If you’ve recently found yourself curious about bread making, you’re not alone! The age-old ritual of mixing flour, water, and yeast to create a delicious loaf of bread is growing in popularity.

And it’s not surprising. Bread is part of the soul. In fact, some scientists believe bread making has been around for 30,000 years. From flatbreads to loaves, bread can easily be considered the most widely consumed food on Earth. Every culture has some type of bread as a staple in their diet.

You no longer need to pound grains between rocks to yield flour, but bread making still requires a bit more effort than going to a store and simply buying a loaf. Bread making is a labor of love, and the smell of hot bread fresh from the oven is just one of the many rewards of making your own. With this book as your guide, you’ll be reaping the rewards in no time!

About This Book

Think of this book as your own personal bread-making coach! You start by getting familiar with some of the science behind bread making. Don’t worry, there won’t be a quiz and you don’t have to memorize any technical terms or formulas, but understanding how just a few ingredients combine to make a delicious loaf of bread is important. I explain which flours and types of yeast are used to make different kinds of bread, and I show you some bread-making techniques that will come in handy. Finally, I help you stock your kitchen for your bread-making adventure, before offering more than 85 recipes to choose from.

This book is a reference, which means you don’t have to read it from beginning to end and you don’t have to commit it to memory. Instead, you can dip into these pages over and over again to find the information you need. The Table of Contents and Index will point you in the right direction.

Sidebars (text in gray boxes) and anything marked with the Technical Stuff icon (more on that later) can be skipped without missing the main point of the subject at hand.

Here are a few suggestions for getting the most out of the recipes in this book:

• Read each recipe from top to bottom before you make your grocery list to ensure you have all the ingredients you need.
• In the ingredients list, milk means whole milk and butter means unsalted butter; all-purpose flour means white, unbleached, all-purpose flour; and warm water means water between 100 and 110 degrees (it should feel warm to the touch, but not hot).
• A “floured surface” is generally ½ cup of all-purpose flour on a flat surface. You can add more or less flour based on the stickiness of the dough. (If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour to the surface; if the dough is dryer, add a little less flour to the surface.)
• If your house is cool or drafty, consider allowing the dough to rise in a cold oven with the light on. Cover the dough bowl with a tea towel, place it in a cold oven, and turn on the oven light. (Be sure to leave a note on the oven, so no one accidentally heats the oven with the dough inside!)
• You can use either fresh or dried herbs. For easy substitution, just keep in mind that 1 teaspoon of dried is equivalent to 1 tablespoon of fresh.
• Pay special attention to the techniques called for, whether hand kneading or using a stand mixer with a dough hook. Technique affects the end result, so be sure to follow the recipe.
• If possible, use a scale to measure the ingredients instead of relying on measuring cups and spoons. Bread making is a science, and the more precise you can be with your measurements, the better.
• Any recipes that are vegetarian are marked with the tomato icon () in the Recipes in This Book and the Recipes in This Chapter lists. (Most of the recipes in this book are, not surprisingly, vegetarian!)
• The recipes in this book include information on how long you can store the bread. If you can’t use the bread in the recommended timeframe, you can always place all or part of a loaf in a resealable plastic, freezer-safe bag and store it in the freezer for later use. To defrost, remove from the freezer and let the breads return to room temperature in the freezer bag, or place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Toasting bread is also a great way to defrost without the wait.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print an want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout the book, you’ll icons in the margin. Here’s what each icon means:

The Tip icon marks information that can save you time and money as you’re planning recipes to make, shopping for ingredients, and making bread.

You don’t have to commit this book to memory, but sometimes a piece of information is so important that I want you to remember it. When that happens, I flag it with the Remember icon.

Think of the Warning icon as a big orange traffic cone in the middle of the sidewalk, warning you about a hole you don’t want to fall into.

Bread making is a science, and sometimes I wade into the weeds with technical information. When I do, I use the Technical Stuff icon. You can safely skip anything marked with this icon without missing anything essential about the topic at hand.

Beyond the Book

In addition to what you’re reading right now, this product comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that includes tips on how to form a round roll, the benefits of sourdough bread, and a bread baker’s schedule you can follow if you like. To get this Cheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com and type Bread Making For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

IN THIS PART …

• Discover the science behind great bread.
• Get acquainted with bread-making ingredients.
• Understanding bread-making techniques.
• Discover the old-world techniques of sourdough baking.
• Plan a well-equipped kitchen and pantry.

Donning Your Lab Coat: The Science of Bread

Science is everything in bread making. Each ingredient plays a specific role in the formation of bread. The good news is, this kind of science is fun! Plus, unlike in school, there won’t be a test on Friday.

