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
Hello Zoe:
Ok. So today was baking day. I had to get the bread baked this morning, earlier than your response came through, so I did not add more flour to the bucket. The dough was still quite “soupy” and difficult to work with. I worked with very floured hands and kept dipping the ball (or mush) of dough into my flour container. When I had some semblance of a shape, I placed it on a silpat coated with spelt flour. (I knew this dough wasn’t sliding onto any stone later). I let it rest for about an hour. It baked on the silpat for 40 minutes. It rose a bit, but not very much – more like a flatbread, but a little bit puffier.
I baked it 40 minutes because the color was not right after 30.
The result: My friend said it was so good, crunchy crust, soft and yummy inside. I will have to taste it later and compare to the white flour loaf. I was really happy for her, because she is allergic to so many foods!
For next time: How much flour would you suggest adding to start with? 1/2 a cup at a time? Do you think a loaf of only spelt could rise more if the flour to water ratio is right?
Thanks for all your help.
Yael
Hi Yael,
Thank you for letting me know how it went with the spelt bread. I’m glad your friend enjoyed it and I bet she will love the next loaf even more.
It sounds like the dough is so wet that you will need an additional 1/2 cup of flour in your next batch. Because spelt is so low in gluten, it will never have the same rise as the doughs made with white flour. Unless you add vital wheat gluten you are going to have a different style bread. One other thing to try is letting the dough rest an additional 15-30 minutes, before baking.
Keep us all posted! Thanks, Zoë
I love all the breads but can you tell me what lidded container you use for the dough storage? I know you said Tupperware, but I’m not finding your lidded bucket there.
Maybe you could sell one??
Hi Jaci,
This is the type of bucket we most commonly recommend. https://www.amazon.com/Round-Storage-Container-Clear-separately/dp/B0001MRUUU?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&creative=380725
Thanks, Zoë
I have some sourdough starter and was wondering about using it instead of or in conjunction with yeast in your recipes. The starter is more hydrated than the dough.
Hi Geoff,
I usually add about a cup of starter to the recipe. You can replace the yeast entirely, but then you have to be prepared to wait much much longer for the rise time. If your starter is very wet, just add a little additional flour to the dough until it is the normal consistency.
Enjoy, Zoë
Dear Zoe,
I just read your note to Lisa, dated July 26th, concerning the use of Vital Wheat Gluten. I, too, was having the same problem and after a few different experiments this is the formula I came up with and it works! Use the recipe for 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, but instead of all the wheat flour I used 2 2/3 cups whole wheat, 4 cups all-purpose and 6 teaspoons Vital Wheat Gluten.
On baking day, I filled the bread pan 3/4, let it rise for about 1hr and 40 min. and baked it at 375° for 35-40 minutes with steam.
My question would be Are there any recipes that would be adversely affected by adding the extra gluten?
Thanks.
VegasMom: Depends on how much you add– you’re being pretty modest here and that should be OK. If you over-do it, the enriched stuff in particular will become rubbery-feeling. But most of our recipes can tolerate it. Much more of this in our second book. Jeff
Dear Jeff,
Thanks for your response.
Do you think I should be using more of the Vital Wheat Gluten than I have been.?
Vegas: We say 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup of grain ingredients; see https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142, so you could go a little higher. But you’re definitely in the ballpark and don’t have to increase it. VWG boosts gluten strength nicely when you’re using all-purpose plus lots of whole grains or other heavy ingredients. It’s also nice when you try to replace AP with whole wheat flour. Jeff
Thanks Jeff.
VegasMom
I love the breads! And so does my family. Thanks so much. I made a batch of European Peasant last night and I lost count while adding the APF flour. I put in an extra Cup of flour. when I stirred it, I realized my error and added more water. Do you think it will work out? I have been using 2 packs of yeast per full batch. Any thoughts on this batch?
Thanks again!
Hi Scott,
Your dough will be just fine. With all of our recipes from ABin5 you can reduce the amount of yeast all the way down to a single teaspoon if you wish. You may just have to let the dough rest a little bit longer, maybe 15-20 more minutes for the boule.
Thanks, Zoë
I am hoping you can shed some light on what Maltex Cereal is as some people have suggested it as an alternative to malted wheat flakes. In New Zealand we have Weet-bix which are “whole wheat malted breakfast biscuits” – basically like flakes all stuck together, they are easily crumbled. The ingredients are listed as Whole wheat, sugar, salt, malt extract.
Is anyone familiar with weetbix so as to be able to tell me if it is similar to the Maltex cereal being recommended?
Sharon– haven’t used it but I bet it will work… Jeff
I’m cursed with great tasting low rising bread – every time.
I must be making the same mistake with every batch of the “master recipe” but I don’t know what that mistake is.
I did some reading of this blog and watched the video on youtube. Here is what I see …
When I pull off the grapefruit sized ball, make the loaf and and place it on the peel, it’s about the same diameter as what I see in your video and pictures but only about 2/3rd the height. When I bake it on the stone at 450, it only rises a little bit more.
Of all my attempts, the best end result of my master recipe was a little flatter than the picture of your Swedish Limpa Rye Bread. The latest batch was the worse with the baked bread about double the thickness of your flat bread.
I can never get a taller loaf like what you show as the end result in the video.
In my first four batches I used a mixer with a bread hook. In this last batch, I did it by hand with a spoon just as in your video. The dough seemed wetter than when I used the mixer.
The confusing bit is the taste is good and the crumb is good too.
Sorry for killing your recipe. (I am no better with plants.)
Glen: are you using bleached flour? Could be the problem. If we don’t figure it out, just start baking in a loaf pan and fill it to however high you like. Jeff
I’m on a high-protein low cholesterol diet, but prefer the recipes in your first book. Can stone-ground whole wheat flour be substituted in recipes that call for all-purpose white flour? And can flax or wheat germ be added to rustic bread recipes (if flour is cut back?) I know the loaf will be chewier without crackling crust– which is fine.
Many thanks!
Lisa
Lisa: You can’t just swap out WW for AP; it will be much too dry. That’s what our second book is all about, due out on October 27. You can add flax and wheat germ, but again, more water’s needed to keep the nice wet consistency that you see in our videos. Try extra water and see what you think…. Jeff
I sent you a direct email before I saw your request to use this site — I wanted to know about using flour weights instead of cup measures — weighing by weights recommended on bag of flour it comes out about 1.6 lbs while the 6.5 cups weight is 2.6 lbs — do you have a suggestion and do whole grain flours weight more? Sharon
Sharon: By weight, our master recipe with unbleached all-purpose flour is 1.5 pounds of water, and 2 pounds of flour. That’s a 75% hydration ratio, and it holds for any unbleached all-purpose. You need more water if you try to swap out whole grains or bread flour for any part of the all-purpose…. Jeff
I want to get your book but don’t have a functional oven (or financial means to get one any time soon) … is it possible to bake any of your recipes in a toaster oven? I have a pretty good one, a Cuisinart Toaster Oven/Broiler with convection capabilities, and it’s proved successful for quick breads, but I haven’t tried yeast breads in it.
Hi Kathleen,
I don’t have any experience baking in them, but I’ve heard from a few readers that the toaster ovens work really nicely. There are even small baking stones that you can get for them. I would start with smaller loaves to test it out. I bet flat breads would do really well too.
Please let me know how it goes! Zoë
Hi Jeff – thanks for helping get me on the right track.
I did a loaf pan today. I put enough dough so the pan was half full. I then let it set for about 90 minutes until the dough had risen flush to the top of the pan.The dough was very loose (undulated when you rocked the pan). I baked it off and it grew perhaps an inch. The results were good – visual, crumb, and flavor.
From my “undulating dough” comment, my guess is the dough is too wet and there is not enough gluten to maintain any type of free form shape.
Am I on the right track ?
Glen: You may be. Assuming you’re already using unbleached all-purpose (not bleached flour), just add an extra 1/4-cup of flour to the mixture and see if it’s easier to handle. Jeff
I started a small in-home bakery selling artisan breads( some from your wonderful book!), my question involves how to naturally extend the shelf life of these beautiful breads. Thanks!!
Debbie: We’d intended that people find it so simple that they’d bake only enough for the one day. That said, you’ll find better shelf life in the breads made from dough that has been in the fridge for at least three days or more. Those by-products of fermentation act as natural preservatives. We store our bread cut side down on a non-porous surface, without plastic wrap or foil. Avoid the fridge– it’s very drying to bread. Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
I made a wonderful batch of challah dough yesterday. The texture was sublime to mix!
I decided to make “mini” challahs and mini wreaths, 1/2 pound size. I made 6 minis. I put a note on each of the 2 pans, saying when to put them in the oven. I didn’t refrigerate the dough (first time for me!). I put the pans in the dining room, out of my view.
I made some artisan breads then. By the time they were baked and the oven cooled to 350degrees, one pan of mini challahs had been rising an extra hour! They were too puffy. When I put the egg wash on them, they shrank.
The other 3 minis were fine, I gave them as part of a birthday gift. I don’t know about the over-risen challahs, I haven’t tasted them. But they look odd and the braid doesn’t look nice. The browning from the egg wash is inconsistent.
Should I have just not baked the overrisen challahs (challot) and put the dough back in the dough bucket? Or maybe punched them down, reshaped, and rise again?
Secondly, I would like to make a brioche challah for my hubby. Can brioche be shaped into a braid? Can I use parve/non dairy margarine, instead of butter? I use Fleischman’s unsalted margarine all the time for a great non-dairy/parve flavor butter flavor.
THANKS!!!
Judy. Wish you could have some of my other baked goodies. I found my mom’s banana bread recipe. It’s great, and I will be trying to adapt it to a diabetic recipe.
Judy: I don’t think it’s that bad to bake an over-proofed loaf, I wouldn’t have thrown in back into the bucket.
Yes, brioche can be shaped as challah into a braid. Doing that tonight.
Hi Zoe and Jeff,
Thanks so much for your book! I love it and have gotten all four of my sisters to buy it too.
I just have a question about the bagels. I made them yesterday and had wonderful success (they tasted great and I followed the recipe without deviation), but . . . after I put them in the boiling water they ended up kind of bumpy and not smooth the way you think of when you think of bagels. I had this happen to me once before with a different bagel recipe too. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks,
Julie
Maple Grove, MN
Julie: A lot of people report this with our method. My guess is that since our stuff is significantly wetter than regular bagel dough, it’s having trouble forming a smooth and firm shape that stands up to the boiling water. Try mixing a little drier– a quarter cup more flour than we call for, and see what you think.
One other option would be to “gluten-cloak” the balls a little more vigorously before poking the hole in it. Jeff
Hi – my zuchini will be overrunning the garden pretty soon. Any ideas of using one of the boules for zuchini bread? I would prefer to have lots of ww flour to make it healthier.
Suzan: Zucchini figures prominently in a flatbread we’re introducing in the second book (https://tinyurl.com/pe8yr9), publisher will go ballistic if I start printing the new recipes here! You can also grind up vegetables like zucchini and put them in with the liquid in recipes (decrease the liquid slightly).
Check out https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142 for tips on incorporating more whole grains. Again, much much more on this in the 2nd book. Jeff
Thanks! I can’t wait for the new book!!!! I will try adding some to my favorite boule and will let you know what happens.
I was wondering what kind of yeast is used in your breads?Is it the traditional active dry yeast or instant yeast? Could one be substituted for the other with the 5 minute method? Thank you.
