You make good bread. It's crusty and flavorful, your shape is improving, and the whole neighborhood knows what time to “drop in” for a slice of your sourdough (10am on Saturdays!).
But you want more. More crust color, better structure, more predictable fermentation, better results – and you want all of this on a consistent basis. While many things improve with time and practice, bakers often struggle to improve their loaves not because of a lack of skill, but because they are not using the right tools for the job. If you're ready to take your bread to the next level, here are some worthwhile equipment upgrades (don't worry, I'm not suggesting new ovens or fancy mixers) that will significantly affect the quality of the bread you make.
Christine Teig; Styling by Liz Neily
1) Using cups to measure ingredients? Try a scale.
At the root of every bread is one REPORT: amount of water per flour in a baguettethe amount of yeast or sugar in the flour croissant, and so on. Too much of one, too little of another – these seemingly small items easily grow into bigger concerns if measured inaccurately. Incorrect measurement of ingredients is the number one cause of problems in bread making. When our Baker's hotline hear comments like “My bread is dense” or “I never have holes the way I want”, their first question is always related to scale. (“How are you measuring your ingredients?”). Our best measuring tool is a DEGREES. Accurate to the gram, a scale ensures that if a recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour (120 grams), that's exactly what goes into the bowl.
Christine Teig; Styling by Liz Neily
2) Do you think about the temperature of your water or dough? Try a thermometer.
For the best bread, dough temperature control is as important as correct ingredient measurements or a good score. A dough that is too cold will not ferment at a rate that produces good volume, strength, or flavor. On the other hand, a dough that is too warm may over-react, collapse and fall before baking. Manage fermentation reliably using desired dough temperaturewhich relies on one digital probe thermometer to establish the best possible route for fermentation. The digital probe is also a great tool for measuring the internal temperature of baked loaves.
Martin Philip
3) Do your doughs rise in the mixing bowls? Try a container with a lid.
While a mixing bowl can work for rising dough, there are several reasons to consider upgrading to a lidded container. First, a tight lid prevents the rising dough from drying out or crusting. Any part of a dough that dries out or hardens during fermentation will not be reincorporated later in the process, leaving pieces of dried dough in the bread during shaping. A tight lid that forms a moisture barrier eliminates this problem. Second, an obvious one 6-qt. DISHES with volume marks on the side is our best tool to measure the exact level of growth.
Here's how to use it: At the beginning of bulk fermentation, place your dough in the bowl and flatten it a bit to spread it evenly. Next, mark the height of the dough with a small piece of tape on the outside of the bowl. If a recipe says that a dough should double in size during fermentation, you can wait until the correct level of rise is reached, watching the dough and not the clock.
John Sherman
4) Does your dough rise on the counter? Try a bread proofer.
When cooler conditions cause dough or bread to move slowly, or whenever you want a stable environment for preferences or yeast culture, a corrective can greatly improve the quality of breads. How? A dough that has been set to rise in a cold environment will often result in a loaf with poor volume and poor texture. But it also does not mean that heat is good. What we want is a “golden” zone where the dough moves at a rate that supports a moderate, controlled rise – not too cold, not too hot. The proofer guarantees this uniform and controlled rate of rise for well-fermented dough – and ultimately, better-baked loaves.
After mixing, put the dough (in your covered container) inside the insulation box and set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature (usually around 75°F). This eliminates some of the mixing that is otherwise required, in which you have to move doughs around the house trying to find the best possible ambient condition. Bread improver can also be used to make yogurt, to keep dishes warm before serving, and even as a slow cooker.
Martin Philip
5) Correction on a kitchen towel? Try the oven linen.
For many breads and rolls like baguettes, bagelsOR ciabatta that benefit from a final lift on a floured surface, nothing beats it bread flour, otherwise known as “sofa”. The tight weave of dusted linen holds a small amount of flour, helping the loaves to release easily, while not shedding bits of fabric like a tea towel might. Further, the strong weave helps when moving the loaves in a crust of bread OR transfer board for loading. Shake and refrigerate between uses and the linen will last for years.
Martin Philip
6) Do your loaves rise to shape in the mixing bowls? Try a banneton or brotform.
For correction balls AND batârdthere is no substitute for a good one banneton. Bannettes, also known as breadforms, are round or oval baskets that support loaves during proofing. In addition to orienting the shape of your loaf, they also add a nice design to the outside of the loaf if used without a liner (like our Boiled rye bread, above). Further, bunting improves crust quality: During the final proofing of sourdough bread, the woven bunting allows the crust to lose a small amount of moisture, strengthening the outside of the loaf. This slight hardening not only contributes to a strong crust, but also makes scoring easier.
Mark Weinberg
7) Using a knife to score bread? Try the baker's razor, known as the “lame”.
Scoring the appearance of the tested loaves before baking greatly affects the internal and external aspects of our bread. A well-placed point with the right depth enables the bread spring completely at the beginning of ripening, producing an open internal structure in the process. A loaf with a weak point will not rise as well, resulting in a crumb that is tight and tight. While a very sharp knife can cause a cut, a baker's razor (lame) with its extremely sharp edge and thin blade enables stability, precision and a more controlled depth of cut.
Christine Teig; Styling by Liz Neily
8) Hearth bread baking in a pan? Try a covered, cloche or dutch oven.
One of the biggest game changers in hearth bread in recent years has been the arrival of covered bakerdoes it have “cloche” or Dutch oven. Their benefit is twofold: First, when the loaves are placed in a preheated container to bake, they rise immediately like in professional ovens, rising significantly higher than in a baking tray. Second – and even more important – the closed baking system keeps the steam produced by the baking bread. Baking in a steam setting delays crust formation, allowing for better spring in the oven, better crust color, better results (don't forget to use a ladle) and better eating (since steam helps with a crust fresh and thin).
With these tips (and tools) in hand, we're sure your buns are on their way to even greater heights. For further reading on hearth bread, take a look at some of our blogs on topics such as hydration AND dough developmentor, make some popcorn and enjoy our wide range of crusty content to YouTube canal. Happy baking!
Cover picture (Honey-Birra Miche) by Rick Holbrook.
