Bread, in its simplest form, is flour, water, and salt. However, even from my early days baking challah, a traditional Jewish bread enriched with oil and egg, bread has served as much more than an amalgam of pantry staples. Bread introduced me to the kitchen; as a four-year-old, I stood on tip-toes to observe my sisters and parents baking. I dreamed of a time when I could go near the oven, let alone open it. For a few years, baking bread was little more than an aspiration.
Inspired to take up a new practice a decade later, I decided to bake my first sourdough loaf. I stirred water and flour—and waited. I anxiously tracked my starter’s progress for two weeks, hoping for the smallest sign of growth. After weeks of anticipation, my starter began bubbling and growing, meaning it had reached a sustainable quorum of natural bacteria and yeast. When I baked my first loaf, however, it was a remarkable failure. The bread was flat and dense, yet over-baked. (1) I sat puzzled by my mistakes. Did I follow every step to the letter? Yes. Did I take my time, waiting until the starter was truly ready? Of course. The only rational explanation for my failure was that I did not have what it takes to bake sourdough.
For a few weeks, I gave up on bread. My starter sat in the back of the fridge, slowly fermenting into oblivion. By the time I worked up the courage to bake sourdough again (this time having learned of my past mistakes), I realized I was too late: my starter was dead. The once white, bubbly goo was now a dark gray sludge, drowned beneath a thick pool of alcoholic byproduct. (2) Desperate, I tried to revive my starter. I nursed it with nutrient-rich flours for days, praying for a recovery with each feeding. After just three days of pampering and prayer, my starter was back, returned from the dead.
I decided to name my starter “Lazarus,” not just to honor its reanimation, but also to recall the nature of bread-baking. (3) We, like bread, go through phases, give up, find ourselves lost, or simply lack motivation—but when we pick ourselves up, bread will always be there waiting for us, ready to return from slumber. Bread is so much more than flour, water, and salt. Bread can be a cherished family ritual, or a weekend project. Bread is challenging, unique, and beautiful. I hope that you, reader, choose to discover bread for yourself. Baking can be daunting, but it is deeply rewarding. You will fail, inevitably, but you will also triumph. With just a few humble ingredients, you can discover a vast and unique world of baking—so what are you waiting for?
A Very Brief History of Bread
More than 14,000 years ago, long before the origin of modern agriculture, hunter-gatherers in modern day Jordan baked the oldest samples of bread known to man. (4) Since then, bread’s sphere of influence has only grown. Bread and yeast have been found in Egyptian tombs, and brick bread ovens (today used to make pizza) were used in Pompeii. (5) Bread serves as a foundation for society because it is a perfect food, in many ways: it is cheap and adaptable, and it uses few ingredients.
Most of the earliest civilizations grew wheat, because it required little water and could be dried for later use. But in ancient Egypt, wheat not only enabled the construction of an empire; it was also central to Egyptian mythology. Osiris, the god of wheat and agriculture, was also the god of fertility and rebirth. Each year, the Nile flooded and created fertile land for crop growth; wheat symbolized rebirth, as it represented the passage of a soul to a different body. Mummified bodies were buried with wheat and loaves of bread.
Beyond the ancient days, bread was a catalyst and cause of several revolutions. In France, bread riots occurred when the price of bread was too high for the lowest classes. Later, the high price of bread pushed the French people to a breaking point in the late 18th century (long story made short, several people lost their heads). In Russia, the Bolshevik party rallied the proletariat class around a catchy slogan, “Peace! Land! Bread!”, as the lower class starved in the lead up to the Russian revolution. Politicians, take note: if you want to gain support, consider adopting a starchy slogan.
Bread appears in some modern religions, too. In the Jewish story of Passover, Hebrews fleeing Egypt had no time to leaven their bread; thus, matzo was born. The story of Passover represented a rebirth for the Jewish people—only the progeny of the older people could pass into the new promised land, passing the spirit of the Hebrew people on to new bodies. Christianity is centered around the resurrection of Christ—and bread is a metaphor for the body of Christ, the most common example of resurrection.
Bread was a common symbol of divine presence not only because it breathed life into civilization, but because it also represented the nature of life. A person is born, grows, and dies, but their legacy lives on in future generations. A sourdough starter has a similar cycle; it begins as a small colony, which feeds and grows, then loses strength until it is fed again, and the cycle continues. A starter regularly changes to a new body, but its flavor—its spirit—remains the same.
