Q&A MISC. Bread Questions
Until we can figure out a more sophisticated way to handle your feedback, your praise and your questions, we hope the following series of Q&A posts will help. Our goal is to get a conversation going about a particular topic in one location. Hoping that it will be easier for you to follow and get the information you need to bake gorgeous bread.
If we haven’t started a thread on the subject you are interested in then leave it here and we can create another post!
Thank you so much for all of the conversation. We enjoy it immensely and are learning so much from you all!
Zoë and Jeff
Zoe,
I think the fact that I use King Arthur flour is a real blessing in disguise. I don’t end up making a too wet dough usually. So I guess I won’t worry about adding more sugar and getting a too wet dough. I don’t add all the water at once, either.
I did notice the bottom didn’t get as firm on the Silpat, though, when I used 6 TBSP sugar and 4 TBSP honey.
I found a report online that someone purchased many kinds of flour on a trip across the country. Then they baked with them. One of the things they said is that they found that Gold Medal flour, their standard, baked up differently with flour from Tennessee vs California. Gold Medal denied it, though! I can confirm this, having moved from CA to TN. They said the Gold Medal flour in CA is more suited to bread making, and the Gold Medal Flour is geared toward Southern biscuit making. I firmly agree, which is why I switched to King Arthur.
If you want the link, I’ll send it to you.
Any other transplants that are reading this list, do you agree?
Judy L, now in TN
O
Judy: I’d be surprised if the Gold Medal folks haven’t made the product utterly uniform, but the stuff does get used differently in different parts of the country. Not familliar with the Baker’s Manual though.
Hi,
Have you heard of adding lecithin to the dough (for the same reason as the vital wheat gluten)? I used to bake a lot in the bread maker and all my cookbooks recommended adding both to the dough or it was even part of some of the recipes themselves. The reason that I ask is that I still have a cannister full of lecithin and I’m wondering if it would work the same as the vwg?
Waiting anxiously for October!
Suzan
Suzan: Lecithin is said to soften the crumb and keep a nice moist crumb for longer. So it extends shelf-life for baked bread. In the interest of simplicity, we didn’t experiment with it in our doughs. I have to say, none of my references suggest it does anything to strengthen the gluten, so I don’t think you can use it in place of VWG. But it might have a nice effect anyway— please let me know how it turns out. Jeff
hi,
i’ve baked 2 loaves of the master boule recipe so far, and i think i’m doing it right, but both loaves came out round except for one side looks like it grew out from underneath and expanded into a round protrusion from the side (i guess thats the best way to describe). i can’t tell if im shaping it wrong, or what…my oven is exactly 450 degrees when the bread is removed, so the temp is fine.
i let it rise for the 40 minutes, and the next time for an hour….what do you think?
jeff
Hi Jeff,
When this happened to me is when my dough was too dry or too cold or I didn’t slash the loaf deeply enough before it goes in the oven. You said you let the dough rest longer the second time and it still happened, so maybe it is that the dough is too dry or you didn’t slash it deeply enough. Here are some videos of us making the bread, it may give you a sense of how wet the dough should be and how deep the slashes should be.
https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?page_id=63
Let me know if this helps. Thanks, Zoë
Hi Zoe and Jeff,
I have been trying out all the recipes in your book. Love them all so far! I have a quick question, I have a sour dough starter, I was wondering how to incorporate it into the 5 minute artisan bread recipes. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Jamie: Use about a cup and a half of fully active starter in the intial mix. Assuming your starter is about half water and half flour (100% hydration), swap out equal amounts of flour and water from the recipe (you may need to adjust the flour or water to get the final dough consistency that you see in our videos, at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?page_id=63). You can decrease the yeast, but I wouldn’t drop it to zero (see https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=85 for ideas on decreasing the yeast). Let me know how you make out. Jeff
Hi Zoe and Jeff,
I know that you’ve said any type of yeast will work, but I want to double-check on Nutritional Yeast flakes? It can be purchased in bulk from most heath food stores. The one I saw is organic, definite flake-form. Will measurements be the same and does it work as well? I’m currently getting wonderful spongy rise from active dry yeast in a jar– but it’s costly.
