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
I have been experimenting with making english muffins from your doughs – works great! Use any dough (but the ligher ones make puffier muffins).
Preheat oven to 350. Roll out a ball of refrigerated dough about 1/2 inch thick. Dough that is a few days old and soured a bit tastes best. Cut with a round cutter (like a large mouth canning jar lid). Let the rounds rest on a cornmeal/flour cutting board while you heat a griddle (mine is cast iron which fits over 2 burners). Reduce heat to low/med. and place muffins on griddle. Cook for 5 – 6 minutes (checking to make sure bottoms aren’t burning), flip and cook another 5 – 6 minutes. Then place on a cookie sheet or preheated baking stone for another 5 – 6 minutes in the oven. Let cool a bit and then use a fork to split muffins open. They can be eaten toasted or straight from the oven – yum!
Chris: We posted on English Muffins too, at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=497.
I have two questions:
1. can I make some sort of soft roll that would be good for serving with dinner, or are these breads a little too dense in nature for that?
2. can I cook brioche in muffin papers and be successful in removing them from the papers? Or is this too sticky of a dough for that?
I was re-reading all the blogs again and saw the blog on the Canadian flour. I went to check and sure enough my flour is 4 gram protein (on a 30 g serving) so over 13%. As I commented to Zoe, my dough really doesn’t seem too dry, so I was wondering if maybe it needs more wheat gluten? It rises fine in the bowl, but not on the counter or in the oven.
Heidi: You can always try more wheat gluten, worth a shot. Go easy though. Jeff
I am going to be making my first loaf of bread using your master recipe. The book mentions storing/mixing the bowl in a plastic sealable (not airtight) container. I have 2 questions. 1. Does it have to be plastic or would stainless steel work? 2. How can I tell it my container is airtight or not? I have a set of stainless bowls with lids that seal “tight”, but I wouldn’t think they’re airtight. Thanks in advance!
Jason: Stainless steel is fine, I occasionally use a stainless steel saucepan with a lid. If a plastic container is airtight, it will bulge with the initial rise. This deforms it and sometimes wrecks the cover, so keep it open a crack for the 1st twenty-four hours. The only way a steel or glass container would be airtight is if it has a threaded screw-top lid– don’t use those, or make sure you don’t tighten the lid.
My guess is that your bowls with plastic snap-on lids leak a little air, but if you’re getting an alcohol smell in your finished products, crack those open in the first 24 hours. Jeff
A few years back The Mother Earth News had an article about a fortified bread, called Cornell bread. Has anyone come up with a no-knead recipie for that bread?
thanks,
Bruce: I haven’t made Cornell Bread, develped in the 1940s as a cheap protein source during war rationing times, but here’s the link (on Cornell University’s website): https://www.cornell.edu/search/index.cfm?tab=facts&q=&id=188. I’m guessing that you could adapt it fairly easily to our method, but you’re going to have to wet it down– this is a traditional dough. Interestingly, it’s mostly white flour (AP); I guess they weren’t onto whole wheat in the 1940s. We used some soy flour in the new book (https://tinyurl.com/pe8yr9), though half as much as Cornell used in a recipe of about the same batch size (see our 100% Whole-Grain Rosemary Potato Dinner Rolls). Hard for me to predict what all that non-fat dry milk will do to a stored-dough recipe, but worth a try.
Starting point: I’d increase the water in the Cornell website by about a half-cup and see what happens. If the consistency is about what you see in our videos (https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?page_id=63), then you are on the right track. Adjust from there, and consider swapping in WW instead of AP (you’ll need VWG as well, see https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=142). Jeff
The healthy bread book is great! I have a question about the Pumpkin Pie Brioche. Do you put the 4 eggs in the dough or 3 in and the 4th for the crust?
Sherry: All the eggs go into the dough. You can paint additional egg wash on top of the risen loaf, so I think that’s where the confusion comes in, see https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1209. I make egg wash with 1 egg and 1T water; I freeze the leftover. Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe. I have both of your books and just love them. I’m trying to get my kids to try more interesting grains and seeds in their bread instead of the soft store bought bread. They really like your bread!