In the spring of 2020, as the pandemic began and millions of people were trapped at home, a new generation of people fell in love with sourdough. Perhaps the sudden period of solitude motivated people to cultivate their own source of food, or more likely, the only non-perishable ingredient people had was flour; regardless of the cause, bread became more than a commodity. The same product that cradled and sustained civilization at its earliest stages saved many of us from boredom and solitude. Bread is—and always has been—more than a pastime and a filler of empty bellies.
The Baker’s Vocabulary
Throughout my recipes and articles, I will refer to a number of terms which bakers use to describe bread. Here are some common ones:
Baker’s Percentage
For decades, American home cooks have used volumetric measurements in their baking recipes. But ask almost any professional baker for a recipe, and they will give you quantities in grams—and for good reason. Especially when measuring ingredients of varying volumes, like flour and brown sugar, a cup measure can hold up to 10% more volume than a recipe calls for. Bakers must produce consistent goods, and the only way to do this is by weighing ingredients.
Many bread recipes include a baker’s percentage; this refers to the ratio of other ingredients to the amount of flour. For example: if a bread loaf contains 1000 grams of flour, 500 grams of water, and 20 grams of salt, the hydration is 50% and the salt content is 2%. The flour content is always 100%. Baker’s percentages are helpful as they make scaling recipes up (or down) incredibly easy.
The Windowpane Test
I refer to the windowpane test several times throughout my recipes—this simply means that dough has developed a strong enough gluten network that it can be stretched into a thin film without tearing.
The Float Test
The float test refers to a sourdough starter. If you are unsure of whether your starter is mature enough to bake with, try dropping a teaspoon of starter into a cup of water. If it floats, your starter is good to go.
Buyer’s Guide
Before you begin baking bread like a professional, there are a few things you must have, a few things you should have, and a few things you can splurge on:
Must Haves
Kitchen scale
A fair warning: each recipe I write uses a kitchen scale to measure ingredients. In the world of professional baking, volumetric measurements are seldom used because of their inaccuracies and inconsistencies. A kitchen scale ensures that ingredients are measured accurately, and it also helps save time. If you must convert from grams to volume, refer to this table: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.
Bread flour
Bread flour is the ultimate workhorse for all bread baking. Its high protein content ensures loaves with strong gluten networks, meaning higher rises and larger bubbles. Each recipe I develop uses King Arthur Bread Flour.
All-purpose flour
All-purpose flour is used less commonly in bread, but can usually be used in a pinch for basic loaves. If baking pastries or tender breads, such as donuts, recipes will typically include all-purpose flour. In my kitchen, I use King Arthur All-Purpose Flour.
Whole Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour’s value is two fold: the yeast and bacteria in sourdoughs love to feed on the more complex starches, and the presence of more parts of the wheat berry introduces more earthy, roasted tones to breads. It is hard to go wrong with whole wheat flour—you can stick with supermarket brands, or even branch out and look for specialty flour mills.
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (Or Morton Kosher Salt)
I consider myself a cook as much as I am a baker. I typically stick with kosher salt in recipes, because the size of the salt particles makes it easy to sprinkle, and I am used to its level of saltiness. Reasons to stick with Diamond Crystal kosher salt are practical: I wrote and developed these recipes with Diamond Crystal, and it is the most widely used kosher salt by cooks. If you happen to use Morton kosher salt, use half the amount by weight called for in my recipes.
Instant or Dry Active Yeast
I prefer instant yeast to dry active, for a few reasons. Instant yeast comes in smaller particles, meaning it does not have to be dissolved in water before usage. I develop recipes using instant yeast, but feel free to use dry active yeast. Just make sure you add it to the wet ingredients, whisk, and let dissolve for around 10 minutes before mixing into the dry ingredients.
Bench Scraper
For many professional bread bakers, a bench scraper is like another appendage. This tool is truly unmatched in its versatility: it makes cleaning countertops a breeze, it scrapes sticky (or dry) dough from any work surface, and it can be used to easily portion, cut, and shape breads.
