipe, or something else. Maybe they’re supposed to be that way. Maybe the pans are too big. My white bread rises slightly better than my wheat bread. I’m using a simple recipe (flour, water, sugar, salt, active dry yeast). I’m blooming the yeast. I’m kneading for 10 minutes and letting it rise for an hour before dividing into two loaves.

The result is always a flattish, dense loaf where I’d prefer a tallish, lighter loaf. At this point I suspect the flour since my white bread works better than the wheat. For this weekend’s experimentation I think I’m going to replace the all-purpose flour I normally use with bread flour.

Do you make bread? Have any tips for a beginner? Here’s a confidence boosting tip from me: for your first bread make cornbread. It’s super fast, very easy (you can do it all in one bowl), and as long as you don’t burn it it’ll taste great.

Comments

1. Josh R on 2008-02-02 09:23:13 wrote: I too am a beginner, but I have been cooking two loaves a day most days in 2008. I think the biggest improvements in my bread have come from making a batch of Biga, and keeping it in the fridge. The yeast in the Biga is more mature than the stuff that is just dissolved, and makes the bread raise a lot better. I do think flour makes a lot of difference. The Wheat Montana Brand white flour tends to rise like crazy. I think the most important trick I have found is patience. Rather than keeping your yeast warm, keep them at 78 or 80 degrees, and let them do their work over a longer period of time. Bread that raises over several hours seems to be a lot better than the rushed bread. I have been learning from the “Bread Alone” book by Daniel Leader. It is not perfect, but it has made my bread much much better.

2. Magnus von Koeller on 2008-02-02 09:30:05 wrote: Well, I have made bread myself before but had much of the same problems you are having, so I am sorry I can’t really help you. Lucky for me, I live in Germany where there’s not really a point to making bread for yourself. Over here, there’s a bakery on every corner that sells absolutely great bread in an amazing variety. I hardly ever eat white bread. Knowing the variety of multi-grain and whole-grain bread you find here, white bread is just way too boring. Honestly, the one thing about my home country I miss most whenever I am abroad for longer is probably the bread. ;) Anyhow, I guess what I am trying to do is to encourage you to try out something more substantial than just simple breads. Throw in some whole-grain, add some pumpkin seeds to the crust – there’s so much you can do and it all tastes so amazing. Maybe you can find some German bread recipes somewhere? In either case, good luck with your bread-making. :)

3. cliff on 2008-02-02 20:15:14 wrote: I too am no expert, I do know that water temp and the temp/time you rise your bread play a huge factor in how much rise you get. another thing you might look at is the pans. I am a huge fan of cast iron. everything I bake comes out better in my cast iron. Lodge is the best stuff I know of, there are also some other brands that are enamel coated that are good too.

4. Ben on 2008-02-03 08:26:38 wrote: Sugar feeds yeast, salt slows it down. Play with the amounts until you get the rise you want. Get some whole wheat gluten and add it in for chewier bread (I love that stuff), and add olive oil for a thicker, chewier crust. Consider the ingredients as a loose guide. Have fun with them and you’ll get a combination that works for your area that you love.

5. Skysinger on 2008-02-03 17:54:28 wrote: I like to replace the sugar with dry malt extract (available at your local homebrew store) - it adds a nice flavor. Kneading is more of an art than science - not enough and it has no texture - too much and it interferes with your rise. I have also found rustic loaves are easier to get right. Just form the bread into a tight ball after the first rise and let it rise again on a pizza peel(sprinkle the peel with cornmeal first), slide it onto a preheated stone and bake! Good luck and keep trying.

