c/bread-baking-basics

Why does nobody talk about the 'windowpane test' for dough?

Honestly, I kept getting dense loaves until my friend, a baker in Portland, told me to stretch a small piece of dough thin enough to see light through it before my first proof, which means the gluten is properly developed.

Just realized my cheap plastic bowl was ruining my sourdough folds

I used a big plastic mixing bowl for months, but the dough always stuck to the sides and tore when I tried to fold it. Switched to a stainless steel one I had in the back of the cabinet and the dough just slides right off, making the whole process way smoother. Anyone have a favorite bowl that doesn't fight you?

Appreciation post: my bread stopped being a brick when I finally bought a cheap oven thermometer

Turns out my oven runs 25 degrees cold, so my loaves were basically just steaming for an hour. Anyone else have their baking game changed by a simple tool like that?

My first sourdough loaf came out like a brick

Followed a recipe exactly but my kitchen is cold, maybe 60 degrees. The dough never really rose much in the bowl. Baked it anyway and it was super dense. Learned that temperature really matters for proofing, not just time. Anyone have tips for keeping dough warm in a chilly house?

My aunt swore by a 24-hour first rise for sourdough, but my loaves were always dense.

She told me to let it sit overnight in my kitchen in Portland, which is pretty cool. I did that for months, getting bricks. Watched a video from a baker who said a 4 to 6 hour rise at 75 degrees is better for a starter like mine. Tried it, and my next loaf actually had an open crumb. Has anyone else found their proofing time advice was totally wrong for their environment?

Okay, I'm going against the grain on the 'no-knead overnight' method everyone loves.

My loaves kept coming out flat and dense. On my fourth try, I skipped the 12-hour rest and just kneaded for 8 minutes right after mixing, then did a normal 2-hour rise. The structure was way better. Has anyone else found that a longer rise just makes the dough too slack?

Visited a bakery in Savannah and saw them using a spray bottle of water for their loaves

I was on vacation last month and stopped by a small bakery in Savannah, Georgia. They had a baker who would lightly mist the tops of the shaped loaves right before they went into the oven. I've never done that with my basic white bread at home. Does that spray really make a big difference in the final crust?

My first sourdough starter bubbled over because I kept it in a sealed jar

I started my first sourdough journey about three months ago, following a popular online recipe. It said to keep the starter in a jar with the lid on. For a week, I fed it daily with 100 grams of flour and water, but it never really got active. I was ready to give up. Then I watched a video from a baker in Portland who stressed that the starter needs to breathe. I switched from a sealed lid to just a loose cloth cover held with a rubber band. The very next day, it doubled in size and had tons of bubbles. I realized the sealed lid was trapping the gases and basically suffocating it. That small change made all the difference between a dead starter and a lively one. Has anyone else had a similar issue with their starter not getting enough air?

My sourdough starter was flat for weeks until I changed one thing

I kept feeding my starter with tap water straight from the kitchen faucet. After three weeks of getting dense, sad loaves, I read a comment on a blog that mentioned chlorine in city water can kill the good yeast. I switched to using bottled water for my feedings, and my starter doubled in size within two days. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that make all the difference?

Watched a baker in Seattle fold dough instead of kneading it for 10 minutes

I was sure my oven was too cold for good bread, but a $10 thermometer proved me wrong

I finally understood why my bread was flat after a trip to the bakery in Portland

I was watching the baker there shape a boule, and she said 'your dough is too warm, it's like trying to tie a knot with wet string.' I realized I'd been proofing mine on top of my oven while it preheated. Now I always use a cooler spot in my kitchen, like the counter away from the stove. Has anyone else had to change where they let their dough rise?

I finally went to that fancy bakery in Portland and saw something wild

They had a whole loaf of sourdough just sitting on the counter, not wrapped up or anything. It was right by the door where the cold air was coming in every time someone walked in. The crust looked so dry, like it had been out for hours. Isn't that a basic mistake? How do they expect the bread to stay good? What's the longest you'd leave a fresh loaf out before it goes bad?

