Jump on the Bread-Wagon
If you’ve been on social media lately, you’d think everyone was gearing up to open their own bakeries! You can’t go a few minutes without seeing perfectly filtered loaves of artfully scored bread on the pages of amateur bakers everywhere. If you haven’t already given in to the league of loaf lovers, there’s no better time than today! Keep reading for bread baking tricks, tips and specially curated recipes for bread beginners by our expert, in-house Bakers.
Be Patient!
Bread baking is an art, it’s a dance, and just like any great painting or ballet, it can’t be rushed! Resist the temptation to over-mix, over-add or over-knead your ingredients just because you’re worried your bread doesn’t look quite right yet — the perfect loaf of bread takes time and practice. And whatever you do, don’t take your bread out of the oven too early or cut into it before it’s fully rested. Take your time, follow the recipe and things will fall into place.
It’s the Yeast You Can Do
When it comes to yeast, fresh is best. Old yeast can make your bread break you worked so hard for fall apart, leaving you with a pile of inedible crumbs. In general, you should use fresh ingredients across the board with your bread, from your baking soda to your flour. Leave the aged products for things to enjoy with your bread — like cheese and wine!
Take Notes
You can know how to make bread, but you won’t fully master these bread baking tips until you’ve failed and succeeded multiple times over. When you start to bake, take diligent notes on the ingredients you use, the baking temperature of your oven and the time it takes you to do each step. Not all ovens or ingredients are created equal, and you might learn that kneading your dough a certain way or using tap water versus filtered water produces better bread. These baking journals can even be passed on to your kids so future generations can learn your personal bread baking tricks.
Have the Kids Rise to the Occasion
Baking is an excellent activity the entire family can participate in — and enjoy the results of! Pick a simple sandwich bread to start with and your kids will love eating something they had a hand in. Assign them simple tasks like measuring ingredients or kneading dough and before long you’ll have the whole family baking up a storm!
Bake It Till You Make It
Check out these easy-to-follow recipes perfect for bread beginners!
