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
Have a question about the nutritional breakdown of the breads. I just need a ball park figure. I am a diabetic and also on Weight watchers. My other question is how many servings to expect from a one pound loaf?
Thanks,
Pat McCollem
I have just purchased your book and am working with my first batch of master dough.
The first loaf I shaped, rested for 40 minutes and did a scallop design when dusting and slashing.
The result was a delicious although unattractively shaped dough. It got very tall and unevenly round.
I found your website and read on the “errors” page how the rest time can be anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour and a half.
This time I rested the dough 1 and a half hours until the dough was jiggly. Did a cross slash. Again, a delicious but not well shaped loaf.
I know I am slashing the dough deep enough. I’m pretty sure that it is just the moisture bursting through the dough making this irregular shape when the dough gets its oven spring.
What I’m wondering is…could this be because my dough is not wet enough. Or could it be because my container is too airtight. It has a snap on lid, not a screw top so I thought it would be okay.
Love, love, love the bread….just want it to look as good as it tastes.
Thanks!
Bonnie
Hi,
I just want to thank you for writing this book. I hadn’t baked my own bread in years…but this method hooked me! It couldn’t be any easier…my first loaf was a huge success…I don’t know anything about crumb, or hydration, but we loved it and ate the entire loaf at one meal. I used the rest of my inital batch to make pizzas tonight…once again the taste and texture were just so darn lovely. Thank you for this book…I truly am so grateful to you. Your parents must be so darn proud of you. I am.
Thank you Lorri! Gotta tell my mother about this one. Let us know if you run into problems or questions.
Jeff
Bonnie: shape problems are usually taken care of by one of the following, many of which you’ve already read about and addressed:
1. “Catching” on the pizza peel as you slide it onto the stone. Probably not your explanation, but you could use more cornmeal or other grainy “lubricant.”
2. Not slashing deeply enough, or not making enough slashes. Sounds like you’re cutting deep, but try a half-inch deep cut. Try a cross shape next time, it’s a little more reliable and symmetrical than the scallop.
I don’t think you’re having a hydration problem; dry dough isn’t usually the cause of a shape problem (it prevents the dough from storing well, and can lead to a dry result).
Let us know how it goes when you keep working with it. Also, be sure you’re starting with small loaves (one-pound), which are more reliable. Jeff
My comment is about the amount of salt called for in the recipes. I first tried the 1/1/2 Tablespoons and created a bread that was way too salty. Then I switched to 1 1/2 teaspoons and the bread was fine. Is there a typo in the recipe? I can’t imagine eating bread as salty as the “Tablespoon” recipes call for.
Please comment.
Doug: It is in fact 1 1/2 tablespoons, not teaspoons. We always understood that people would modify it based on their taste. You’ll be surprised to hear that at 1 1/2 tablespoons for 6 1/2 cups of flour, we’ve had some people tell us it was too salty, and others that it is too bland!
Lesson for us: readers will modify to taste and that’s great!
Jeff
Hello!
I love my new book that finally arrived.
I am a big fan of stoneware for cooking anything and almost everything. I am using Pampered Chef stoneware and have a couple of questions:
1. My consultant told me not to heat the stoneware before I use it because it’s not insulated (like the one I saw Emeril use). Have you tried any recipes where you didn’t heat the stone up first?
2. I just ordered a stone loaf pan. It isn’t non-stick, but will be after using it for a while. I know that you recommend using only non-stick loaf pans, but would a stone pan work?
Thanks again, and I must echo what Lorri said – this has jump started me into baking day everyday now. I don’t spend $2.50-$3 a loaf at the store anymore. This book is saving me so much money and mostly it’s just a joy to use it! I can’t wait to make sticky buns this weekend.