I mixed up a half batch of the cracked wheat bread the other day and it seemed quite wet. I thought maybe the cracked wheat would absorb the moisture but when I went to shape it today it was still very wet. I had to add quite a bit of flour to get it to hold its shape. Is the ratio of flour to water in the recipe correct?
Michelle: Very different experience than what we’ve had, so first question: any chance you’re using bleached flour for the white-flour part of the recipe, or “light” spelt instead of regular whole wheat (or dark spelt)?
How are you measuring the flour (scoop and sweep is what works)?
Once we hear back, we’ll take it from there. If nothing else works, you can just add more flour… Jeff
The Cracked Wheat recipe on p 109 of the new Healthy book mentions traditional whole wheat in the header copy but not in the recipe, which has all purpose. Is there a mistake or change?
John: really meant to suggest that you could use EITHER WWW or traditional WW; the recipe doesn’t call for both, as you’ve noticed. Should say “or,” not “and.”
How’s the recipe working for you? Jeff
Says “gluten free” in the description. Are ALL recipes gluten free, or just some? I must know before ordering… husband has Celiac disease. Gluten big no no. Thanks for your help. Please email answer.
God bless.
Hi Wendy,
There is only one chapter in our new book dedicated to the gluten-free recipes, but that gives you several options for loaves.
Thanks and I hope you will give them a try! Zoë
Hi Jeff. I am using whole wheat flour (since I haven’t found a source for White Whole Wheat on Vancouver Island) unbleached all-purpose flour and Bob’s Red Mill cracked wheat. The flours work fine in the other recipes and I do use the scoop and sweep method to measure.
Should the initial mixture be wetter than usual to account for what the cracked wheat will absorb? The recipe does seem to have a lot of water 4 1/4 cups for the 6 cups of flour and one cup of cracked wheat.
I’ll mix up another batch this week with a bit more flour and see how it goes.
I just took a loaf of challah out of the oven – heaven.
I will
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
I made two small garlic studded baguettes. We ate one on Friday night, it was just wonderful! Not only did the garlic taste great on top, it became infused in the loaf. I think I might add some garlic powder to the dough next time!
Is the garlic supposed to be peeled? Because I didn’t peel it. No biggie, but we felt strange eating garlic peel when the garlic is pushed into the dough.
I think I now know why my baquettes stuck to the pan early on in my baking this way. Even though the perforated pan is nonstick, you still need to spray it.
Can I make one pound baguettes with this recipe?
Thanks so much. Hope you both had a happy holiday.
Judy L, NE TN
Hi Judy,
I just made this baguette at my mother’s last night. It is one of my favorites. You should peel the garlic, it makes it much easier to eat and you won’t end up with the garlic skins in the dough.
A one pound baguette is really very large and may end up being too long for your baking stone.
Thanks and enjoy, Zoë
Hi,
It’s much later in the evening, and I just put together 1/2 batch of AB5 pumpernickle. My firt time baking it. The only change is that I added 2TBSP vital wheat gluten and mixed all the dry ingred first, like in HB5.
It was really watery, I had added all 3 cups of liquid at once. I didn’t expect watery, I use KA flour. I’m guessing I added a cup flour more.
Also, the color wasn’t dark, even with the caramel dolor. It looks like the pumpkin pie brioche.
What’s happened? I’ll wait for your reply before I bake it. How can I save the dough?
THANKS
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
I made a 1/2 recipe of AB5 pumpernickle late l;st night, but couldn’t figure out why it was so very liquidy and pale. I had to keep adding unbleached flour, and it still isn’t right.
Well, I figured out what went wrong. I did everything in half batch except for the water!! So I had added all 3 cups of water in my haste. I really don’t like trying to figure out half batch quantities while I am measuring, but I didn’t want a full batch.
Is there any way I can fix this? The only change I made is to add 2 TBSP VWG with the flours, and mix it like in the HB5 book. It’s been in the fridge overnight.
Or should I start over? I don’t have much rye flour left, but would get more.
Thanks so much! I wonder if the people who did the cracked wheat doughs just posted did the same thing?
Thanks,
Judy L, TN
Hi guys,
I just read about “Healthy Bread in Five MInutes a Day” in the Mother Earth News Dec/Jan edition. The recipes in the magazine sound great. I have been baking my own bread for quite some time, but have never used a “baking stone”. What is the purpose of the baking stone? For a crispy bottom crust? Can I get away without using one?
I’m anxious to try a couple of your recipes anyway!
Thanks!
Hi,
What are your guidelines for adding seeds to recipes, specifically, the 100% Whole Wheat recipe p. 79? I am using spelt flour.
Thanks, Mary
Judy: If you can bring all the ingredients up to the full amount for a full recipe, you should be fine. It’ll be easiest to do this with a stand mixer or extra-large capacity food processor, but it’s do-able by hand. Will take some elbow grease.
P: The stone evens out the heat in the oven, transfers heat beatifully to the loaf, and allows some moisture to come out of the loaf’s bottom crust. It contributes to a great crust result.
You can get away without it, especially when you’re just starting out. A cast-iron surface works nicely, but you can even use a cookie sheet. Prepare the cookie sheet with cornmeal, parchment, or a silicone mat.
Mary: We usually add up to 2 tablespoons of seeds to a batch recipe designed to yield 4 or 5 one-pound loaves (I assume you mean seeds inside the dough, not sprinkled on top). This amount doesn’t much change fluid requirements in the dough, because the seeds don’t absorb much water. Jeff
Thanks, Jeff, I want to try to fix that pumpernickle loaf recipe. But I don’t know how to add more yeast to the batch already. I am guessing that I should let the dough come to room temperature. But then what? Do I just add the yeast to the dough and let it rise 2 more hours? Or do I add the yeast and more molasses to some lukewarm water to dissolve it, then add it to the dough and let it rise 2 hours?
I asked a couple of bread baking friends, and they didn’t know. I asked this question on the Google list, too. So I would really love your help! i know I will learn from it.
And thanks for the new challah recipe! I’ll make the dough today, to bake tomorrow!!
Judy
THANKS!
Hi Judy,
I would dissolve the yeast in some liquid, as you mentioned, before adding it to the dough. Use a mixer to make sure that the yeast mixture is well incorporated into the dough and you will probably need to add a touch more flour to compensate for the additional liquid. let that rest at room temperature for a couple of hours, although if the dough is cold to start it may take closer to 3+ hours for the yeast to fully activate.
Enjoy the Challah too! Zoë
May I substitute sourdough for yeast in your recipes?
Allen: My answer’s at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1284. Jeff
How do you pronounce Msemmen (your Algerian Flatbread). We made some tonight to eat with our lentil soup, and all I could say was “mmmmn…” So — is the ‘S’ silent?
Hi Rob,
It is pronounced M-sem-en, although we may get some other people to weigh in on their own pronunciations! 🙂
Thanks, Zoë
Can I freeze gluten free brioche dough?
Cathy: You sure can, but keep it to two weeks, and expect some loss of rising power. Jeff
Hi,
Just love both of your books especially your latest one. Question regarding vital wheat gluten. Would this ingredient be the same as gluten “flour”? I have used the gluten flour in the past to help my multi grain from falling apart when cutting into it.
Looking thru Healthy Bread in 5 min per day, i was disappointed to see that vwg was in most/all recipies as i don’t have it in my pantry and i was hoping to bake the day i got my book! I am looking on line to see where i can purchase it but the waiting is killing me!!
Thank you,
Doris
Doris: They’re the same, just go ahead and use it, sorry for the confusion! You can buy it from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Hodgson-Mill-Gluten-Vitamin-6-5-Ounce/dp/B000FDMLVS?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&creative=380725
Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
I made the whole wheat challah with the craisins and orange zest. We are used to a much lighter whole wheat challah. I found my old whole wheat recipe, it’s the Whole Wheat bread machine challah recipe found on the King Arthur site. It uses half bread flour and half whole wheat pastry flour. So now I know why I had whole wheat pastry flour in my pantry!
I’m guessing that the bread flour helps to make up for the lack of gluten in the ww pastry flour, and that the kneading of the bread machine helps develop gluten also. But it gives the whole wheat challah a wonderful light texture, and that’s what I would like.