Dutch Oven
In order to bake a loaf with a great rise, you need two key aspects during baking: steam, and intense radiant heat. Steam’s purpose is twofold: it ensures the crust of the bread stays soft during the first portion of baking, so that bread may rise without setting too soon, and it heats much more evenly than unsaturated air. Intense high heat will kickstart the bread expansion as soon as the loaf enters the oven. With a dutch oven, heat travels a shorter distance to the bread, meaning more is absorbed. When the bread rises and releases steam, the closed environment becomes saturated with water vapor, mimicking professional steam-injected ovens. Dutch ovens are the single best hack for baking professional-level bread at home.
Sturdy wooden spoon, or flat plastic spatula
When possible, I prefer to mix bread by hand. The best way to do this is with a sturdy, flat spatula.
Parchment paper
Besides its non-stick properties, parchment paper is useful when it comes to lifting bread into and out of hot dutch ovens.
Banneton, wide colander, or strainer
A banneton is a bread basket made of cane. Bread undergoes a final rise in a banneton to form its final shape because air can circulate around the outside of the loaf. A dry outside means an extra blistered, crunchy crust after baking.
A well-blistered crust
Dish towels
Dish towels are incredibly versatile. I carry one around every time I am in the kitchen, for cleaning, covering bread, grabbing hot pans, and much more. These are cheap and perfect for baking.
Should Haves
Special flours, like rye and spelt
If you want to improve the flavor of your bread, branch out with different types of flour!
Semolina Flour
Semolina is simply flour that has not been ground as small. It adds textural contrast and more earthy flavor to breads. I also use semolina to make pizza, as the small bits act as ball bearings on a pizza peel, so that pies slide seamlessly into the oven.
Baking stone
Baking stones are the only way you can achieve restaurant-quality pizza at home, thanks to their ability to store tons of heat. They are pricey, but consider investing in a good one, as they will last a long time.
Bowl scraper
Plastic or rubber bowl scrapers make it easier to decant doughs onto countertops, but silicone spatulas also work well.
Bread Lame
Bread lames are either curved or lie at a low angle, making it easier to score and decorate bread. Alternatively, use a very sharp knife or a razor blade.
The Splurge: The Challenger Bread Pan
If you bake bread often, consider purchasing the Challenger Bread Pan. It is a large cast iron dutch oven, and it can retain a ton of heat. It fits loaves of all sizes and produces gorgeous, even crusts. Plus, its low-walled base makes loading bread easier and safer.
Great Bread, In Little Time
If you are looking for a simple entry to bread, or perhaps you crave starch while your sourdough starter is still maturing, look no further than this recipe. Jim Lahey, from Sullivan Street Bakery, revolutionized the “No-Knead Bread” concept years ago. The concept was simple: combine flour, yeast, salt, and water, let it rise overnight, form into a loaf, and bake. The result is a somewhat chewy, irregular-crumbed bread.
However, I believe that some kneading and folding—not a lot—greatly improves the texture of bread. My recipe is more complex than Lahey’s recipe. It includes an autolyse, a period in which the dough rests so that the starch molecules may absorb water before being introduced to salt and a bit of vinegar. Then, the bread undergoes a four-hour rise (interjected with a series of folds), before being shaped and proofed in the fridge. Finally, the bread is scored and baked in a dutch oven. Though the bread lacks the nuanced flavor of sourdough, its crusty, blistered crust and chewy, open crumb will satisfy the need for bread. Plus, it comes together in less than a day. For variations, try mixing up the flours or adding mix-ins.
Links
1. Later, I would learn that my loaf was a textbook case of over-proofing. When a colony of yeast outgrows its supply of food, it produces huge amounts of gases. In the oven, these gases expand too much and rupture the gluten network—resulting in a deflated loaf.
2. Alcohol is a natural product of fermentation.
3. At the time of my starter’s death, my 9th grade English class was reading sections of the New Testament (hence the name Lazarus).
4. Arranz-Otaegui, Amaia, et al. “Archaeobotanical Evidence Reveals the Origins of Bread 14,400 Years Ago in Northeastern Jordan.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 115, no. 31, July 2018, p. 7925, doi:10.1073/pnas.1801071115.
5. Pizza, one of my favorite applications of bread, was born in Napoli at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. A combination of San Marzano tomatoes grown in nutrient-rich volcanic soil, olive oil, basil, and the freshest mozzarella possible meld in a spectacularly hot oven. The pizza oven, with a high dome-shaped roof and thick stone base, creates an environment conducive to pizza cooking. Ovens of similar design have been used on the Amalfi coast for thousands of years...
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