Bread Baking Steps Nearly all breads contain 3 primary ingredients—flour, liquid, and yeast—and are made using the same simple steps. With these basics, you can produce an incredible variety of flavors and textures by adjusting the types and amounts of ingredients used (for instance store-bought yeast versus natural airborne yeasts) and the way the steps are employed. 1. Measuring Ingredients The first step in bread-making is, of course, measuring the ingredients. This is important, because differences in proportions of ingredients can produce significant changes in the finished bread. There are 2 ways to measure ingredients: by weight (ounces or grams) and by volume (tablespoons, cups, etc.). Weighing is preferable, as it's more consistent (in particular with flour, which can vary significantly in volume depending on how much it packs down in the package and how much you fluff it up), but of The Baker's Percentage course it does require a scale. Commercial bakers use a system called If you prefer to measure by volume, try to be as the baker's percentage, which makes it accurate as possible. When measuring liquids, place the easy to create new recipes and scale liquid measuring cup in a stationary position at eye level and ingredients up and down. While you can take the reading from the bottom of the meniscus (the curved make spectacular breads without upper surface of the liquid). Flour can be measured either by the dip and sweep method or by spooning it into the cup and, understanding the baker's percentage, if without shaking or tapping the cup, leveling it off, but these you become a regular bread baker, you methods produce different results, so always follow the may find it helpful. When using the method specified in the recipe. Before measuring flour, it's baker's percentage, all the ingredient best to stir it a bit because it settles in the container. Use amounts are calculated as a percentage measuring spoons for smaller amounts, such as for yeast. of the weight of the flour, which is 100 percent. Keep in mind that this usually 2. Pre-Ferments (Optional Step) doesn't take into consideration residual An optional—but important—step in bread-making is ingredients such as the water contained in using what's called a pre-ferment. Bread gets its spongy honey or potato. However, some consistency from fermentation—the interplay of flour, water, recipes, including several in this primer, and yeast that begins when the water activates an enzyme contained in the flour that breaks down the starch and have what's called the dough percentage, converts it to sugar. The yeast feeds on the sugar, growing which accounts for all residual and multiplying, and producing 2 essential by-products: ingredients. If, for example, the water alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcohol adds flavor, while percentage is 66 percent, this includes the bubbles of carbon dioxide "leaven," or raise, the dough not just the water added to the recipe but and establish the bread's crumb or texture. also water contained in any other During fermentation, temperature and time play an ingredient(s). important role in the development and complexity of flavor. If fermentation takes place at a cooler temperature—in the refrigerator, for instance—the process slows down and the bread develops a more complex flavor. On the other hand, if fermentation takes place more quickly, the resulting bread will have a less complex flavor. Much of the fermentation process takes place during the proofing stage, which we'll discuss below, but pre-fermentation is an optional extra step that helps develop flavor. Although pre- fermentation is a key characteristic of sourdough bread, it can be used to adapt any recipe depending on what materials you have on hand, what kind of bread you want to make, and how much time you have to devote to the process. 1 · Bread Baking Steps (from epicurious.com) · Wallace House Bread Baking Extravaganza · May 2, 2010 Pre-fermentation involves mixing part of the dough's flour, water, and yeast and allowing it to ferment before adding it to the rest of the dough. The use of a pre-ferment allows you to use less yeast because the pre-ferment kick-starts the fermentation process before the dough is actually mixed together. Making a pre-ferment several hours before adding it to dough will give bread an extra depth of flavor, but if a pre-ferment is made one or even several days in advance, it will also add acidity. In small amounts, acidity extends the shelf life of bread, but in larger amounts, such as in the case of sourdough, it starts to affect the texture of bread, creating large holes in the crumb. There are several different kinds of pre-ferments, and they differ by how much liquid they contain and how long they ferment. Here is an overview of 5 types of pre-ferment: Biga: This is a stiff pre-ferment approximating the consistency of bread dough. It is made with at least 1/3 the water called for in the recipe, double its volume in flour, and a small amount of yeast (about 0.2 percent of the weight of the flour). A biga must ferment at room temperature until it has doubled in volume, roughly 8 to 24 hours. It can then be stirred down and refrigerated for up to 3 days —longer than that and the dough may become too acidic. Other pre-ferments cannot be stored this way, making a biga a good choice if you can't make bread for several days. Before adding a biga to the rest of the dough, cut it with scissors or tear it into small pieces and allow it to soak, covered, for 30 to 60 minutes in the remaining water called for in the recipe. Once the biga is softened, it can be added to the dough as directed by your recipe. Sponge: This has a soft consistency akin to that of pancake batter, and is made by whisking together all the water in a recipe with 30 to 50 percent of the flour and a little less than half the yeast. The sponge is then covered with a blanket of the remaining flour mixed with the remaining yeast and any sugar or malt powder. A sponge must ferment, covered, for at least 1 hour, but can be held up to 4 hours at room temperature or 24 hours in the refrigerator before mixing. Once a sponge has fermented for 1 hour, it is ready to be mixed with the rest of the dough. Poolish: This soft, sticky pre-ferment consists of 22 to 33 percent of the total flour in the recipe, equal or more than its weight in water, and a very small percentage of the yeast called for—anywhere from 0.03 percent to 0.5 percent of the weight of the flour, depending on how long it will ferment (from 3 to 12 hours). The poolish is ready to use when it has risen to about 3 times its volume and is beginning to recede and wrinkle on the surface. At this point it must be used—the poolish cannot be stored for later use. Unlike with a sponge, the rest of the ingredients are not placed on top of a poolish; instead, once the poolish is ready, it is simply combined with the remaining ingredients. Sourdough: While other pre-ferments require the addition of commercial yeast, sourdough (also called levain and barm) is created from wild yeast that resides on the flour grain and, once fully active, is capable of providing all the yeast necessary to produce a deeply complex and flavorful loaf. As mentioned earlier, the high acidity of the dough creates large holes in the bread. (For a more detailed explanation of sourdough, see the sourdough section of this primer.) Unrefreshed Sourdough Starter: Excess sourdough starter can be frozen to use as a superb and effortless pre-ferment. It makes for a stiff pre-ferment with a consistency similar to that of soft bread dough. Use about 16 percent of the weight of the flour in the recipe and, to balance the salt content, add 1/8 teaspoon for every 1/3 cup (2.6 ounces or 75 grams) of starter. As with other stiff pre-ferments, an unrefreshed sourdough starter must be cut with scissors or torn into small pieces and allowed to soak, covered, for 30 to 60 minutes in the remaining water called for in the recipe. Once softened, it can be added to the dough as directed by your recipe. Note that the frozen unrefreshed starter does not need to be defrosted—it will defrost sufficiently while soaking in the water. 2 · Bread Baking Steps (from epicurious.com) · Wallace House Bread Baking Extravaganza · May 2, 2010 3. Mixing and Kneading Once the ingredients have been measured (and after the No-Knead Bread pre-ferment has been made, if one is being used), the dough has If you don't own a stand mixer (or food to be kneaded. Kneading involves pushing and pulling the processor or bread machine) or don't dough to stretch and strengthen the gluten in the dough. Gluten have the time or inclination to knead by gives bread structure; it consists of strands of protein that form hand, consider no-knead bread. This when water is added to flour. The protein stretches to technique, originated by Jim Lahey of accommodate the bubbles produced during fermentation, allowing bread to rise. New York's Sullivan Street Bakery, is There are 4 ways to mix and knead bread: in a bread based on the idea that given enough time machine, in a stand mixer, by hand, and in a food processor.