In this section, I fill you in on the main components of bread and the roles they play in making that delicious loaf you love.

Focusing on Flour

Flours come in all different varieties, from grains to protein. In this section, I look at the flours used most often in bread making. The following list just scratches the surface of flours used in bread making, though, so don’t hesitate to branch out and try different kinds of flour to see which one you like best.

The type of flour you use in baking matters. Cake flour yields the best cakes, but it’s not what you want to use when making bread.

• All-purpose flour: Many cookbooks use the term flour to mean “all-purpose flour.” All-purpose flour contains 10 percent to 12 percent protein. Many manufacturers label their all-purpose flour with the percentage of protein so the consumer understands what they’re using. You can find all-purpose flour bleached or unbleached; for bread making, choose an unbleached flour.
• Bread flour: Bread flour typically ranges from 12 percent to 14 percent protein, which is an ideal range for forming gluten and creating the matrix (see Chapter 1).
• Cake flour: Cake flour plays a role in certain breads, like Croissants (Chapter 9) and German Pretzels (Chapter 9). Cake flour is lower in protein (about 7 percent to 9 percent) than all-purpose flour and it’s milled finer. These simple differences make a significant impact on texture. Although you can swap out cake flour for all-purpose flour, the outcome won’t result in as tender of a crumb.
• Whole-wheat flour: Whole-wheat flour contains the bran, germ, and endosperm of wheat and is around 14 percent protein. Whole-wheat flour produces a denser, often less airy or spongy bread. When you know how to work the grain, you can produce a great product with whole-wheat flour.
• White whole-wheat flour: A white whole-wheat flour has often been produced from a spring white wheat, so it’s a whole-wheat product and can have a higher protein content (13 percent), but it has a milder flavor.
• Winter red wheat flour: Red refers to the color of the kernel of wheat grown. Winter red wheat flour produces a nuttier, more robust wheat flavor. Many artisan bread makers seek out a hard red wheat flour because of the flavor and higher protein (14 percent).

• Einkorn: Einkorn means “single grain” in German. Einkorn is the most primitive form of the wheat grain that you can find. Because it’s an ancient grain, it produces a denser bread with a nuttier flavor than you may have tasted before. You can purchase einkorn as a berry, and then mill or sprout it to add it to breads, or you can purchase the flour and add it to your bread recipes. Einkorn has a protein content of 22 percent, but it’s low in gluten.

  Often, in recipes with ancient grains, you find a gluten product, whether in the form of flour or in vital wheat gluten added to the recipe to help form the matrix in bread.

• Emmer: Much like einkorn, emmer is an ancient grain that is high in protein (22 percent) and low in gluten.

• Khorasan: Khorasan is an ancient grain that has not been subjected to modern hybridization. At 15 percent protein, it can make a better bread than other ancient grains. It requires more liquid, though, because it absorbs more than other flours do. The grain produces a dense loaf of bread.

  Some research studies have highlighted the cholesterol-lowering effects of eating more Khorasan grains.

• Rye flour: Rye is not a wheat at all, but a grass. Rye is a popular grain used throughout Europe and Russia. It has less gluten than wheat, producing a denser loaf of bread. You see rye flour used frequently in this book to provide a subtle flavor and increase the nutrition profile of the bread.
• Semolina flour: Semolina is a durum wheat and hard wheat, which is most commonly seen in pastas. However, when you use semolina in bread making, you get a pale yellow hue in the bread and subtle nutty undertones.
• Spelt flour: Spelt is another fabulous ancient grain, and quite possibly my favorite whole grain to use when making bread. Spelt has a higher gluten content, making it a great substitute for whole-wheat flour in recipes with a range of 13 percent to 14 percent total protein.
• Sprouted-grain flour: Sprouting wheat grains prior to milling or adding to dough improves digestibility. You can purchase sprouted whole-wheat flours, which typically has 13 percent to 14 percent protein content, and use it to make a great bread. You can also sprout your own grains (see the nearby sidebar), and add the sprouted grains to your bread mix.
• Rice flour: You may consider rice flour an odd item on this list, but rice flour is actually an excellent flour to use with sourdough baking — not within the loaf, but in the banneton (a woven or braided basket that helps a loaf hold its shape and creates a desired design on the surface of the dough during its final proofing). Rice flour won’t stick to the bread as it proofs, allowing the bread to easily release from the mold.