I asked people on the Google list, and they suggested I just cut back on the ww flour in your recipe. But they also suggested I ask you guys, in case you had any other ideas. I wish I could get the lightness of the whole wheat pastry flour in a no knead recipe, but I don’t know if it’s possible. On my last try, I used all purpose flour with it. I don’t know if bread flour would help.
THANKS
Judy L, TN
Good morning!
I’ve had your original book for a few weeks now and am in love with it. I’ve tried several of the breads, but the overall favorite amongst friends and family is by far the olive bread. My problem is that I can’t seem to get the olives to distribute evenly throughout the loaf. I press it into a flat rectangle, place the sliced olives, roll it from the short end, and place the ends together. But after it bakes, all of the olives seem to migrate up to the very top of the loaf. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and would appreciate any help you could give.
My other question is about using dough that’s been in the fridge. If I mix up a batch of dough and go to use it the next day, it comes out half as large as if I’d baked it the day I made the dough. It just doesn’t rise after I take it out and cloak it, although it will rise in the oven, leaving me with a tiny but tall loaf of bread. I keep the dough in a tupperware container with 3 of the sides snapped down and one just barely unsnapped. Should I adjust the amount of water or flour (I use King Arthur’s unbleached)?
Thank you for coming up with such a simple way to make all these delicious breads. I like to know what’s in my food and tend to make a lot of my own stuff. It’s great being able to make great-tasting breads without having to pay a ton of money for specialty loaves in the store.
Annette
Judy: Whole wheat pastry is very light on gluten, so I’m guessing it’s not going to work well with stored dough. You could kick up the VWG (or use bread flour for the white as you’re doing), but why not just use regular WW, with its higher gluten content? I think the reason your old challah was lighter was simply because it had much more white flour. Not much you can do about that.
Annette: Assuming you are using the first book, just increase the resting time to 60 to 90 minutes, rather than 40, and you will be happier with the rise. About the olive bread, only suggestion I can come up with is to add the olives with the liquids at the beginning, rather than rolling them in as you’re doing. Can’t figure out why that’s happening. Jeff
Hi there – I am obsessed with your book. And my family is obsessed with the end products! So thank you, thank you, thank you!
I had a question – can I substitute water with milk in your master recipe (Boule)? Brioche? If so, up to how much can I substitute? In other words, I know that the bread would be softer, but would 1 1/2 cups of milk in the master recipe work?
Hi Mabi,
I think it just might work, but it will not store for very long, maybe 5 days max. You may also want to bake it at a lower temperature than 450, because of the sugars in the milk. If you try it please let us know.
Thanks, Zoë
I have better and more consistent results when using half the rye or boule recipe rather than using the smaller grapefruit size portions.
Adding to the improved result is the use of a preheated heavy weight dutch oven rather than the stone. When I use the d.o., I can nudge the dough into shape if it slides unevenly into the pot. If I use the stone, the dough immediately sticks to it, and I end up with a misshapen loaf.
The larger loaves also stay fresh longer.
Also, agree with Beth from 11/22. The challah recipe does not produce the long silky shreds so characteristic and welcome from a commercial challah.
Hi Toby,
I love the results of the D.O. and if that is giving you the best results than stick with that. If you ever want to do a shaped free form loaf, like baguette then perhaps using parchment under the loaf would help the sticking? Just pull the parchment out after about 90% of the baking to allow the bottom of the loaf to crisp up nicely. f
If you want more pull and stretch to your Challah you can try making it in mixer and allowing it to knead the dough a bit. This will certainly develop the gluten a bit more and may give you the texture you are looking for. Once the dough has done the initial rise you should not knead it again or your loaf will be too dense.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi! I’m going to be hosting a month long blog event about “retro” cooking. Participants will be spending the month not using any pre-made, packaged, or convenience foods!
I’m a huge fan of your book and make bread nearly every day. I’d love to give a copy of your book to one of my readers and share how wonderful your book is with them. If you’re interested, please email me at mrsbbradley (at) gmail (dot) com.
My question is regarding yeast-I found a 2 lb vacumn packed bag of fleischmens dried yeast for a fraction of the price of individual packages. How long will this stay fresh and how do I store it? I went to fleischmans site and there were no answers.
