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047 – Making Bread

Hey kiddos! We got a real practical question this time around! Sammy: Hey Dad, do you know how to make bread I want to make some for a friend but I’m not sure how. Uhm. So, uh. I have a confession to make. I can do a lot of things. I can make coq au vin in my sleep. My risotto is great. I’ve made earl grey shortbread that melts in your mouth. Choux pastry? No problem. But I cannot for the life of me bake a simple loaf of white bread. The last time I tried, the bread broke our chopping board in half. Luckily! I live with an amateur baker! Take it away! Hello. I know I’m not your dad, so I’m not sure how this will go, but let’s give it a shot! I’m here to talk about baking bread. NOTE: I had to rewrite this for filters. The internet is broken. I love baking. Give me a piece of plain bread to dip in a nice stew, and I’m in heaven. When I was little, having my mom's freshly baked loaf with just some butter was pure joy. And now it’s time for you to bring that joy into other people’s lives! No pressure. First off, this is the equipment you’ll need: Big mixing bowl, preferably with a lid (4 litres), Jar with lid (0.5 litres), Silicone spatula with a firm handle, Kitchen scale Kitchen towel, Bread pan, 30 cm x 10 cm (optional), Oven rack, Oven And these are the ingredients. This is all in grams, which is why you’ll need that scale. 450 g wheat flour (preferably bread flour), 350 g cold water, 10 g fresh yeast, 15 g salt, Butter (optional) First, put the jar on the kitchen scale and press “Tare”. This resets the scale to zero. Resetting the scale between adding each ingredient makes them easier to measure. Measure out the water, yeast and salt into the jar. Then close it. Now shake it! You could use a mixing bowl and spatula instead, but where’s the fun in that? Measure out the flour in your big mixing bowl. Pour in the contents of the jar and start mixing with a spatula. It might look too wet and then too dry, and you might be tempted to add more flour or water. Resist the urge! Keep mixing until you can’t see any loose flour or clumps. Now comes the fun part: Waiting! Put a lid (or a kitchen towel) on your mixing bowl and let rest for 30 minutes in room temperature. While we wait, let’s talk. You’ve probably heard the saying “Cooking is an art, baking is a science.” But what does it mean? Does it mean baking is harder? That you have to do everything perfectly? Sure, you should use exact measurements -- a good kitchen scale is your best friend! -- but I think there’s more to it. *The timer dings* More on that later! Let’s help the gluten along by stretching and folding. Run your hands under some cold water, then grab the edge of the dough... ...stretch it slowly and gently... ...and then fold it over itself. Now turn the bowl 90° and repeat three more times until you’ve stretched and folded all four sides of the dough. If the dough starts sticking to your hands, just rinse them in water again. Set your timer to 30 minutes. Let’s dig deeper into science! Science is how we teach ourselves about the world around us. It doesn’t give us the answers, but it helps us find which questions to ask. How? Basically, by doing experiments and writing down the results. Treating baking like an experiment takes the pressure off and helps me focus on the process instead of whether my bread turns out perfect. It helps me stay in the moment. *Timer dings* Hold that thought! It’s time to repeat the “stretch and fold”. This time, let the dough rest a full hour. Where were we? Right, science. The scientific approach suits me, because a. I’m a computer programmer, and b. I struggle with perfectionism. Perfectionism is the mind killer. Sometimes it makes me so afraid of failing at something that I can’t even start. And if I do fail, I feel like a failure. But if I tap into my programming background and treat recipes like code and the oven as a computer, I can reframe the problem and focus on the process instead of the result. This way, every failure is a new piece of data that I can use to improve my recipe! Every bread that comes out of the oven is valuable, even if it’s inedible! After an hour has passed, scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a well-floured surface. Flour your hands and stretch the dough into something like a 30 cm by 20 cm rectangle. If you’re using a bread pan, coat the inside with butter. This not only makes it easier to get the finished loaf out of the pan, it tastes delicious! Roll up the dough like so... ...and place it in the bread pan, or on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Make sure the seam is facing down. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for half an hour. Time to preheat the oven! Set it to 250°C. Wait for _another_ 30 minutes. It’s finally time to put the bread in the oven! Place the pan in the middle of the oven, and then immediately lower the temperature to 230°C. Now it’s time to wait for another 30 minutes, but make sure to keep an eye and a nose on your bread. What colour is it? How does it smell? You can let it go past golden and turn a dark brown, but if it starts to smell burnt, it’s time to take it out. Place it on an oven rack to cool. Remember, this is an experiment. It’s time to note down the colour, appearance, smell. Take some photos. Make a note of how long it was in the oven. This is useful data for next time! When it’s cooled off, have a taste. Maybe plain at first, maybe with a bit of butter. Think about the taste, the texture, the consistency. Note down your thoughts. Now it’s time to spread your wings and try your own experiments! Try adding bread spices! Cold fermentation! Watch some videos about baking, check out other recipes. Get inspired! What do you want to try? And remember, if your bread doesn’t come out the way you wanted: The bread is the failure, not you. You're a baker