Thanks,
Lisa
Lisa: I’m pretty sure that nutritional yeast does not work as a rising agent for bread— it’s not treated so that it’s still “alive” when finally packaged, even though all the nutrition remains. I could be wrong about the particular product you have, so consider testing it with a very small batch (one-quarter of a full batch) so you won’t waste much ingredient if it fails to rise. Another economical strategy would be to decrease the yeast in your batches; see https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=85. It just takes more time.
Melissa: So glad the pullman loaf pan worked well; neither of us have tested this with our dough so this is GREAT information. Jeff
Hi Zoe, I made the buttermilk recipe in the pullman loaf pan, per your suggestion. It worked so well. My loaf pan is 16″ long so I used about 3.5 lbs of dough and baked at 75 minutes. It came out perfectly square with beautiful, browned crusts on all sides. Good texture too for slicing and making sandwiches. My boys love it– we are on our second loaf! thanks for the input, melissa
Can I half the recipes? Or will they fit in a recycled ice cream bucket? 4.25 l or 1 gal & 1 pint size. Thanks! I am so looking forward to trying the recipes in the book and maybe taking it camping too!
Carol: You can definitely halve the recipes, though the sizes you mention may be close to fitting the full batch. We usually say 5 quarts does it, but a little less works too. Jeff
I love your book and the breads I’ve baked are fantastic. Thanks so much for creating this method. But, I must be missing something, I read in some of the comments about ” over night rest in the fridge after shaping method” and wanted to read up on it, but can’t find any additional info. Where would I love to find the write up on the complete method? Thanks, Susan
Hi Susan,
It is a method that we came up with by accident, that seems to work really well. I explained the method in a post about high altitude baking, because it seems to work very well for those working in those conditions. Here is a brief description of the method, which we have explained in more detail in our new book.
“…I’ve been having great results with allowing the dough to rise in the refrigerator for several hours. First thing in the morning I shape the loaf, put it on a piece of parchment paper, cover it loosely with plastic and put in the refrigerator. Right before dinner time I preheat the oven to 450 with the stone in the middle rack. I take out the cold dough, slash it as normal and bake it with steam. The crust and crumb are perfect and it has risen really slowly. This may be perfect for high altitude baking.”
If you are not baking at high altitude then I would let the dough sit on the counter while your oven is preheating, about 30 minutes. This seems to improve the crumb even more.
I hope this helps. Thanks, Zoë
I bought Artisan Bread a couple o months ago. Before sending you this email I’ve browsed your ‘errors’ but found nothing about my doubt.
I’ve been using Peter Reinhart’s book for a while and came to the conclusion that 1.5 tablespoon of yeast is too much as well as 1.5 table spoon of salt for the 6 cups of flour.
I’ve been using your recipe but with 1tsp+3/4 tsp of yeast and 2 tsp+1/4 tsp of salt. Of ourse tsp standing for teaspoon.
The result was great.
Am I right in using Peter Reinhart’s measures? I was afraid that the dough in your recipe would result too salty not mentioning the eventual yeast waste.
Rgds,
Angelo
Hi Angelo,
You should change the yeast and salt to suit your taste. many experienced bakers have found that the amount of yeast is too much for their taste. We settled on that amount so that people could have fresh baked breads without too long of a wait. Using the amount we did, means that you can bake after the initial 2 hour rise. Reducing the yeast will also work beautifully, but it does mean that you need to allow for much longer resting time.
The salt is added in our recipe for the flavor, so you should certainly adjust it for your palate. You can even eliminate it all together.
Thank you so much for trying our method! Enjoy all the bread you bake.
Zoë
Zoe, Thank you so much for answering my question about overnight in fridge rising of dough. I will use it today! By-the-way, all the recipes I’ve tried in your first book are fabulous…this means I have to order the new one! Susan E
Great Susan,
I hope this works for you.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Jeff and Zoe
I bought your book and love the bread. can I use a stone loaf pan to bake the bread?
thanks
Pam
Hi Pam,
The only reason we don’t suggest them is because our dough is so wet and tends to stick to most things unless it has a non-stick surface. If it does end up sticking, just allow it to rest in the pan longer to essentially steam itself loose from the pan. After it comes out, return the loaf to the oven for several minutes to get rid of the soggy bottom crust.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi,
I have been making your bread for a month now, and really love it. Yesterday I made the cinnamon bread, which is fantastic! It dissapeared immediately and I made a new one right away, but found that half the non-stick coating of my bread pan is sticking to the bread. Can you recommend a brand of pans (and maybe panettone mold) that isn’t putting anything toxic into the food? Would cast iron work? This is freaking me out now….
Hi Cora,
This is the brand of pan that both Jeff and I use and have never had the issue of the lining breaking off. https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Professional-Nonstick-1-Pound/dp/B00004R91A/ref=pd_sbs_k_1
I use paper panettone molds such as these. Be aware that there are several sizes so you need to pick the one that fits the loaf you want to make: https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Baking-Moulds-Panettone-6%C2%BD/dp/B000FRSR6M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1252891586&sr=1-4
Thanks, Zoë
I had a good result with an overnight refrigerated rise (one pound boule); but I am unsure of the optimum rising times.
What is the MINIMUM time for a refrigerated rising (MAX is 14 hrs?)? Should the loaf go directly to the oven, or should it rest out of the frig before baking? How long? Should the dough reach a certain temperature before baking?
Thanks for your help in making good bread even better.
Galan: The minimum is probably six hours, depending on hour cold your fridge is. I let it rest outside the fridge for the baking pre-heat time (20 to 30 minutes). We’ve never experimented with precise dough temperatures for baking. More generally we can say that for our usual method (not the refrigerator rise trick), you may prefer waiting till the dough doesn’t feel super-chilled, more like 60 to 90 minutes rather than our recommended 40 minutes. When you do the refrigerator method, the rising’s already happened, and the dough has loosened up despite the cold temp. Jeff
Excellent. Thanks for such a quick response!!
Zoe and Jeff,
Thanks for the ultimate bread book. You have with easy and taste contributed ‘mightily’ to what is presented on the American table. I hope your consider printing your work in other languages so other peoples will have the same opportunity presented to them.
I don’t know it this has been mentioned as a way to store the dough. I use a 2 gallon zip loc type bag, sprayed with non-stick oil, to store the dough after the initial rise. I also spray the dough. Bag may need deflating first day or two. Thanks. Best wishes for the new book.
Earl
Earl: Believe it or not, the only language that the book’s currently scheduled for translation is Chinese, hopefully within the next year. Thanks for the info about dough storage— I do challah that way, for the freezer, though I don’t spray with the non-stick. Jeff
Hi,
thank you very much for the tip with the bread pans- they are on their way!
I have another question…we used to get bread loaded with hazel or walnuts on markets in France. I wonder whether you know this bread, and if you have a recipe for it?
Thanks!!
Help! I made a batch of challah dough tonight while I was on the phone with my dad. Got distracted and completely forgot to add the honey! It has just risen 2 hours. Is there anything I can do to fix it or should I start over? Thank you and l’shanah tovah!
Jake: Assuming the consistency of the dough isn’t all that different than usual, it should be usable. Flavor won’t be quite the same, that honey does impart a familiar character to challah. I can’t think of any way to add it in after the fact. I’d use it and see what you think. Jeff
Cora: We have a nut-enriched bread in the book— Pumpernickel Date and Walnut Bread. Just increase the nuts (all kinds work), and drop the fruit. And switch to whatever dough you like from the book– very adaptable. Jeff
Do you have a recipe suggestion for organic barley flour? Love my 5 minute breads! Pam in Montana
Hi Pam,
We have a loaf with barley flour in our new book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day!
Thank you for asking! Zoë
Thanks, Jeff. Since it was for Rosh Hashanah dinner I decided to re-make the challah. I made two turbans and one with a long braid coiled into a crown.. I froze the “mistake” dough without honey to use later for dinner rolls or maybe pletzel.
I love the book and am really looking forward to the new one! thanks, Jake
Yeah, let me know how the honey-free challah goes, I’m curious. Jeff
I already have your new book pre-ordered, so I’ll look forward to trying the barley flour. Thanks for giving us “our daily bread.” Pam
Pam: Thanks for the pre-order, we’re really looking forward to this fall. Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
Happy holidays! I baked 4 beautiful 1 1/2 pound raisin challahs the other day for friends, a 1-pound with raisins, cinnamon and sugar for us, and a wreath challah for a meeting. Everyone was happy.
I’d like to make the raisin challah making faster. A friend of mine uses a similar recipe, and puts the raisins in when she makes the dough. She bakes the challahs the next day.
I doubled the amount of raisins for my challot.
Would it be possible to do this with your recipe? I’d like to save on the time and work for rolling out the dough. I could try it, but I’d like to know if there’s a reason the raisins can’t stay in the dough for the five days you say the challah dough can last.
I do soak my raisins to wash and plump them before using. I then drain them in a sieve. So they won’t be soaking up more moisture by being in the challah dough.
So, nu?
L’Shana Tovah! (Happy New Year)
Judy
Judy
I don’t see any problem putting the raisins in with the initial mix, go for it.
I love your book I waiting for my copy to be deliver in the mail I found your book at the library it is great I tried the master recipe and the broche I made sweet rolls with it but I find I do not use the dough fast enogh yet but I would like to make smaller batch but my math is not so good can you help me with it please
Thanks alot Robin
Robin: You can definitely halve the recipe. Just cut all the ingredients in half and you should be fine. 3 1/2 cups flour, etc, from page 189 in the book, unless you’re doing the challah on page 180 for a lighter base.
Hi!
I was very entousiastic about your 5minut bread.
I tried the basic recipe, and was very disapointed with the result.
The bread was very dense, hard, and tasted yeast.
Any idea of what went wrong ?
I put half quantity of every ingredient, and used a little of sarrazin flour.
I let the dough rest overnight in the fridge.
After 5 days in the fridge the dough was mildewed.
Hi Siannan,
The flour that you use in France may have a different protein content, which will make the dough behave differently. It may require slightly more flour if it is a soft wheat that you are using. Also sarrasin flour (what we call Buckwheat in the US) is not a wheat flour at all and has no gluten, which means that it will make your dough weaker than we intended. All of this will result in a dough that is how you described. The use of buckwheat is wonderful, but it will require you to change the formula of our recipe quite a bit to compensate. It is fun to change the recipes and experiment, but you have to understand that it is hit or miss until you find just the right combination.
There may be a brownish liquid on the top of the dough after several days of refrigeration, but this is different than mildew. I suspect that is what you are seeing, since I’ve never seen mildew on my dough even after a few weeks in the refrigerator. If it is just the brownish liquid than the dough is perfectly safe to use.
I would recommend that you watch the videos we have made so that you can see what the texture of the dough is supposed to look like, this may help you to gauge whether your dough is the proper consistency. video: https://www.startribune.com/video/11967361.html
Thank you so much for trying the recipe and have fun experimenting with the sarrasin flour! Zoë
thanks for your help, I will give another try without Buckwheat !
How about using chocolate chips with the challah recipe, instead of raisins? My friend’s son is craving chocolate chip challah. I’d like to surprise him.
Judy
Judy: Yeah, go for the chips, you won’t believe this, but that’s what we at this Friday. And it was chocolate dough in the first place. Jeff
Hey Guys, I’ve gotten so busy that I’ve had dough exceed that 2 week window of baking opportunity. I took out the dough from the fridge and there was a “crust” on top, somewhat darker in color than the dough underneath. I didn’t see any mold and it smelled ok, but is it still good?
Is there a way to use any of the doughs for making a crunchy cracker type of thing?
Jay: The crust is generally OK, but we can’t vouch for dough older than 2 wks. May be too dense for your taste, but see what you think. Discard the crust if it’s really dry.