-Nikki
I accidently left a batch of bread I had mixed out, and discovered it after work today. It had been about 18 hours since I had mixed it up. Is it still good to use? I’m thinking since we leave new sourdough starter out, it should still be o.k., but would like your opinion. thanks
Hi Nikki,
I haven’t use this type of stoneware, but I’ll go to the pampered chef website and check it out.
until your loaf pan has developed that non-stick patina, you may consider using a parchment sheet lining.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Laura,
Your dough will be just fine. I’ve done that so many times and nothing bad has ever happened to the dough or the resulting bread. Just carry on and enjoy the bread!
Thanks, Zoë
Zoe and Jeff, you guys have done a fantastic job at reaching out to folks and answering questions. Thanks for the Q&A, it’s helpful!
And I just got someone else at work to buy your book. I’m going to have to start getting a commission. 🙂
Hi. Enjoying your book and the recipes very much! Can you give some tips on storing bread after baking. Currently I am doing what the book says: storing it sliced side down on a plate w/o any cover on the bread. I think sometimes the crust gets too hard too fast. Thanks for a great book and web site.
Hi Pete,
I wish I had a magic answer for you about keeping bread fresh once it is baked!
It is one good thing about this method is that you can bake smaller loaves more often, with very little extra work.
But, if you find yourself with a left over loaf the best thing to do it to freeze it quickly. This will prevent further drying out. You will have to crisp it up in the oven. So you may be better off just baking a fresh loaf.
Like I said, other than storing it cut side down on the counter, there isn’t a great answer.
Having said that I’m hoping some of our other readers will give us their advice!
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
I am from Hong Kong, China and I am so happy to get your book from Amazon. I have never thought that I could enjoy a steaming, crispy, crackling loaf at home with so minimal efforts. Thanks so much! I am still working on the basic dough but my family said the loaves are better than those served in hotel restaurants 🙂
I notice that in the Error page, you recommend to use the middle rack for the baking stone. I tried that last night but the result was not so good as before. I don’t think putting the stone at the lowest shelf is an error. In fact, the bottom crust comes out, though a bit dark, but very crispy, very aromatic, tasty and wonderful. It is amazingly thin, when compared to those coming out from bread machines. We all try to eat up the bottom crust first!!!!
Just to share my view. I look forward to more bread baking tips and books from you guys,
Thanks again,
William
William: Thanks for your comment, which just goes to show that each oven behaves differently, sometimes radically so. I’m assuming that you didn’t find the top crust to be soft; that’s often the result when the loaf bakes on the bottom shelf for the whole baking time. At least in our ovens.
Jeff
Jeff and Zoe,
Your book caught my eye in the bookstore in December, and I got it a few weeks later. I am having so much fun with it. I’ve baked bread before, but am having much better results with your method. I love it! I’ve made the master recipe, broa, bran-enriched white bread, pizza dough and two batches of oatmeal bread, which may be my favorite. The second time I made the oatmeal bread, I baked it as a round loaf and mixed in some dried cherries, which worked really well. My husband and 3-year-old daughter love them all, so far. I’m going to experiment with some wheat bread recipes this weekend. Thank you for your suggestions regarding resting time and using wheat gluten. I’m also looking forward to trying the enriched breads very soon.
I have a question about using steam. When I pour the water in, there’s a lot of hissing, and even though I try to do it quickly, it seems that most of the steam that rises immediately has evaporated by the time I get the oven door closed. Is it still effective? And what does the steam do?
Thank you so much for writing this book!
Dorothy
HI Jeff,
Thanks for the reply. The top crust is great. I am using a gas oven and the gas is burning at the bottom only, unlike the electric oven with heating elements both at top and bottom. I put the baking stone at the lower shelf and a broiler tray for water at the top shelf. The result is marvellous. If I put the baking stone in the middle and the broiler tray at the bottom, this might not give enough heat to the stone to produce good browning result on the bottom crust. You are absolutely true that every oven behaves differently.
Cheers,
william
Pat: I’m still working on the nutritional content, will get back to you here very soon.
Jeff
Dorothy: It’s normal for there to be lots of hissing. Assuming you are getting a nice color (rich brown) on the top crust, and it’s crisp, you must be trapping enough steam to do the job. Steam affects proteins, starches, and sugars in the crust, which promotes carmelization and crispness.