Diana: We find we can’t tell the difference when we use the standard “active dry” yeast, or “instant,” other than that the instant will finish the job quicker than the two hrs we specify in our recipes. If you’re in a hurry and plan on making bread on “Day Zero” of the batch, use instant. Otherwise, we can’t tell at all once the dough’s been stored. And in either case, you can decrease the yeast dose significantly if you’re willing to wait longer for that initial rise. See our post on this at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=85. Jeff
A question about flour… in a couple of recipes in your book you specify bread flour for it’s higher protein. Can I achieve this by adding gluten flour to my regular flour, and if so, in what quantities. eg, 1 tsp gluten flour to 1 cup regular flour. Would this be sufficient? Thanks.
Sharon: Yes you can, so check out our post on this subject at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142. What we specify there gives a range, and what you need depends on how much protein and bran your starting flour has, so experiment. Anything in the range will work decently. Jeff
I am going to try a batch of pain d’epi this weekend but wondered if the extended rise in the fridge can be used or whether it is better to do a normal rise??
Regards Peter A
Peter: Extended fridge rise should work fine, just handle it as usual once fully risen. Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
Today, I met with an owner and some other people at our local brick oven bakery. I bet you would LOVE to be able to bake in this giant wood fired brick oven! The owners moved from Chicago to this area for a quieter life. They fought all kinds of code hassles to build their oven. Their pizzas are famous.
We got to talking about baking bread before the other people came. We found out we bake the same way! The owner said, “the wetter the dough, the better!” When he said, “you gotta get a cloche,” I said, “got that taken care of! I use an upside down foil lasagne pan!” Then he explained to someone else that we are both doing the same thing–trapping steam from the wet dough.
One thing he did say is that now they knead their dough. We didn’t get into specifics, but how can they do that with wet dough? He said their breads come out better since they started kneading their doughs. I thought your wet doughs don’t do well if you knead them.
Also, we got to talking about pita bread. I told him that mine gets hard if I don’t wrap them in towels after they get out of the oven. He said that’s because the oven doesn’t get hot enough. Their oven gets up to 1,000 degrees at peak cooking temperature.
Have I lured you out here to see the oven???? 🙂
Thanks,
Judy
Judy: Sorry, no trips to TN in the near future!
You can knead very wet dough, but only the very first time, when it’s first mixed, not later after it’s already risen. Right after you mix it, you can plop it onto a wet board, and using water (rather than flour), use a dough scraper to pull the dough over on itself. It’s well-described in Julia Child’s book where she has Nancy Silverton do a wet-dough bread for her. Can’t remember the name of that book.
Would love to have a brick oven. Jeff
Wow Judy,
You are so lucky to have visited a large brick oven bakery. I am in the process of building a woodfired oven in my back yard. Or more correctly developing an area to place my commercially built food fired oven. This is how I came across the ABin5 philosophy. I was looking for pizza base recipes and am now totally involved in Artisan bread. I see it as a natural adjunct to pizza baking so I can see my woodfired oven getting a lot of use. I intend adding a specific section on my website once the oven is installed and running. Thanks for the interesting and informative post.
Cheers Peter A
The sweeping method of measuring flour is waaay too inexact for my taste. If I fluff the flour in the canister beforehand I will get less flour than if I don’t fluff it, and you don’t say if it should be “fluffed” or not. I am accustomed to weighing flour. What would be the correct weight for that 6 1/2 cups of flour used in the basic boule recipe?
Mary: We don’t fluff, and we get very close to 5-ounce cups that way. So, 6 1/2 cups of flour weighs 2 pounds. If you weigh your water, that’s 1 1/2 pounds, for a 75% hydration rate. Take a look at my post on weighing ingredients at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=392. Keep in mind– that post uses a little whole wheat (WW) flour so I didn’t adjust the weight, but I usually use 4.5 ounces per cup for commercial WW flour. If you increase the whole wheat much beyond what I have there, you need to adjust for that difference. Jeff
OK, I dug around and found the proper weights for the flour. thanks. I do have a suggestion for getting the steam in the oven. It’s one I learned from years of making baguettes the old fashioned way. Instead of a broiler pan, use a small cast iron skillet. Fill it with the lava rocks used in a gas grill….as many as you can get in the pan and still slide it onto the oven shelf. You can buy them at the hardware store. Put the skillet on the bottom shelf of the oven. The skillet and the rocks get very hot when you preheat the oven. When the hot water is poured over all the exposed surface area of those lava rocks, you generate a LOT of steam immediately. Also for those who like to shape the bread on parchment and then slide that onto the stone, be aware that not all parchment will withstand heat as high as 450 degrees. Reynolds parchment is oven-safe only to 420. The parchment you can buy in quantity (100 sheets) from King Arthur does withstand higher heat…..no, I have no association with them.
Mary: Sounds like a great system— and I’m guessing would work equally well if the lava rocks were in an old broiler tray. Agree- we always recommend parchment that can take 450.
Lani: Gluten free breads are coming in the next book, due out on 10/27, but available for pre-order from Amazon right now at https://tinyurl.com/pe8yr9 Jeff
Any chance you will tackle gluten free bread? Would love to see you apply your expertise in this area.
I have not bought your book yet . . . I am vegan? Are your recipes easily converted for vegans?
Hi Jennifer,
Most of the recipes are vegan and need no converting. The only chapter that will need some toying with is the enriched chapter. Many of those recipes have eggs, butter and milk. The butter can be replaced with Earth Balance or even oil, and you can use rice or soy milk. The only issue is replacing the eggs. I’ve never tried these recipes without the eggs or found a replacement, but if you have something that you are used to using it shouldn’t be too difficult to work with.
My brother and his girlfriend are vegans and they use many of the recipes.
Thank you and I hope you will give it a go!
Zoë
I’m purchasing your book and I am very excited. There’s one thing I want to know.
I love ciabatta bread… I’m kind of obsessed with it. For sandwiches there is nothing better than that crumbly, airy texture.
Will I be able to make good ciabatta bread with the method in your book?
Nate: We’ve got a terrific ciabatta recipe based on the Master Recipe, Google around and you can see what people thought of it— people on the web who’ve tried it love it.
Wow, you respond quick. Thank you. I can’t wait to give this a try.
I see a lot of ciabatta recipes out there calling for a little milk… have you ever experimented with adding some baker’s special dry milk from KAF? How do you think that would affect the bread?
Nate: It would make it still more tender, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort. Certainly won’t hurt. Don’t know how it might change the liquid requirement. Jeff
Not only have I used your book, I have given it to 5 friends. I have tried most of the recipes and am happy with all results except for the Rye Bread. My loaf doesn’t appear to raise and is gooey. What am I doing wrong? I would prefer the rye in a loaf pan for easy toast/sandwich etc.
Ginny
Ginny: Any chance you’re using bleached flour (not enough protein, doesn’t absorb enough water)? Switch to unbleached AP if so. Otherwise, consider just upping the flour by 1/4 cup and see if that doesn’t fix the problem. Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe, I heard about Mark Ruhlman’s book, “Ratio,” on Splendid Table (wow, that’s how I heard about your book!) .
I’m thinking of getting the book. I’d rather learn to cook, and not rely on recipes. In his video intro to the book, he says that bread is 5 parts flour, 3 parts water. But yours is probably much wetter. I get confused when you mention hydration, but I’d like to know the ratio of your recipes. Is this done by weight? Because I know the flour weight of the master dough recipe is 32.5oz. I use all 3 cups of water, because I use King Arthur Flour.
By the way, I also have had problems with the rye bread recipe! And I use King Arthur unbleached flour. I had to keep adding flour. And it was still sticky after rising. Two loaves baked pretty flat. I ended up baking the 3rd loaf in a loaf pan, and it was great. But I’d rather do a free form loaf. I’m guessing I added more than 1/4cup all purpose flour. I don’t remember the humidity level of that day. I suspected old flour, so I tossed the rest of the rye flour out. But I wonder about Ginny’s similar problem. Thanks, Judy
Judy: Doubt it was old flour— just mix it drier if it’s coming out too wet for you.