Hi Debbie,
I use a similar product by Red Star that I get at costco and just store it in the freezer. You can put some in a container and leave it in the fridge, but keep the bulk of it frozen and it will last for ages.
Thanks, Zoë
Thankc, Jeff, for your explanation of WW pastry flour and stored dough. I posted your answer on the Google list, just as someone was talking about using it in their dough.
I also appreciate your answer to Toby 12/7 about the challah texture. I don’t have a mixer, but might try making a half batch in my food processor with my new dough hook. Maybe that will improve texture.
Question–I made a fresh 1/2 batch of pumpernickle. We loved it, but it wasn’t as dark as the bread picture you show in the book. How can I get the bread to be darker? I did add the KA caramel color.
Oh, my husband said it was worthy of putting his beloved thin sliced salami on it. That’s huge praise!!!
Thanks so much!
Judy: If you’re using KA caramel color, I can’t understand why it should be different than what we are getting. Are you using a whole grain rye product, or a true “medium” or even “light” rye, which is lighter in color? Many people who’ve used home made caramel color (https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=413) have said it yields a lighter result, but that’s not the situation here. Which book’s pumpernickel are you making? Jeff
I am concerned about storing food in plastic containing bpa. Is there an alternative to the polycarbonate 6qt container linked from your website? Polycarbonate contains bpa. Thanks so much.
Sarah: Not clear that there are health risks based on what’s known today; the National Science Foundation continues to certify polycarbonate in these containers as safe (though science changes all the time as new data accumulates, so I can’t promise that this won’t change)… that said, you can use anything you like to store dough: glass, stainless steel, crockery– anything with a non-airtight lid that’s big enough. A cooking pot with a lid works fine.
Just avoid jars with lids that are screwed down tight or you could have gas build up and possibly shatter the glass. If you use something with a screw-top, don’t tighten down the lid. Jeff
Hi Jeff, thanks so much for your assistance.!!!
I am making the pumpernickle bread from AB5.
I have a fondness for the deli style breads and European breads.
I am getting to the end of my last bit of rye flour, and I don’t remember what kind of rye it was. I’m pretty sure it just said “rye flour.” I just bought a 2 pound box of Hodgson Mills rye flour, and it doesn’t say what kind of rye it is either. There is a rye bread recipe on the back of the box, and it’s a very dark rye bread.
I know I measured properly, I’m very careful when I want to test out a recipe for taste testing.
Did you increase the amount of molasses or instant expresso in your bread that was taken for the picture? I can’t figure out what’s different.
Also, I am considering trying a rye starter for the rye breads. KA told me how to make one. I think you told someone on this list to reduce the amount of water and flour by half the amount of starter. Is that right? KA suggested that I try starter when I found out their deli rye flavoring is dairy.
THANKS!!!
Judy: Hodgson Mills is what we tested with, that’s not the explanation then. It’s a high-whole grain product. The picture was with the standard recipe.
For starter, check with https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1284.
WHAT RECIPE IS IT? I just read about your book in Mother Earth News and can’t wait to get a copy and start baking! There is a photo of a loaf of bread, sliced open, no seeds with nice, yummy looking bubbles inside the loaf and on the outside of the crust as well (there is a turquoise hand mill in the background of the photo.)
My question: Which recipe from your book is this one? I can’t wait to try it!
Hi Janet,
To tell the truth that is the one loaf that the magazine shot and not us. I will try to find out which dough they used!
Thanks, Zoë
Gluten-Free & Egg-Free?
Sorry if this was posted somewhere- I couldn’t find it-
We limit gluten due to wheat allergy and so use many alternatives to make bread (though none truly good). So I was excited to use some of your alternative flour recipes. However, we totally avoid egg due to allergy and all the gluten-free recipes I saw in the book contain eggs. Is there a good replacement for eggs in these recipes?
Thanks
Kelly: We haven’t yet tested with egg substitute, but probably will in the future. I know there are products out there and we will eventually test with them. Jeff
Hi and thanks for the great book! I’ve made your recipe for basic bread and made two loaves following your instructions to the letter. Both times it came out with a great crust but was underdone in the middle. Help! Suggestions please.