Jeff
OK Pat, here are my best estimates on the servings and nutritional content of our breads. A pound of basic Boule (page 26) should give you about 16 slices (servings) of bread; obviously of all different sizes since it’s a ball (boule!). If it was baked in a rectangular loaf pan, and the slices were very symmetrical, the best estimate I can get you is that each slice will be about 70 calories, based on similar one-pound breads I’ve looked at on the commercial side (not so bad if you can eat just one!). A 70-calorie slice of white bread has about 13 grams of carbohydrate. So this is a reasonable exchange for other carbohydrate sources in the diet. If you make the whole-grain alternatives, you’re swapping out some zero-calorie and carb bran into the loaf, so figure that you’re doing about 10% to 15% better on the numbers (unless you really push the whole grains, and that’s going to be the subject of our second book).
White bread has less than one gram of fiber per slice, really a trivial amount.
Jeff
I just got my pizza peel. It seems kind of ‘raw’. Should I oil it like I would a cutting board?
Thank you. Sorry if this is a dumb question.
MaryC: I would leave it as it is. Because you won’t be using it as a cutting board, it won’t be repeatedly exposed to liquids and oils, so don’t worry about a little liquid penetrating its surface. If you oil it, it will be tackier, and that’s not what you want here. Dry is good; the loaves will slide off better. My wood peel (Sassafras brand) has always looked dry, has never been oiled, and works great. And it never cracks along it’s wood joints, despite looking so dry.
Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
My suggestion for a thread would be suggestions for the next book, which you two are obviously already working on. I have a couple of notes on changing the organization of the book to make it more “flip friendly”. For example, within each bread category (master recipe, peasant breads, flat breads, enriched, etc.) the recipes should be ordered by alpha. Also, the table of contents would be ordered following this same principle (as it is now, the table of contents is too general, and I have to go to the index to find a certain recipe, and I’m confused by the many headings and sub-headings.) Another suggestion is a chart that makes for easy reference of the variations between recipes; once your reader has mastered the basic technique, a chart would really make the baking experience even more streamlined.
I am working on an excel spreadsheet that lays out, in columns, such things as page number, loaf size, resting time, oven temp, baking time, fridge life span, etc. I would be happy to share it with you, when I’m done, but I don’t have an email address to send it to. And on a last note, I think you have such an enthusiastic fan base, that you could easily enlist assistance from people to do everything from testing recipes to double checking texts for accuracy. I know I’d be up for volunteer-contributing to your next book. I’m eager to give back to the folks who put such a great book on the market and changed my relationship to baking forever.
Roll on!
-Celene
Celene: Our next book is still a distant glimmer, but we’ll keep this in mind. This website has been the best way to refine our own method! Thanks for everything. Jeff
A reader asked:
—————————
“I recently purchased your book “Artisan Bread…” and love the concept. But I’m having some problems with the execution. I have a couple of questions.
1. Am I supposed to use a baking stone if I’m baking the dough in a loaf pan?
2. My loaves don’t seem to rise much. They taste great, but they’re small, even if I chop off a larger chunk than called for in the recipe. For example, yesterday I took about 3/4 of the dough from the “European Peasant Bread” recipe (p. 46), split it in two, shaped it into two rectangles, and put the two pieces into 9 x 5 loaf pans. I let it rest for about 2 hours (it had been refrigerated) then baked it according to the directions. The loaves came out about 2 1/2″ high. Previously, I made round loaves that hardly rose at all. Again, everything was delicious–just tiny. The interior of the bread seems fine (crumb, texture, etc.) What am I doing wrong?”
——————————————
First, about the baking stone. If you’re baking in a loaf pan, you don’t need the stone, which absorbs moisture directly from the bottom crust that contacts it.