When bakers say “hydration,” they mean the ratio of water to dry grain ingredients (all the flours, vital wheat gluten, and whole or cracked grain), measured by weight. So when we say that our Master Recipe for white bread is 75%, we’re saying that if you use 2 pounds of flour, you’d need 1.5 pounds of water (ratio is 4 parts flour, 3 parts water, so yes, much wetter than traditional dough). 1.5/2.0=75%. It’s confusing because it DOES NOT mean that the recipes is 75% water.
The more whole grain, the higher the hydration needed. So our 100% whole wheat recipe has about a 95% hydration. Nearly 1:1.
You can express any bread recipe ingredient as the ratio of it’s weight to that of the dry grain ingredients; that’s called “Baker’s Percentage” for the ingredient. Dry grain ingredient is always 100%.
THANKS so much, Jeff, for explaining hydration! I appreciate your explaining that it’s by weight.
I think I am getting to where I really want to learn to cook, rather than go by recipes. This, and learning ratios, seems to be helpful in this process.
THANKS!
I’m hooked on the Peasant loaf recipe and am wondering if I can sub whole wheat pastry for the all-purpose flour?
Thanks so much. My family (extended and friends!) are really enjoying the book and how it’s changed the way we eat!
Emmilee: We generally find that WW Pastry flour doesn’t have enough gluten to make a good bread. If you do use it, you may need to decrease the water a little (or increase the flour). Lower-protein flour like this absorbs less water.
Better off with regular WW flour, but in either case, consider adding vital wheat gluten (especially with the pastry flour, where it can make up for the protein deficit). See our post on this at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142. Jeff
I love the book. I have made two batches of the basic dough. However, I am having a problem. I don’t know if my dough is too wet or what. I am using unbleached AP flour. When I grab some dough to take out of the container (after sprinkling with flour) it sticks to my hands. I can’t get the dough to shape because it is sticking to my hands. I keep adding flour and it just just keeps sticking. Finally with impatience I put the sort of shaped loaf onto the corn mealed pizza peal and scrape my hands off. The bread does not come out a deep brown but a nice pale brown. It has large holes in it. It tastes great. Is my dough too wet or what?
Thanks for any help.
Trudy: The dough sounds too wet. Just add an extra quarter-cup of flour to the recipe and see what happens. Doesn’t matter which shelf the water is on, I’ve done it above and also below, but the same-shelf sounds cumbersome. Your oven may not be trapping steam well. Check out these alternative methods to create a steam environment next to the loaf:
Baking in a Dutch Oven: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=552
Aluminum Roasting Pan for Crust: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=510
Cloche baking: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=566
Oops, I forgot. I only have one shelf in my oven. I have put it in the middle, with a cookie sheet directly on the bottom and a pan on top of the cookie sheet. I put water in the pan as directed. Would it be better to put the water pan on the same shelf as the stone? Thanks.
I am so excited to make the Montreal Bagels. I live in Florida now, but I’m originally from there, and was literally teethed on them! My friend’s fiance is from Montreal, too. I can’t wait to make a batch and dive in!
The only problem is the malt. Acutally, which malt? The King Arthur website has three types: Diastatic Malt Powder, Non-Diastatic Malt Powder, and Malted Milk Poweder, which can be used for baking.
Which do you use?
Bonnie: I’ve never used the malted milk powder, so let’s take that off the table– don’t know how it would perform.
As to diastatic versus non-diastatic, the diastatic product contains some enzymes that help yeast to grow more quickly and efficiently. This isn’t relevant for long-stored dough, where you’re giving yeast so much time to do its thing. In our recipes, it’s just for flavor. Bottom line is that it doesn’t matter. I happen to have non-diastatic in my pantry. Jeff
I’ve been having lots of fun with your book- many thanks. Here is a w
I’ve had much fun using your book and fooling around with new recipes. Here is a waffle recipe I made today that my family loved.
1 lb dough (I used semolina)
2/3 c milk
4 T. melted butter
2 eggs
1/4 t. vanilla
1 T. sugar
Let dough sit 30 minutes to get active. Meanwhile mix remaining ingredients and blend with rotary beater. Add dough by pinches, and again blend with beater. Cook in preheated waffle iron.