Chris: Sounds like your oven’s too hot– check it with an inexpensive oven thermometer (like https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Gourmet-Thermometer-Stainless-Steel%252fCopper/dp/B000HB5NA4?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=arbrinfimiada-20&creative=380725), then get back to us. There are other possible explanations but this is the most likely. Jeff
Jeff,
Yes, I do use a ready-made egg replacer which works well in anything with wheat flour, but not as well on it’s own with alternative flours. I use a combo of things for replacing eggs as suggested in a couple of great allergy cookbooks- but the breads aren’t great- the other baked goods are ok. I am always looking for more ideas and a decent bread to use for sandwiches on non-wheat days 🙂 I know there is a newish allergy cookbook by someone in Stillwater, MN- maybe she will have ideas…
Thanks- I will be looking forward to your suggestions
-Kelly
I’m making the semolina bread (from the first book) and it calls for hand-forming the dough into an oval. I assume that I can place these ovals in a batard pan instead of directly on the stone. Am I correct in thinking this?
Petra: Yes, should be fine, I can’ t imagine this would change the baking time significantly. Might need just a little more, but not neccesarily. Jeff
I have made numerous recipes from your first book and have had no trouble with the dough being too wet. I use an escali scale and weigh out my ingredients. The only recipe from the new book that I have made is the roasted garlic and the consistency is so wet. I just made another batch and added an extra 1/2 cup of flour and it is still too wet
Hi Amy,
I’m curious what brand of flour are you using? I don’t think it is the problem, but I’m wondering if it could be lower in protein? I’m assuming that the dough continues to be too wet once you let it rest in the refrigerator? The dough can be used after the initial rest, but it is much easier to handle once it is refrigerator.
If you have not finished that batch yet, continue to add more flour until it is the right consistency. Once you add the flour you need to allow it to rest again in order for the gluten to develop in the dough.
Thanks, Zoë
Having fun with my new book!
I would love to know how the finished product compares in fiber to the organic whole wheat i was buying (4g/slice). I am making the whole wheat/flax recipe and want to have it as high fiber as possible. Also – can all recipes be made in a bread pan? I think it would be easier for sandwiches. If I don’t have a peel, can I put cornmeal on a cookie sheet instead of oil to help it slide onto the stone? Thank you!
Hi Chris,
I will check with Jeff to see if he has done the nutritional analysis on the whole wheat/flax loaf.
You can bake all of the recipes in a loaf pan if that is preferable. https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=904
Using a cookie sheet without sides coated in cornmeal makes a great alternative to a peel.
Happy baking! Zoë
Chris: If you eat a 2-ounce slice, you will get about the same fiber grams as you do with the product you reference. The challenge with commercially-lableled products is rounding error. They’re only required to label in whole numbers, so if their 2-ounce slice has 3.6 grams of fiber, they can say “4” grams of fiber and stay in complicance.
I’m developing nutritional info for our recipes using the USDA Nutrient Database (https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/). Using that database, I came up with 3.66 grams fiber per two-ounce portion of our 100% WW Flaxseed bread on page 86. If we were a commercial bakery, we’d round that up to 4 grams fiber per 2-ounce serving. You can use the USDA database to come up with gram weights for nutrients for any ingredient and portion size you can think of. I’ll be posting on this soon, so stay tuned.
Chris, you inspired me to do a post on this, check out https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1319. Jeff
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
My family demands olive bread for every gathering. If I’m making a big batch of dough, and it’s all going to become olive/rosemary bread, is it better or worse to mix the olives & rosemary in at the beginning, rather than rolling into the dough afterward? I’ve had trouble getting an even distribution of olives (i see your suggestion above about making sure to get them all the way to the edges), and it’d be nice to skip the rolling out and rolling back up step, if it won’t adversely impact the final product. Thoughts?
Thank you!
Molly: It’ll work great to mix the rosemary and olives at the beginning, and as you suggest, the distribution will be more even. You may even get a more open crumb as well (rolling out is a kind of handling, which we love to minimize when we can). If you know the whole batch needs to be rosemary-olive, then your alternative is the way to go. Jeff
Still looking for an explanation of why this is so good, without kneading. Mostly just curious. I learned to bake bread 40 years ago, before we had bread machines or Kitchenaid mixers with dough hooks 🙂 We had to knead by hand. So this flies in the face of all I’ve learned, and I’m wondering why it works so well 🙂 Thanks.