Marina: Check out the flatbrod on page 176 of the book, and vary from there. Jeff
Jeff, chocolate dough and chocolate chips? Wow! Which chocolate dough recipe? I’m away from home but my friend just received the copy of your book I ordered from Amazon. And, no, the price didn’t go down! Judy
Judy: Chocolate dough is from the first book, just named “Chocolate Bread.” Price fluctuates on Amazon w/o warning, now back to the more modest discount. Jeff
I am backing 3 to 4 loaves of Boa corn bread for a luncheon. Can I bake these partially at home and then finish them at the luncheon? If so what would be the times at home and the cooking time at the luncheon? Can these be stored for a day before using?
David: Par-baking works, for any of our breads. Do most of the baking at home (up to 90%) but take it out before it browns, then finish at your destination, for 5 to 10 minutes, until desired color is reached. About a day of storage is OK before baking, otherwise, wrap well, freeze and defrost completely on the day you need it. Jeff
Hi. I’ve started keeping a sourdough starter and I’m wondering if it can be incorporated into any of the recipes in the book, primarily the master recipe. I don’t mind tending the started, but I would rather not put the time into the actual bread baking that sourdough recipes call for. Any chance I can marry your methods with an actual starter?
Thanks!
Tricia: Yep, I’ve done that. Use about 1 1/2 cups of activated starter in the Master. Assuming your activated starter is about half water and flour, you then need to decrease flour in the recipe by 3/4 cup, and decrease the water by 3/4 cup. If the consistency looks off compared to our usual Master, adjust the dry and liquid ingredients.
You can decrease the yeast in this situation, but I’ve found it temperamental to decrease it all the way to zero. See our post on decreased yeast at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=85. Jeff
Hi,
I have been baking bread with your book ever since it came out. I love the bread. But lately I have been having problems with misshapen loaves. It seems no matter how deeply I cut, I get a loaf with a “nose.” I wonder if this may have something to do with the fact that I am not using a regular oven, but a Cuisinart brick oven (which is too small to insert a steaming tray.) Any thoughts? THanks.
Hi Susan,
I’ll do some investigating about the style oven you are using, but what comes to mind is that you are not allowing the dough to rest long enough. If you are slashing deeply enough and your dough is still bursting out, it is usually because it needs to rest longer. The best rule of thumb is to allow the dough to rest until it not longer feels cold and dense, as it does when you first form the loaf. This can take anywhere from 40 – 90 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen, how much the dough was worked while forming or if your dough is a touch too dry.
Let me know if this helps! Thanks, Zoë
I am using your basic bread recipe, though I change the recipe to be half whole grain flours (spelt, whole wheat, & 12 grain flour) and 1/2 white flours. This makes for a very delicious bread which rises quite nicely. The question I have is this. How can I incorporate a starter into the basic recipe that your supplied on YouTube so as to have a bread with a more sourdough taste to it, but not losing the wonderful texture your recipe brings to the bread itself? Do I replace part of the water for it, or the flour or what? Thanks and have a great day….
Christiane: Use about 1 1/2 cups of activated starter, mine is about half water and half flour. Decrease the flour in your recipe by 3/4 cup, and the water by 3/4 cup. Adjust if the consistency is different from the video or if you use a starter with different proportions. You can usually decrease the yeast in our recipe in this situation, but don’t drop it to zero or it becomes unreliable. Jeff
Can pureed squash or pumpkin be added to the basic brioche dough, and if so, how much, and would I need to adjust the other liquidy ingredients? Thank you!
Beth: Absolutely, you can go ahead and add it in there. We’ll be covering this in depth in the new book once it’s out so we’re going to hold off on publishing any recipes on this here. Book’s out in 3 weeks but is available for pre-order now: https://tinyurl.com/pe8yr9
Hi Joe & Jeff, I live in St. Louis Park and recently bought your book but like very coarse heavy whole grain bread and didn’t find any recipes for that in your book – breads with cracked wheat, flax seeds, millet, sunflower seeds, cracked oats, cracked soybeans, etc – do you have any recipes for that type of bread?
Thanks
Hi Jeff,
We have a second book coming out in a couple of weeks that is dedicated to the loaves that you describe. It is called Healthy bread in Five Minutes a Day.
Thank you for asking and I think you will find some of those loaves fit your taste very well! Zoë
I have been getting good results using your basic recipe with a refrigerated rise (baked in a cast iron pot). The crumb is good, but not great (like your photos).