Then, about your small, poorly-rising loaves. This is a bit confusing, because you say that the interior crumb is good… it’s not dense and leaden, which is what I’d expect from a loaf that wasn’t rising well. You’re having the same experience with loaf pans and with free-form. For the free-forms, it sounds like you’re getting sideways spread rather than upward oven spring, so the interior structure is nice and “open,” but in the wrong direction. I hate to recommend this, because usually we say “handle as little as possible,” but maybe do a little more “gluten-cloaking” (page 28, and check out our videos on this website). This will tend to prevent sideways spread.
You’re already doing a prolonged rest, at least for the loaf-pan loaves, which are the most confusing. If you’re getting so little rise, why isn’t the texture dense and leaden?
Finally, check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. You need that 450 degree blast to get “oven spring.” Jeff
Hello,
I got your book as a birthday present and am really excited about it. We had our first boule yesterday and though I think I need to decrease flour a bit more (I’m using KA all-purpose) because we didn’t get very large holes, my husband is in love with the bread. I’m embarking on baguette today.
My question relates to sourdough starter. We’ve got some in our fridge from my husband’s parents–it’s older than he is! We rarely find time to use it, and wonder if there is a way to incorporate it into one your master recipe. Any suggestions, or is this unlikely to work well?
Thanks so much. I can’t wait to try the challah!
Laurel
Hi Laurel:
About the small holes: you’ll find it gets holey-er as the dough ages, if you can wait a few more days in the fridge (or stagger batches). But you’ll get bigger holes with young dough if you:
1. Handle (cloak) it as little as possible.
2. Try a longer rest period (1 to 2 hours rather than 40 minutes).
3. Try the overnight-rest-in-the-fridge-after-shaping method. Then you can bake cold the next morning. Testers have found that this creates larger holes.
About starter: it works, but it’s a bit temperamental. If it’s a loose, batter-like starter, you can replace one cup of starter for 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Keep the final consistency about what you’re used to with our method. The question is whether you’ll use any commercial yeast at all, or let the starter do the rising. Your call; you certainly can decrease the yeast by half at least. I know it works with no added yeast but it’s temperamental; be sure your starter is fed and “activated” before you add it in.
Jeff
I must tell you we LOVE your book! I made the master dough and used the last piece for a baguette. I sprinkled it with black and white sesame seeds and poppy seeds.
Delicious!
There was some leftover so I cut it into 1/2″ pieces, mixed olive oil, Italian herb mix and garlic salt. Brushed it on both sides, put it in a 350 oven for twenty minutes, or until golden. They are SO good!!!
Can’t wait to try the Chocolate Babka!! Thank you, thank you, thank you…what fun I’m having!!!
Susan D.
Susan: Thank you so much, but please, please, please, before you make the Babka, check the “Errors” sheet on this website, because the Babka has a whopper. You need to use 7 1/2 cups of AP flour, not 6. Also, there’s a missing instruction at the end: “Brush rum onto loaf when slightly cooled.”
Sorry about that. Jeff
Thank you for this amazing book. I have faithfully followed Peter Reinhart’s cold-rise method, but still, it is time consuming. Your method is amazing, and idiot-proof.I did post about your book, and the book was well-received. Thank you.
I would love to see a video on You Tube for the correct method of using a pizza peel to slide the bread/pizza onto a baking stone. This is my biggest obstacle right now!
I was thinking about adding whole wheat flour to the olive bread — splitting it 50/50 with white flour… will that work with this method?
Hi Susie,
Thank you for sharing the bread with your readers!
We have a video here on our website. If you go to the top of the home page you will see “Video” along the top.
If you want to add WW to the olive bread I would start with about 25% or the bread may be too dry and dense. If you want to go higher than that you may want to add a little bit of vital wheat gluten and a couple extra tablespoons of water.
Thanks! Let us know how it goes.
Zoë
for all those having difficulty with getting the dough off the pizza peel, i have found that resting the dough on a piece of
parchment paper on a rimless cookie sheet works the best! i just slide the parchment unto the baking stone-no more funky shaped loaves. i have been baking at least a dozen loaves a week since i got the book the first week of january (I
baked six loaves this evening for a lunch at work tomorrow)
Hi Laura: Parchment paper is a great alternative method, and definitely results in less cleanup.