– I have been baking baguettes 2 or 3 x per week ever since your article came out in the spring 09 Mother Earth News. Thanks to you, I never buy the overpriced “artisan” breads in the store anymore. And I get to control exactly what goes into my family’s bread 🙂
Hi Shirley,
I agree, this whole method flies in the face of what I learned in culinary school. 😉 It turns out that the gluten (protein in flour) align themselves by either kneading them or putting them in a wet environment. Our dough works because it is so wet compared to traditional dough. It is really as simple as that!
Glad you are baking so much bread! Zoë
Help! I made a complete batch of the Sweet Potato and Spelt Bread with my own home grown potatoes……and noticed that it was very wet. I formed two loaves the next day with the dough with huge moisture issues. After I placed them in the oven I found on your website that there was an error in the amount of water to use. I have half of the dough left over…..can I add 1/2 cup or so of the spelt flour and gently work it through the remaining dough or is it a lost cause?
Thank you
Hi Sharon,
I’m so sorry you had this problem with the dough. You can still add flour to the dough to get it to the right consistency. You will want to add the 1/2+ cup of spelt and then let the dough sit for a time to allow the water to absorb into the fresh flour.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Jeff and Zoe,
I LOVE your ABIN and HBIN books, they rock. I wanted to drop a quick tip for caramelizing onions.
Add 1/2 cup of water to lightly oiled and salted onions in your fry pan. Cover with a tight fitting lid and let it go on low-med-low for a while. The water and salt combo does a couple of things.
The salted water reduces the temperature at which the onions are cooking for a while, which helps render out a lot of the sugars in the onion. The steam and boiling action breaks down the cellulose wall of the onion which further releases more sugars from the onion. Finally, the salt will draw out the majority of the moisture from the onion leaving you with a very dry super sweet end product!
The best thing about the process is that it is not very hands on. The onions cook away for 20 mins or so with water. Once the water evaporates all you need to do is stir the onions a couple of times until they caramelize up.
Cheers,
Tim
Thanks Tim,
I’ll give this a try, love the idea of hands off!
Thanks, Zoë
Back to my too wet dough for the roasted garlic bread. After my batter sits im the fridge overnight I break it down into 4 one pounders and store them individually. I added 2 more Tbs. flour to each one and it was better but I think I still need a little more. I checked out my escali scale – weighed a package of something and then converted it to oz. and grams my figures came out the same as on the package. But when I measured 2 cups of ap flour on the escali setting for volume and ap flour it converted to 240 grams – according to your chart it should be 280 – it converted to 8.5 ounces and your chart says it should be 10 ounces – does this have anything to do with my problem?
Hi Amy,
For our recipes your AP flour should weigh 5 ounces per cup. If you only used 4.25 ounces per cup your dough will be much too wet. This could indeed be the culprit. You can continue to add more flour until it feels right, just be sure not to make it too dry.
Hope this is helpful! Zoë
Zoe I realize I didn’t answer your question – I use KA ap flour and the spelt flour was bulk so I don’t know what it was.
I’ve been experimenting with the master whole grain bread. My pizza stone is in storage so I’ve been heating up a heavy cast iron frying pan and using it instead. I’ve had some trouble with the parchment paper fusing to the bottom of the bread. The bread is wonderful but I have to cut off the bottom crust. The bread doesn’t readily slide off the cornmeal or floured surface. Could you please shed some light on this problem.
Thank you!
Hi Elaine,
Not all parchment is created equal and some have a coating on them that makes them closer to wax paper. I had this happen when I used a parchment that I’d bought to cover my cake pans, it stuck to the bread like crazy. You can avoid this by switching brands and seeing if it helps, but I also recommend putting a skim of flour or cornmeal under the loaf before resting it on your parchment.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi, I have tried the pumpernickel and have found the dough to be really wet. And since the cookbook indicates you should not add extra flour when shaping the dough, the dough sticks to my hands and it doesn’t hold its shape very well.
