Back to the Basics
I remember the first time I wanted to bake my own bread. I was an undergraduate at UC Davis working in my first research lab. The graduate student in the lab and I were chatting about food and he told me that once he made his own bread, he could never go back to buying bread from the store. Since he was an expert at protein chemistry, he must know what he was talking about, right?
Fast forward 12 years later, and I’ve finally made the leap to make my own bread. I’ve been experimenting with different things, like regular yeast versus fast-acting yeast, honey instead of sugar, and adding additional ingredients to make the loaves more wholesome. The result is the following recipe, which has no refined sugar, no butter, and no bleached flour.
After watching many seasons of The Great British Bake Off, I learned a lot about baking bread, both from the bakers and from Paul Hollywood, who is a bread wizard. There’s something awe-inspiring seeing bread dough double in size while resting. In addition, being able to see and feel the gluten molecules building while kneading is an aspect of baking that I find a very unique experience. Ever heard of the “window-pane” test to look at gluten development?
Things to Keep in Mind
When making bread, I’ve found a few things that I always need to remind myself of before starting:
Yeast and salt do not mix.
If you’re making a yeasted bread dough, be sure to either add the yeast and salt to opposite sides of the bowl, or sufficiently mix in the salt with the dry ingredients before adding the yeast. Yeast is a living organism and high salt can kill it very quickly. Also, if you have a large packet of yeast and only need a little, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Be patient!
This applies to both working the dough and to letting the dough proof (rest/rise/etc.). It’s nearly impossible to overwork the dough by hand. In a stand mixer, it’s a little easier to overwork the dough, and I’ve found that keeping the speed to 3 or lower using a dough hook is just fine for at least 5min. Working the dough builds up gluten molecules, which gives the dough an elastic texture. You can use the “window pane test” to determine whether you have built up enough gluten. The idea is that if you spread the dough very thin, you should be able to see light though it, kind of like looking through a window pane.
After building the gluten, you can place the dough ball in a large bowl (large enough to accommodate the dough doubling in size). You can lightly oil the bowl with extra virgin olive oil to make the dough easier to scrape out once it’s doubled in size. To prevent a skin forming on the dough, I suggest covering it with cling film, or with some sort of hand towel so that any draft in the room will not dry out the surface of the dough. Alternatively, you can let the dough proof in a large Tupperware container with the lid snapped on tight.
Get creative!
One of the great things about bread is that you can take a general recipe and jazz it up in a number of different ways! Not only can you alter the shape of the finished product (plaited, regular, free form, etc.), but you can also alter how it’s eaten. Do you want to slice into it with a bread knife, or have it be a “tear-and-share” loaf? What about fillings? I’ve made cinnamon and raisin, cheese, and more, just by slightly altering how the dough is prepared. What about how you finish the loaf? Do you want it to be floured, crusty, or shiny? These are all examples of ways to spruce up a bread recipe.
Materials (makes 1 loaf):
- 200g whole wheat flour
- 200g unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/4 flaxseed meal
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup tap water
- 1/2 cup milk (soy, almond, or cashew works)
- 4 tbsp maple syrup (honey works too, but can burn easier)
- 1 tsp instant yeast
Methods
- NOTE: This bread can be done without a mixer! Just roll up your sleeves and use your hands. It’s actually quite fun and therapeutic.
- In a large mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment, combine the two flours, flaxseed meal, salt, and olive oil and mix on low speed.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine water, milk, and maple syrup and microwave for ~30sec until lukewarm (not hot or you will need to cool it down slightly before adding the yeast). Mix until homogeneous.
- Add the yeast to the liquid mixture, stir to dissolve, and let sit until you see bubbles (indicating that the yeast is alive and metabolizing).
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium until gluten begins to form (~3-5min)
- Once the dough is formed, lightly oil the mixing bowl with olive oil and cover until dough has doubled in size. TIP: longer proofing times develop the flavor of the bread more. I typically proof for ~6-8hr or overnight at room temperature.
- Turn dough over on a lightly oiled surface. Punch air bubbles out and shape however you want onto a roasting surface of choice (bread tin, cookie tin, etc). Cover and let sit for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake until internal temperature reaches 190°F (roughly 30-45min for a well-risen dough).
A Bit of History of Bread
Bread baking began over 30,000 years ago. Water and grains were mixed into a paste and were cooked on heated rocks, which essentially made flatbread. The first evidence of using commercial leavening to rise bread dates back to the ancient Egyptians around 300BC. In fact, loaves and rolls have been found in Egyptian tombs! The modern day process of making sourdough bread can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians as well, who found that a piece of dough from one day could be saved to use for dough the following day.
Milling flour began around 800BC, when the Mesopotamians used two flat, circular stones to grind grain. Later advancements led to sifting of the germ and bran, followed by bleaching of the flour itself. Personally, I like stone-ground flour because it has more nutrients and is less processed than bleached, enriched, white flour.
In 168BC, the first Bakers Guild was formed in the Roman Empire (I totally would have joined!). Within a couple of centuries, there were hundreds of specialized pastry chefs in Rome. Bakers began to “enrich” their bread by adding milk, eggs, and butter. These enriched breads were reserved for only the wealthiest citizens of that time.
In ancient Greece, there were actually bread baking competitions between cities! One of the greatest bakers in the area was Thearion, from Athens, whose name has been passed down through the ages.
November 17th is National Homemade Bread Day!
As usual, comments, conversations, feedback, and messages are always welcome!