Recently I mistakenly used 2 Tbsps of yeast instead of 1& 1/2. The result was the best yet…like your photos. It took about 3 hours for the initial rise to flatten out, but otherwise I noticed no ill effects. Even the oven spring wasn’t noticeably different .
Any reason why I shouldn’t embrace the mistake?
Thanks
None at all, go with it Galanw!
I enjoy your book and bake at least one loaf every week, often giving one to my neighbors or a friend as well. One receipe I haven’t tried, but would like to, is the English Granary Style Bread. It calls for malted wheat flakes, which are no longer available from King Arthur. I know Maltex is a brand but it is also not available in grocery stores in Minneapolis, and on-line requires a minimum of 12 20-oz boxes, which costs $35.00 plus shipping and might be a lifetime supply. What can I substitute to get the combination of flavors the cereal provided?
Jan: So sorry about this! KAF discontinued it pretty much right after we were published with the first book. I got stuck looking for the Maltex, I can’t find it anywhere in town and haven’t ordered it yet. There is no substitute for malted wheat, probably the closest would be just to increase the barley malt but haven’t tried that yet. Let us know if you have success. Jeff
Are there gluten-free recipes that can be followed using the “five minutes a day” process?
Hi Ted,
There is an entire chapter devoted to G-F baking in our new book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The book is due out Oct. 27th.
Enjoy, Zoë
Have had a problem with baking stones cracking – have broken three in the last several months. I use them as directed, have them in the oven during the preheat w/broiler pan underneath into which I pour 1 c. water after sliding bread onto stone. No big temp changes, no rough handling. They just aren’t lasting! They have all cracked during the time bread was baking on them. These are stones I bought at national linen store chain – anyone have a better brand to recommend that doesn’t break? Anyone try the fibrament stone?
Hi R,
How far away is the stone from the broiler tray with the water in it? They need to be at least 5 inches away from each other. If this is not it, do you wash your stone? If so, is it possible that the stone is wet when you start the baking? I always just scrape mine clean with a bench scraper. https://www.amazon.com/Oxo-Good-Grips-Pastry-Scraper/dp/B00004OCNJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1255315641&sr=8-1
Let me know if this helps! Thanks, Zoë
hi! love the first book and can’t wait for the second. i’m having issues with the potato breads. they are very, very soft even after chilling the dough. i’ve had to add a substantial amount of flour. i haven’t had the same problems with any other recipe i’ve tried. the dough with the potatoes is so soft i can’t even shape it and it sticks terribly to my hands without adding the extra flour. could it be the potatoes act like liquid in the bread? oh, i also substituted some oat bran and toasted wheat germ for some of the flour. do you think that could be the problem? thanks! cindi
Cindi: Sorry it’s been a struggle with those. Try doing the recipe exactly as written, without the wheat germ and oat bran, which don’t absorb water in exactly the same way as flour. And be sure you’re using unbleached all-purpose flour (not bleached, which absorbs much less water).
Check back with us here if this doesn’t help. Jeff
Hi,
I love your book and make bread often! I especially like the wheat bread, because it tastes nothing like the wheat bread from the store! My problem is sliding the bread from my cookie sheet (without sides) onto the stone. After reading a few posts I’m gonna try doing a few different things. But today I could barely get the bread onto the stone – I’m guessing my dough was too wet. I don’t like improvising,but I’ assuming more flour would help, even though I used quite a bit of flour forming the gluten cloak because it was so wet. Any comments would be appreciated. By the way,my picky two year old daughter loves the bread!
Hi Julia,
Does your loaf have a good rise to it when it is in the oven, or does it just spread out and behave more like a flat bread? If it is spreading too much than perhaps your dough is too wet. If you are getting a nice “oven spring” and the loaf is a nice shape, then I would just try using more corn meal on the cookie sheet or switch to parchment as a sure way to get the loaf in the oven.
Hope this helps! Zoë
Can spelt flour be used in these recipes? If so, what modifications need to be made? My daughter has a wheat intolerance but can eat spelt.
Thanks, Mary
Mary: Welcome to the site!
In our recipes calling for whole wheat, you can definitely swap our spelt flour. But you can’t just swap spelt for white flour, or you will end up with a brick. We address all this in our new book, which will be out in 11 days, check out Amazon’s Pre-Order site at https://tinyurl.com/pe8yr9. Also we talked about this, indirectly at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142 — a discussion of vital wheat gluten. Jeff
I am having difficulty with the crust of my artisan loaves. I am following the recipe and have tested my oven temperature and it’s accurate. The loaves come out looking beautiful but the crust is consistently soft. Do you have any suggestions? Perhaps this has been addressed somewhere else in one of your blogs, if so please point me in the correct direction. Thank you so much.
Hi Richard,
If you are using steam and a baking stone and you are sure your oven temperature is correct, then I am guessing that the loaf is under baked. If the bread is not fully baked it will have more moisture and therefore create a soggy crust. Is the color on your crust like the loaf on the cover of the book?
If you don’t think this is it, let me know and we’ll try something else. Thanks, Zoë
Yah my bread has great shape in the oven and it always tastes amazing! About the parchment paper…from reading the other posts Ive gathered that I should just leave my bread on the parchment paper while it bakes on the stone and pull it out halfway through?
Hi Julia,
You want to remove the parchment when the bread is about 90% done baking. Just to crisp up that bottom crust.
Thanks and enjoy! Zoë
hello–i have tried using hard flour twice, unsuccessfully–is there any reason why that high gluten flour doesn’t perform well in your recipes–i will stick to unbleached all purpose from now on, but, was just wondering
w
Wayne: It will work fine, but you need to adjust the water or it’s not wet like our method demands. Check out https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=140
Carol: I assume you mean that you can eat wild yeast/bacteria mixtures (in other words, yeast/bacteria that settles into starter from the air to make natural sourdough), and all gluten-free flours. We’ve never tested this combination– all our recipes, including the gluten-free ones in the new book, are risen with commercial yeast. That said, I’d guess that you can swap a naturally-gathered starter for commercial yeast, not sure how store-able this will be without replenishment. I’m guessing it would work. But since I’ve never done it, I can’t exactly vouch for it– you’ll be experimenting in new territory. You certainly could use our gluten-free recipes as the basis for this kind of experimentation. Our new book (the one with the gluten-free recipes) will be released in 10 days but is available now for pre-order at Amazon (https://tinyurl.com/pe8yr9).
I must eat both gluten and yeast-free, although I can use sourdough. Do you have any recipes in either book that fit those parameters?
In your artisan bread book you say not to cover the bucket with an airtight lid but when I checked my dough it had formed little crusted aread on the top. How do I prevent this from happening again?
Anne: You need to cover it partially. Just crack it a bit, or drill a hole in a plastic lid. Beer-making supply companies sell vented buckets too.
If it’s still too crusty, try a smaller container with less airspace. Jeff
Love your book and so does everyone who’s eating the bread I’m making. I have had a request for cinnamon raisin bread. How can I alter the white sandwich bread to make it cinnamon raisin?
Hi Jennifer,
Here is a post we did about cinnamon raisin bread: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=337
Enjoy, Zoë
Does the finger test work to determine if bread has rested enough before putting it in the oven? That is where you put a finger in bread to see if indentation stays rather than popping back up.
Also, what should be the internal temp. of the breads on an instant thermometer?
Mary
Mary: We find that the finger test is very unreliable with stored doughs— later in the dough’s life, the indentation seems to stay much too early in the proofing. So we don’t use it.
For lean breads (no eggs), about 205 degrees F works for a crusty result For egg-eniched breads, 180 or it will be overdone. Jeff
What, then are the best clues for knowing that the bread has rested long enough? It sound like from the conversation that the dough looses most of chill is one. Is that correct? What other clues?
Mary
Hi Mary,
If you wait until the dough no longer feels cold or dense it is ready to go in the oven. It will never get to room temperature, but it won’t be as chilled as it was when you first form it and it will have some give and feel almost puffy from the yeast gases.
I hope that helps! Zoë