Hi Cheryle,
What kind of rye flour are you using? We tested the recipes with a high-bran rye. If you are using a “medium” or “light” rye you will end up with a wet dough. Even with the high-bran flour and vital wheat gluten added the dough is on the soft side which is why we have you bake it in a brotform.
If none of this seems to be the issue then it may just mean that you need more flour. Just add more flour and allow it to rest for at least an hour to allow the flour to absorb the water.
Thank you! Zoë
Hi!
Your book is fantastic! I found the recipe for Babka which I intend to make it the next time my in-laws visit. I’m wondering if you have a recipe for or have tried to make Ukrainian Black Bread? I would love to surprise my mother-in-law with a fast way to make the bread that she misses so much.
Thanks
Michael
Hi Michael,
I think the pumpernickel is probably the closest to the black bread you are talking about. We have recipes for it in both books. In ABin5 on page 67 or a whole grain version in HBin5 on page 115.
Check those out and see if one of them matches the recipe your mother-in-law used to make.
Thanks, Zoë
With money being tight, I’d love to give some fresh baked bread as gifts this year. Which recipe would you recommend and what’s the best way to wrap it so it would stay crisp?
Hi Karlise,
If you are baking the bread on the same day you are giving it as gifts then just put it in a paper gift bag without wrapping it. Once you wrap a loaf of bread you will soften the crust.
The heartier the loaf the longer it is likely to keep. Loaves like the rye and even the stollen or Panettone are traditionally saved for a couple of days.
Is there a loaf you had in mind to give?
Thanks, Zoë
I attended a lecture by a food writer in NYC (Leah Koenig) who discussed the Jewish Cuisine of Rome. She brought along some Pizza Ebraica that she had made – it was fairly good, but Leah herself said that the recipe needed some tweaking.
She mentioned a bakery in Rome that makes Pizza Ebraica, and I was wondering if you were familiar with any recipes / techniques for making it . I have Leah’s recipe somewhere and can transcribe it for you if needed.
Thanks
Hi Doug,
Here is a recipe I found from Joyce Goldstein and it looks fantastic. From what I can see it is not a yeasted “pizza” but I bet you could try making the crust from our master recipe. If I find any other information about this Roman pizza I’ll let you know.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/2/Food/Sephardic_Cuisine/The_Mediterranean/Vegetable_Pizza.shtml
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Jeff and Zoe: I am a gluten free baker (ugh), but I have a question. Have you ever made the bread and frozen the results? While I would love to say that I can do even your simple method everyday, I know that not to be my reality. With other recipes, I have baked the whole loaf, or rolls, etc. and then frozen what has not been eaten for the time when I need it again. It has always worked fine, but I am unsure if you have tried it.
Also, I wanted to let you know that I use a premixed flour for all my gluten free baking and it works in your recipes fabulously. I think that is important to tell people, because having to mix your own flours is cumbersome. I use Jules Gluten Free flour. It comes with the xanthan gum in it, but I followed the recipe and added more. Worked beautifully. Her flour rises better than any others I have used.
Thanks for having a gluten free chapter!
Elizabeth: You can always freeze baked breads, just wrap them well to exclude as much air as possible. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the fresh stuff, but it’s a reasonable way to go if you just can’t bake every day.
With regard to the refrigerator-rise trick (Healthy Bread p. 48), is it possible to use a banneton/brotform with this technique, or does the prolonged time in the basket lead to sticking? How about perforated baguette pans?
Thanks for your help.
Stewart: In either case, put it in a sealed plastic bag or it will dry out overnight. I’m guessing that you MIGHT have a problem with sticking to the brotform, so flour it well. You shouldn’t have a probelm with the perforated pans, they’re non-stick. You’ll have to experiment as neither Zoe nor I have tried this. Jeff
I’d like to use the Vt Cheddar recipe as the base for a jalapeno-cheddar bread for a friend. How much jalapeno would you recommend adding to that recipe? Thanks!
Batwrangler: All depends on how hot you like it… I’d start with one finely chopped jalapeno (remove the seeds and inside connective strands). More or less to taste. Jeff