Page 16 - YC Cooking School

The Art of Baking

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Ten tips for beautiful bread

1. Salt and yeast are not friends
Keep salt separate from yeast as it can inhibit the yeast’s development. Yeast
emits carbon dioxide, which creates little air bubbles between the strands of
gluten in the flour and that’s what gives bread a good lightness.
2. The wetter the better
If in doubt, go with bread dough that’s wetter rather than over-floured as this

will give you a lighter and more moist end result.
3. Flour power
Flour for bread is not usually sifted. Flour moisture contents will vary, so never
add all the water at once. You’ll know you’ve incorporated enough liquid when
the sides of the bowl are clean and all the dough is neatly in one ball.
There’s more to flour than you think, particularly when it comes to more
complex flours like wholewheat and rye. Obviously there are always certain
constraints but as far as possible try and buy organic stone-ground flour for
your bread.
4. Let it rest

This allows the glutens in the dough to relax, which means the dough can
absorb more liquid, making it lighter, smoother and easier to shape.
Recommended resting time before kneading is about 10 minutes.

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