Category "bread"

What can I do with extra sourdough starter?

I recently made a sourdough starter from wild yeast, but the process I followed for making it resulted in a lot of starter. Instead of throwing it away I'd li

How long will a sourdough starter last between feedings?

I'm using a sourdough starter from the recipe in Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day and I have gone through several of the rebuilding cycles with it. It

How to make hot dog buns or sandwich rolls with a soft crust?

Whenever I make sandwich rolls, the crust ends up too thick and too crispy. I've tried a few things, such as a moister dough, but I can't seem to get a combinat

How do I make bread more firm?

So I have now successfully repeated a bread recipe twice. Both times it came out with a very tight grain and very spongy. The bread itself squishes easily and

Crusty french bread

The crust on my french bread never turns out "crusty" like it does in restaurants, what am I doing wrong?

My grandmothers "brown" bread

I grew up in Nova Scotia, Canada and my grandmother used to make what she called "brown" bread she used to make it every time she would make homemade baked bean

Why does frozen bread sort of taste different?

If I buy a packet of bread: And put it in the freezer, in it's packet, when I take it out to defrost it tastes different, sometimes drier as well. Why is th

What is 'Bread Improver'?

I purchased a bread maker years ago and am happy with the bread I make with it. I was at a cooking supply store and saw Bread Improver for sale in a jar, appare

My hand mixer came with dough hooks, can I knead dough with it?

I bought a fairly inexpensive (<$50) hand mixer a while back, and when I was organizing the kitchen I came across a set of dough hook attachments for it. I

How can I make this very low hydration bread more home baker friendly?

The recipe is something like that: 400g of flour 180g of water 2g of yeast 7g of salt Part of the flour and water can be used to prepare a biga or a poolish, l

How much dough will I need in order to fill a loaf tin?

I'm going to be making a loaf of bread in a 900 g tin (11" x 4.5" x 4" deep). What is the total weight of the dough I will need (when mixed) for a tin this siz

Why does leftover pizza dough make terrible bread?

I like to make my own pizza dough. Usually I end up with some leftover dough, which I stick in the fridge and then try to make into buns or something for break

Why does bread soften after heating it up?

Usually when bread or other dough stuff gets harder after few days, I use microwave to heat it up and it softens. Why is that so? The taste is not that good

Safety of Egg Yolk Glaze

Yesterday I baked a special loaf of bread with an egg yolk glaze. After it was mostly cooled I covered it with plastic wrap and set it on the counter to be ser

How can I put a hot dog in a bun without splitting the bun?

I have some store-bought, pre-slit hot dog buns. They are a little brittle, and if I open the slit wide enough to take the hot dog, the bun splits in two. I've

Why does baking bread in a closed pot make a good crust?

I just tried a recipe for bread that suggests baking it in the oven a casserole pot with a lid (Dutch oven?) Suddenly I have a loaf with a wonderful crust which

Are there guidelines for choosing bread for a sandwich?

I'm trying to figure out if there's a sort of "etiquette" to it, like there is with wine. Obviously, some sandwiches just "go" with a certain bread, like cream

Does active dry yeast really need proofing?

Several sources (e.g., The Bread Baker's Apprentice, The Fresh Loaf's Yeast FAQ, and even On Food and Cooking) tell me that active dry yeast must be reactivated

What grains (and in what ratios) go into a nine-grain flour?

Many recipes are available for making nine-grain bread, but they presuppose that you have nine-grain flour. We have a wheat grinder so we would like to use it t

Devising a first-scratch bread recipe

I have some cracked wheat, some bran flakes, wheat germ, bread flour, and whole wheat flour (among other various things). How could I, using those ingredients