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Questions tagged [bread]

Questions about kneading, baking, storing, and culinary use of any kind of bread.

This tag covers the traditional loaf of bread in addition to flatbreads, sourdough, pita, and anything else that one might reasonably call "bread".

Tips for effectively tagging questions, in order of preference:

  • If your question is specifically about preparing/baking bread, also tag it
  • Include the sub-type of bread if possible (, , etc.)
  • If asking for advice on a specific bread technique, include the technique (e.g. )
  • For questions concerning the raw, unbaked bread dough, use the tag
  • Consider adding a cuisine tag for localized styles of bread (e.g. for Naan)
  • When the question concerns specific ingredients in bread-making, try to include tags for those ingredients (e.g. , )
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Why did flatbread dominate the Middle East but Europe adopted raised breads?

This may be a history question so please move it if appropriate. Culturally, local ingredients dominate cooking recipes and national dishes (e.g., soy in SE Asia), but why do Europeans add a raising agent to bread items to make loaf bread whilst…
Venture2099
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Why let dough rise twice?

I'm just wondering, what's the point of letting dough rise twice? I've seen a bunch of recipes in the form: Mix dough together and knead Let it rise Knead again Let it rise again Why do they do this? Doesn't kneading just push the air bubbles out?
Brendan Long
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Theoretical: why there's no gradient of doneness in bread?

I was always wondering, why there's no gradient of doneness visible on the cuts of bigger breads. For example: This one was made in the baking form, it has a thin visible crust, but after that the texture is absolutely uniform. How is that happens…
Sergey Mikhanov
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What should I cover bread dough with while it's rising?

If you let (bread) dough rise, the recipe always asks to cover it. Years ago, I read to cover it with a wet towel. Nowadays, I see more and more recipes that ask for plastic wrap (aka saran or cling wrap). The towel lets air through, the wrap does…
Mien
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How warm must dough be in order to rise?

While making some focaccia this afternoon, my wife said, "sure the house is 'warm'; it'll be fine." One hour later, no rising. It may be worth noting that our house is 66F. So we stuck it in a warm oven and it rose just fine. It turned out fine, I'm…
yossarian
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Is there anything I can add to homemade bread to preserve it?

I love making our own bread - we rarely buy shop bought, but it tends to go off very quickly. Part of the appeal is that it doesn't have any "junk" in it - artificial preservatives - which I'm sure contributes to the lovely flavor. Is there anything…
Bluebelle
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Why stretch and fold vs traditional kneading of bread dough?

Many recent recipes I'm seeing for bread, this one for example, are using a strech and fold technique rather than a traditional knead. Whats the advantage here? It sure seems to work, but I'm not sure why it works well with so much less work.
rfusca
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Can meat spoil outside the fridge if it's baked into bread as a filling?

I made some meat buns tonight (that is, buns with cooked chicken stuffed inside them before being baked), and I'm wondering if I should bother keeping the buns inside the fridge, because that would mean having to reheat them later. Will the chicken…
Austin Ballard
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11 answers

What are the pros and cons of storing bread in various locations?

Why should/shouldn't I store my bread in the fridge/freezer/breadbox/plastic bag/etc?
thelsdj
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What's the purpose of a bread box?

For some reason I always thought bread boxes were supposed to be wood, and that some property of wood helped keep bread fresh. Like a cigar box, perhaps. But after looking for a bread box, I see that many are plastic and metal. Before I buy a…
indiv
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4 answers

Does resting the dough for a long time reduce the need to knead the bread?

In this article by Chef Michael Smith, he mentions a recipe where leaving the dough to rest for 18 hours removes the need to knead the bread. Is this a viable alternative? I've tried the recipe and found that the bread was more dense than a properly…
Curry
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How do I make soft chapattis?

I have been trying to make chapattis (an Indian flat unleavened bread, somewhat like a wheat tortilla), using the following recipe for the dough: 300ml water, 250g whole wheat flour, 250g white wheat flour, pinch of salt. The dough rolls out fine,…
Sushma
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How can I get my bread to be more fluffy and less dense?

I've been making bread for a while now, but I can never get it to rise enough. The bread comes out really dense, so it's not very useful for sandwiches. I give it ten minutes after kneading, bash it down again, then another hour before baking. I've…
Tom
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Powdered milk in bread recipe

I have a book with several bread recipes that call for 1-2 tablespoons of powdered milk. This isn't something I usually use and I was thinking substituting it with normal milk, and putting less water to compensate for the added liquid. Would this be…
Rox
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What makes a bread either close or open crumbed/textured?

What causes the texture of bread to be open, ie with lots of large holes, or close, ie a regular, uniform tender crumb with no large holes? How can I achieve either?
Sebiddychef
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