6. Norby on 2008-02-04 00:09:00 wrote: I haven’t done it in a while, but yeah, whole wheat will rise much less than white due to the different glutens in it (more? stronger? Don’t recall at this point). More kneading helps make the glutens more elastic, and the dough rise more easily. A second rise can help you too. And make sure your yeast is good & fresh and froths vigorously when you’re adding the sugar (or whatever you’re using to feed it). As others have mentioned, temperature is pretty important for both the yeast as well as the rise. -//

7. John on 2008-02-04 07:43:20 wrote: Thanks for the tips. I made a few changes with my loaves this weekend: I used more sugar, a used bread flour instead of all purpose, and I let the dough rise much longer (2.5 hours then another hour after dividing—it’s Winter… maybe in the Summer it won’t take so long). The bread flour made a nicer dough and the extra rise time helped too. It worked! I got my first loaves that I’m really pleased with. Now that I’ve got the basics I feel like I can move on and start experimenting with flavors and ingredients. Thanks for your advice, everybody.

8. Josh R on 2008-02-04 11:35:18 wrote: Good deal! I made some sourdough bread this weekend and it turned out pretty good: http://www.fingertoe.com/2008/02/bread-bread-and-more-bread.html I am thinking about building a 78 degree proofing box out of some rubbermaid bins and a aquarium submergible heater. Hopefully that will eliminate a lot of the the temperature variations I was thinking I could store water and flour in there as well as the proofing bread.

9. Laura on 2008-02-04 14:38:51 wrote: Something else to remember, John - different weather ( not just seasons) will bring different results - damp air & high pressure have big effects on the ability of the bread to rise. In time, it’ll be second nature to you & you’ll be concocting your own recipes to share !

10. s’mee on 2008-02-05 23:44:05 wrote: My sis is a pretty good expert when it comes to stuff like this…she makes her own crackers…yikes! Yup she’s a freak, but she’s good! This is her blog, give her a question and she’ll talk you through it. foodchronicles.blogspot.com She knows exactly which flours are good for this and that and WHY???? yes, why.

11. Barb on 2008-02-06 12:07:38 wrote: Hiya!! Truly, truly enjoy your blog and am so glad to offer some real help on this one. (You’re gonna love me for this!) NO-KNEAD BREAD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU It’s a five minute video that will change your life. You will be able to test if a six-year-old can truly make this bread, except for the oven parts. It WILL change your life. Absolutely you must check up on this. Awesome, easy, tasty, beautiful. Now a few links for on-line articles related to the video. http://www.apartment2024.com/2007/01/06/the-famous-no-knead-bread/ http://www.lindystoast.com/2006/11/minimalists_sul.html http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7D6113FF93BA35752C1A9609C8B63 The last link is for the written article in the NYT that accompanied the video, and of course there are other no-knead bread videos on youtube and more online articles. Now the books. Rare, hard to find, but informative: The Best Bread Ever - Charles Van Over 272 pages $38.50 cheapest listed on bookfinder, requires the use of a large (10-12 cup minimum) food processor. Next is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day by Hertzberg and Francois 238 pp $20 at amazon. These are for further research, alternatives. And now a personal tip from me re cornbread. Cornbread is ONLY ever really good if cooked in a cast-iron pan. Like an 8, 9 or 10 inch size pan with one box of Jiffy Cornmeal mix. The tricks: preheat the pan on the stovetop at medium heat, then mix the cornbread mix and let it rest for a minute or two, grease pan with butter or bacon grease which will melt right away, pour the mix into the pan and pop into the oven. The cast iron and butter will do two things to improve your cornbread: it will create a wonderful crunchy crust on the bottom, and the interior will be moist instead of dry and crumbly. One try will convince you. Good eating!!!

12. John on 2008-02-07 19:21:35 wrote: That no-knead bread sure looks good. An appropriate pot is now high on the kitchen kit wishlist.

13. “No Knead” bread is a hit! | flagrantdisregard on 2008-02-14 13:55:33 wrote: […] It’s also the simplest recipe I’ve used both from an ingredients standpoint (flour, water, yeast, salt) and labor (just 5 minutes and you don’t even need your mixer). Thank you, Barb! […]

14. dix on 2008-05-02 14:30:01 wrote: Do you have a recipe to make up the bread flour (not bread) just want to make my own bread flour.