I imagine it would also make good pancake.
My baking stone cracked when I was sliding pizza onto it, and some of the (cold) topping got onto the stone. This got me thinking: I wonder if you could use a new floor tile dedicated for that use (cheaper) instead of a “baking stone”. They’re the same thing, aren’t they? One of the bigger ones, 18″ square, would be a great size. The ones for my kitchen floor were fired to a very high temperature, and qualify as stoneware. Do you think that would work?
Carol: People have recommended unglazed masonry tiles. Key is unglazed. Jeff
I’m loving your book and enjoying baking bread. After reading the thread and watching the video, I realize my dough is too wet (exact same experience as trudy) to properly cloak and shape. That said, a bigger problem is this: As soon as it cooled by two sons ate the entire loaf in like five minutes! They love it!
Hi Leslie,
So happy that your sons are devouring the bread! If you have any questions about how to make your dough easier to work with please let us know.
Thanks, Zoë
I love the bread! Totally enjoy the process and the results! I just bought a 2 pound package of Red Star Active yeast and am glad that I will be saving money on the yeast.
The yeast bag has a conversion table for “compressed yeast.” Do you have any words of advice for me? Can I measure it out just like normal? I don’t want to screw up a batch. Thanks in advance!
I have HBin5 on pre-order! I hope it is a huge success!
Hi Scott,
I use Red Star active yeast all the time and love it. You will measure it just as the recipe calls for.
Thanks, Zoë
Absolutely love this book! It has allowed us to get the store bought stuff out of our bread box. Is there any recipe in the book akin to a pain de mie recipe that would do well in the pullman loaf pan? Thanks for revolutionizing and modernizing baking! Melissa
Hi Melissa,
I’ve often thought to make the buttermilk bread in a pullman. If you try it, let me know.
Thanks! Zoë
Bread baked in my commercial steel pan pulls loose at the edge of one side making a rip about 1/2 inch deep. This does not happen with my cast iron pan and I wonder if the rolled rim cools. Slashing does not help.I can live with this but I want to figure out why. Your ABIFMAD is a joy and delight. Thanks.arcy
Arcy: I have a possible solution– when your bread comes out of the oven, let it sit for about 10 minutes– this “steams” the bread loose from the steel. BTW, we always recommend greasing the pan, even if it has a non-stick coating. Very wet dough like ours tends to glue itself to pans, more than you expect with traditional doughs. Jeff
Hi Guys,
You have truly given the culinary world a gift. Cant wait to get your new book.
99% of my baking is the boule basic recipe. I sometimes travel and sometimes don’t bake for long periods of time. I wonder how long, (if there even is a limit), that the dough can just be left in the back of the fridge in the container with the lid on but unsealed. A month? Two?
Thanks.
Marty
Hi Marty,
When I first met Jeff he was keeping his bucket of dough in the refrigerator for a month+. The reason we didn’t tell people to store it for that long in the book is because it loses much of its rising power and some people may find that the flavor is too strong at a month. It is still safe to use as long as there is no mold on the dough. The mold is different from the liquid that will form on the top of the dough. Another option is to freeze the dough.
Enjoy and let us know how it goes! Zoë
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
I tried baker’s percentage for master dough and for challah (using margarine and 1/4C honey plus 6TBSP sugar). I’m trying to keep the nice texture from the honey on the challah, but I keep increasing the sugar to make it sweeter.
Here’s what I got for the master dough:
flour 100%
water 75%
yeast 1.6%
salt 2.3%
Am I accurate? What do I do with the half percents? Do I round up from .5 up, and round down from .4 down?
THANKS SO MUCH!
Judy L, TN
Hi Judy,
The truth is that you can change the yeast and the salt to suit your taste. It can be cut by half and not have an adverse effect on the bread, although you will have to adjust the rest times if you change the yeast. In other words, going up or down a .5% doesn’t really matter, it is a matter of taste.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi…I have just started using your book. My loaves are sticky and flattening out during the rest period even with incorporating more flour during cloaking. Also…do you sprinkle flour on the remaining dough each time you take some out?