Wow, you’re baking more than I do! Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. I printed out the error sheet and will put it in the cookbook for reference.
Funny thing, I read the recipe calling for 1-1/2 pkg of yeast and then saw the measurement to be 1-1/2 T.
I knew that 2 pkgs equalled the right amount so thought that must have been an error.
Measured out the packages anyway just to be sure.
The Olive Oil bread turned out great. The texture is amazing, as is the flavor.
Thanks again!
Susan
I wish you had used weight measurements.
How much does your cup of flour weigh?
I use 1 cup = 5 ounces.
Is that too much?
Merci beaucoup!
Lise: That’s exactly what we use, should work well for you. Where are you writing from? Jeff
Susan D: The amusing thing about the yeast-packet error is that our method works quite well as a lower-yeast version; you can easily half the yeast that we recommend. BUT… that means that you have longer wait times. Some of our readers have preferred the flavor of the slower-risen stuff so more power to them…
Thanks, Jeff
Hi Lise,
We’ve given all the weights for the flour here:
https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=140
See if that is helpful.
Thanks for trying the bread! Zoë
I love your book. I have tried so many of the recipes. I’m at our local food co-op every week looking for a different kind of a flour I can’t find at the grocery store. My question problem is that in the beginning my doughs in my container were quite moist and now they seem to be very dry. Really too dry. I don’t know what to do. I haven’t changed any of the ingredients or how I measure things. Could the coldness of my kitchen be any reason? We keep our house set at 68. By the way I love the idea of forming the dough in the morning and leaving it in the frig and then popping it n the oven for dinner. We’re going to have more bread at night!
Jean
Jean:
This is puzzling.
All I can think of is that as you get more and more involved with new and interesting whole-grain flours from your natural foods co-op, you’ve been substituting more and more whole grain flours for all-purpose white in the easier recipes. As you increase the proportion of whole wheat, rye, barley, and other flours high in dry bran, you need more water. We found that once you use more than about a cup of these flours, you need to increase the water to keep it at the consistency of the basic recipe (page 26).
If you’re improvising, just add more water as you are mixing so that the ingredients are more easily incorporated.
Think this is the explanation?
Jeff
Love the master bread recipe but the brioche recipe should win an award!! I’ve tried for many years to make this and, finally, success! Fantastic sticky buns and a “killer” prune danish that is impossible to find in any local bakeries. I’m recommending this book to everyone!
Hi Jane,
Wow, thanks for the wonderful feedback! Your prune danish sounds really wonderful.
Enjoy and thanks for sharing it with others.
Zoë
Question: I’m having trouble getting a nice cloak to form on my dough in the shaping step. Even with *lots* of flour sprinkled on the top of the ball, and as gentle as I can be with my thumbs, I seem to ‘crack’ the cloak. Is my dough too wet?
(This is using both the light whole wheat recipe and the all whole wheat recipe, adding some add’l water to compensate for KA higher protein content flour.)
I saw your Master Recipe in the NY Times and was so blown away by the first loaf I made I ran out and bought the book. I plan on trying everything in it!
I will be making baguettes in the next day or so and was wondering if it okay to use a baguette pan and how would that affect the results?
LJ: Is the cracking happening on the top, or the bottom? Jeff
Cynthia: My friend Jim loves that baguette pan. The one with the perforations? I’m told it works nicely to crisp the bottom crust, as well as a stone. Jeff
Jeff–the cracking is happening on the top of the loaf as I’m trying to do the cloaking.
OK, that’s helpful. It actually sounds like you are just cloaking for too long. After a while, you’ll overstretch the top surface and it just tears. Once it forms a cohesive ball with a smooth top, just stop at that point. Jeff
I must be doing something wrong, because it happens with the first ‘pull’. I can get the surface to cohere, but when I get to the outside of the ball and try to tuck it underneath, the surface skin rips. Am I pulling too far?