Looking At Everything Else

Flour is, not surprisingly, a major part of bread making. But you can’t make bread with flour alone. Here are all the other ingredients that may go into your favorite bread:

• Yeast: Yeast plays a major role in giving bread its rise (see Chapter 1 for more on how yeast works). For bread making, yeast comes in two main varieties:

  • Commercial yeasts: The most common commercial yeast used in the United States is active dry yeast. This yeast is activated with warm water (100 to 110 degrees) and then fed a little sugar to begin bubbling and release carbon dioxide. You can find active dry yeast in individual packages or in a glass jar. Store the yeast in a cool, dark, dry space.
  • Wild yeasts: When you move into sourdough breads and work with a starter, you’ll discover wild yeasts. Wild yeasts are naturally occurring organisms in the fungus family that are floating around in the air, on our counters, on our skin, and in our flours. Wild yeasts are everywhere. By forming a starter, we are capturing and feeding the wild yeasts and creating a fermented yeast perfect for bread making.

  Be sure not to buy nutritional yeast! Nutritional yeast is deactivated, and it won’t help your baked goods rise.

• Salt: Salt has an important role to play in bread making, from adding flavor to tightening the structure of gluten, and it helps slow fermentation. You can play around with different salts, like sea salt or kosher salt. If you use fancier salts, be sure they don’t have artificial coloring, or else they may cause discoloration in your dough.
• Liquid: Liquids are responsible for rehydrating the flours and dissolving the yeast to help form the dough. Every bread recipe will have a liquid; however, varying liquids will create a different effect on the final product, from flavor to tenderness. Here are a couple liquids you may find:
  • Water: Flour absorbs the water and helps to form the gluten. The steam released during baking helps the breads rise. You can use bottled, filtered, or tap water in the recipes in this book.
  • Milk: Milk is a nutrient-dense liquid, with fats, sugar, and protein. The protein helps strengthen the dough, the fat helps tenderize it, and the sugars found naturally in milk feed the yeast. For the purposes of the recipes in this book, I used whole milk.
  • Non-dairy milk: If you have a dairy allergy, you can play around with replacing cow’s milk with nutty alternatives, from almond milk to coconut milk. Non-dairy milks will naturally add their flavors and won’t provide the same protein strength, but they make for a decent substitute.
• Eggs: Eggs impart a golden color to dough, as well as provide structure, tenderness, and richness. Think about a rich brioche bun, and you’ll understand the importance of eggs.
• Fat: Fats can help soften the dough and create a tender crumb. Not every recipe calls for fat, and some fats impart a distinct flavor in the dough. Here are a couple popular fats used in bread making:
  • Butter: Everything’s better with butter! Rich, cultured butter is my favorite, but because it’s harder to find, I’ve tested all the recipes in this book with unsalted butter. Butter provides tenderness to breads and actually softens the gluten. Getting the right balance of butter is important to create soft, but not crumbly, breads.
  • Oils: A touch of oil on the surface of dough helps prevent the dough from drying out. Mixed in, oil tenderizes the bread.
  • Bacon fat or lard: These types of fats are often seen in older recipes where people creatively used up rendered fat they had on hand. Bacon fat and lard provide flavor and tenderness to bread.

• Fruits, nuts, or seeds: Not every bread recipe calls for fruits, nuts, or seeds, but they can give bread more nutrition and flavor. Fruits also provide sugars that feed the yeast. Nuts and seeds add in essential fats, crunch, and texture to the dough. Here’s what each of these ingredients brings to the table:

  • Dried fruits: Dried cherries, apricots, raisins, currants, blueberries, and dates are great additions to dough. They don’t add to the structure, but these fun mix-ins do add texture. The sweetness of dried fruits also provides a substrate (food) for the yeasts to feed on and can create a sweeter-tasting bread.
  • Nuts: The most commonly used nuts are walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, and almonds. Nuts are better protected from high heat when mixed into the dough, instead of being sprinkled on the surface where they may burn at high heat. Nuts add great texture and a dose of nutrition in breads.
  • Seeds: Flax, chia, sesame, and sunflower seeds are regularly enjoyed around the globe in breads. They add in nutrition and texture. Seeds can often handle higher heat than nuts. They may be best suited mixed into the dough and not just sprinkled on the surface. Seeds are nutrition powerhouses, packed with healthy fats and antioxidants. If you travel to Europe you’ll frequently see seeds and nuts added to breads.

  Store dried fruit, nuts, and seeds in an airtight container placed in a cool, dark pantry to extend their shelf life.

• Honey, molasses, sugar, or dates: Whether you opt for honey, molasses, sugar, or pureed dates, you’ll get added sweetness, food for the yeast, and a touch of color through caramelization. If you opt to reduce or cut out sugar in a recipe, the crust may suffer in color. As a dietitian, I recognize that not everyone should have added sugars in their diet. So, if you prefer to substitute sugar, consider using a date puree, which provides fiber and essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals.