How to Bake Bread

I searched store after store for yeast in recent days. Apparently there is none to be found anywhere in Northern California. It’s been cleaned out due to the zombie apocalypse that is coming…sigh.

So did you buy a pound of yeast when you were in panic food purchase mode and now you’re not sure how to use it? Well I am here to give you step by step instructions on how you can easily bake bread. It’s not complicated, and you can easily bake beautiful, delicious loaves of bread at home just like these without any difficulty and a minimum of effort .

You’re going to want to get started right away. Yeast has a pretty short lifespan and if you purchased an entire pound of it, you are going to have to bake an awful lot of loaves to use it up before it loses it efficacy. LOL!

I make up a batch of dough and use it to bake several loaves of bread almost every week. I use the method described in the video below. It produces the most amazing loaves of bread with only about 5 minutes of effort.

There are a few tools you will need for best results.

• Baking stone, optional but recommended
• Pizza peel, optional but recommended
• 6 quart bowl
• Metal pan such as a broiler pan
• Wire rack

If you don’t have a pizza peel or baking stone you could easily shape the loaf and place it on a baking sheet and bake it directly on the sheet instead of transferring it from a pizza peel to a baking stone.

Don’t let the different types of yeast confuse you, any kind of yeast you can get your hands on will work; instant, rapid rise, or regular.

Each batch of dough will yield about 4-6 loaves of bread. The dough will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks. Just pull off a wad of dough and place any remaining dough back in the fridge (covered) for later use.

TIP: For best results make the dough one day and wait until the next day after it has been refrigerated before using it to make loaves of bread.

Start by filling a measuring cup with lukewarm water. Add a tablespoon of yeast and stir. Set this aside while you measure out the flour.

Place 6 1/2 cups of flour and 1 table spoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Scoop up the flour, and using the straight edge of a knife sweep off excess flour (scoop & sweep method).

TIP: When you use up the last of the dough, do not wash the bowl, scrape the bits of dough that are stuck to the sides of the bowl and mix into the new batch of dough. The old bits will give the dough a more sour dough flavor.

Using a wooden spoon, stir together flour, salt, lukewarm water and yeast until you have a shaggy loose dough.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave the bowl in a warm spot to allow the dough to rise for 2 hours. I place the bowl in the oven but do not turn on the heat.

Once the dough has risen, place it in the fridge. The dough will keep for up to 2 weeks.

TIP: Dough is very sticky the first day. Once dough has been refrigerated overnight it is much easier to work with and form into loaves.

When you are ready to bake a loaf of bread, remove the bowl of dough from the fridge.

Place a baking stone on the center rack of your oven and a metal broiler pan on the lower shelf in the oven.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare pizza peel by spreading a thin layer of cornmeal onto the surface. The cornmeal makes it easier to slide the loaf off of the peel and onto the baking stone in the oven.

Coat hands with some flour to prevent the dough from sticking to them. Pull off about a grapefruit sized piece of dough.

Pulling from the top center stretch dough from the center down to the outside edge. Turn the dough in your hands, little at a time, kind of like you are turning a steering wheel. Continue to smooth from the center and turning the dough until you have a smooth top and a nice round shape, think mushroom cap.

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Place formed dough on cornmeal coated pizza peel. Taking a bit of flour, smooth flour over the top of the loaf in a thin layer. Allow loaf to rest for 45 minutes while oven preheats to 450 degrees.

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When ready to bake loaf, use a serrated knife to cut 5 slashes, 1/2 inch deep, evenly into the top of the loaf.

Open oven door, slide loaf onto baking stone and carefully pour 1 cup of water into the metal broiler pan. Close door quickly to trap the steam inside the oven.

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A metal broiler pan is crucial to producing a good crust. Be sure to use a metal pan and NOT glass. Filling a hot glass pan with cold water may cause it to crack or splinter when the water hits it. When the water hits the hot pan it creates steam and that steam is what produces the crunchy, chewy crust as the loaf bakes.

Bake loaf of bread for 25-35 minutes until a rich golden brown. Loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped.

Remove loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for at least one hour on a wire rack before cutting into it.

Please stay safe during this challenging and frightening time. Listen to and follow directions from our public health and government officials, they are doing their very best to keep us all safe and that requires our cooperation.

Here in Northern California, we have been instructed to shelter in place to stem the tide of Corona Virus infections for several days. It’s the perfect time to bake bread and spend time with our families.

Bread is best eaten the day it’s baked. Left over bread makes delicious French toast!

Cooking 101: French Toast

Bake up a few loaves and surprise your neighbors by leaving a freshly baked loaf of bread on their front porch. With so many folks feeling anxious and stressed with what is going on, answering the door and finding a freshly baked loaf of bread on the doorstep will surely brighten anyone’s day!