I used to be scared of wet dough, but now I just go for it

For my first year of baking, I'd add extra flour the second the dough felt sticky, which gave me dense loaves. Last month, I followed a recipe for a high-hydration white bread from a baker in Seattle and forced myself to not add any extra flour during mixing. The dough was a mess at first, but after a few folds it came together and baked up with huge air pockets. Has anyone else made that switch from a dry to a wetter dough, and how did you handle the sticky stage?

I tried two ways to shape my sandwich loaves and one made a huge difference

For my last three bakes, I made two loaves each time. I shaped one by just rolling it into a log and the other by pressing it flat, folding the sides in, and rolling it tight from the short end. The second way, which I saw in a video, gave me a much taller loaf that didn't spread out flat in the pan. It rose better and sliced nicer. Has anyone else found a shaping step that really fixed their loaf's look?

For years I swore by hand kneading until my friend in Chicago made me use her stand mixer last month.

I finally gave in and tried it with my basic white loaf recipe, and the dough was smoother and more elastic after just eight minutes on a low setting, which completely changed my view on using machines for something I always thought had to be done by touch. Has anyone else had a similar switch from hands to a mixer, and did it change your results?

Finally got a decent rise on my sourdough after switching to a digital scale

I was eyeballing my flour for ages and my loaves were always flat. Borrowed a friend's scale and measured exactly 500 grams of flour this time, and the dough doubled in size overnight. Anyone else find that weighing ingredients was a total game changer?

My grandma in St. Louis always said to listen to the dough, not the clock

My kitchen in Denver was way too cold for my dough to rise properly

Last month I tried making a basic white loaf and after 2 hours the dough hadn't budged. I realized my apartment was only 65 degrees. I put the bowl on a heating pad set to low, covered it with a towel, and it doubled in size in about an hour. Has anyone else found a good trick for proofing in a cold house?

Showerthought: My bread stopped being dense after I learned about water temperature.

I was reading a guide from King Arthur Baking that said yeast dies at 140F, and my tap water was likely way too hot. I started using a kitchen thermometer to get it to 105F, and my loaves finally got some air in them. Does anyone else check their water temp, or is that overkill?

Shoutout to my KitchenAid mixer for launching a ball of sourdough starter across the room yesterday

I had just fed it and turned the speed up a notch too high, sending a sticky glob that stuck to my ceiling fan for a solid hour before I noticed it.

Vent: My sourdough loaves were always flat and dense for months, but after I started using a cheap digital scale from the kitchen store for my flour and water, the difference was like night and day.

I realized my 'cup' of flour could vary by over 50 grams, and once I got the hydration right by weight, my loaves finally had that open crumb and good oven spring I'd been trying for since January.

Rant: My sourdough starter straight up died on me last Tuesday

I left it on the counter while I was out of town for two days, and the house got way too warm. Came back to a gray, watery mess that smelled like old gym socks. I tried feeding it for three days straight, but it never bubbled again. Starting over from scratch feels like a real punch in the gut. Has anyone else killed a starter and had better luck with a different flour to restart?

Heard a baker at the Portland farmers market say something about salt that made me stop

They were telling a customer that adding salt directly on top of fresh yeast can kill it and ruin the rise. I always just dumped everything in the bowl together. Now I mix my flour and salt in one part, and dissolve the yeast in warm water separately before combining. Has anyone else had a loaf fail because of this?

My bread kept coming out flat until I started using a bowl of hot water in the oven.

I was trying to make a simple white loaf for about a month, and every time it would barely rise in the oven. Last Saturday, I preheated my oven to 425 degrees with a metal bowl on the bottom rack. When I put the loaf in, I poured two cups of boiling water into that bowl to make steam. The crust got way crispier and the loaf finally had a good spring. Has anyone else tried this trick with different types of bread?