Hope: Are you using unbleached all-purpose? That’s often the problem. If still too wet, consider adding an extra quarter-cup flour at the beginning.
And yes, I do sprinkle flour on remaining dough each time I take it out, otherwise too hard to handle. Jeff
Hi Zoe,
Thanks for the information on the master dough. I guess I am really more interested in scaling enriched doughs, actually (and learning more!). Here’s what I got for challah, and baker’s percentage for your recipe:
flour 100%
water 37.4%
yeast 1.5%
salt .1%
eggs 22.9%
honey 8.5%
sugar 7.7%
butter 11.3%
Does this look right? I used margarine instead of oil/butter. I used 4TBSP honey and 6TBSP sugar for the sweetener.
I weighed everything by grams. How do I round off the numbers?
Also, how much more can I increase the sugar? I really like a sweet challah.
I am wondering if challah dough would work for a grape cluster bread….
Thanks, Judy
Hi Judy,
I think you are destined for culinary school! You should get these books:
https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Baking-Method-Cards-Gisslen/dp/0470316527/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251430461&sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/Baking-Pastry-Mastering-Art-Craft/dp/047005591X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251430574&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Pastry-Chef-Fundamentals-Baking/dp/0471359254/ref=pd_sim_b_4
They will give you an in depth look at the science behind baking. It will be fascinating for you! Lots of details that we purposely left out of our book, as not to intimidate the new bakers.
You can add a few more tablespoons of sugar, but you may need to decrease the water if the dough seems to be getting too soft? I’ve never baked the challah as a grape cluster, but it would be gorgeous and I hope you do try it and let us know!
Thanks, Zoë
Would the deli rye bread have more rise if I used bread flour instead of unbleached flour?
THANKS!
Judy
For years, I made bread using Charles Van Over’s Best Bread Ever method…..I got baguettes with very nice holes. But I’ll grant it takes more time than your method does. I have made several batches using your quicker method, but the crumb is always too dense….the holes are small. I am weighing ingredients, letting the loaf rise well over an hour. I read that the 2, 3rd, and 4th loaves from the batch will have larger holes, but that hasn’t happened. The most recent King Arthur Flour catalog has a picture of bread made from your recipe, and it has nice large holes. How do I get those light airy loaves instead of the dense ones that I am getting? Would appreciate a lifeline here. Thanks
Hi Mary,
There are definitely some steps you can take to get a more open crumb. Here is a post about breads that are too dense. Why don’t you read through that and let me know if you still have questions. https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=141
Thanks for trying our method! Zoë
Thanks, Jeff. Yes, I am using unbleached flour and have added (not kneaded) a little more flour when forming the boule. That has been somewhat better. I have 2 loaves in the oven right now and they look better…kept their shape and I could slash better. I mixed up a batch of the European peasant bread today and added 1/4 c more white flour when mixing. I’ll see in a couple of days how that worked! Thanks for your feedback!
Hope: Another option is a little vital wheat gluten, especially with loaves containing whole grains. Check out https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142
Jeff
Hi Zoe,
THANKS so much for the book resources! I think I’ll start with “Professional Baking,…” by Wayne Gisslen first. It’s available in our nearby public library. The others aren’t available in any of the local libraries or the university.
However, I did find “Baker’s Manual, 150 Master formulas for Baking.” by Joseph Ameondola. I might take a look at this book and cancel my book, “Ratio,” which is on order to ship when your book ships. Are you familiar with it?
The university has an electronic version of the Culinary Inst of America’s “The New Professional Chef,” and I wonder about that.
I’ll start looking at these. I have gotten overwhelmed by gluten window and other terms in the past, so I’m interested in seeing how I react to these books. I don’t think, however, I could do any baking that needs a lot of work with my hands, due to current pain limitations. Your book lets me bake in happiness.
I look forward to your new book. I’d like to figure out how to have more rise on your rye bread recipe.
Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!!!!
Judy L, TN