Bread! It’s one of my all time favorite things to eat but also one of the main things I should avoid eating (if we’re talking about health). I love it! I love soft spongy breads and chewy, crunchier breads. They all have a place in my heart.

I also came to some additional conclusions about why I hadn’t been able to bake my ideal sandwich bread. First, technique!! I read lots of different recipes and different people’s guides, tips and technique for baking bread. I thought I should be able to produce some satisfactory bread but it became apparent that I was missing something. That something ended up being experience. After several different recipes and some other experimental changes in technique, I was able to produce a loaf that was closer to my ideal bread. Finally I realized what I needed to do, or not do, in order to get the results I wanted.

For me these do and don’ts included:

• Not adding to much flour into the dough.
• Letting the dough knead in the mixer for a long enough time.
• Using oil, in place of flour, when handling the dough.
• Making sure to have a warm enough place for the dough to rise.

I have a feeling that the first point was one of my main down falls (coupled with using oil when handing the dough). All the tips I had read talked about the consistency and how to tell when enough flour had been added, but I quickly realized that everyone’s interpretations varied. These tips would say something like, “add flour until dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl but it’s still slightly sticky.” I thought I was following the directions and tips well enough. In my defense, I wasn’t being taught in person and wasn’t able to see or touch examples. I then decided that I wasn’t getting the dough to the right consistency because my dough didn’t appear to be rising enough and the bread would turn out dense. This meant I needed to restrain myself from adding to much flour and figure out how to handle the dough without it sticking to everything (without using more flour). So simply enough, I made sure to add my flour more slowly so I could give it time to take form and pull away from the bowl without over flouring. I also realized that pulling away from the sides didn’t translate into pulling away from the bottom of the bowl as well. I then decided to use oil to handle the bread, especially since most of the recipes told you to place the dough in an oiled bowl and to rub oil on the dough before letting it rise.

The second issue I had was about providing a warm enough place for the dough to rise (this was especially the case in winter). I ended up using my microwave as a proof box by heating water in the microwave before placing the dough inside. I also incorporated placing plastic wrap over the bowl to help retain moisture and heat in the bowl. Since its currently summer, I’m able to use the great outdoor to my advantage. I place my plastic wrapped and towel covered bowl(s) outside on my high outdoor table (in the shade) to rise. The plastic wrap also helps to ensure that no little critters find their way to my sweet, sweet bread dough.

Last but not least, I also changed one of the ingredients I use. I originally started making bread with all purpose flour. This was mainly because I always had some on hand, which made it super convenient. And don’t get me wrong, I was able to get great results with the all purpose flour (along with good technique, newer yeast, proper mixing and adequate heat for rising). I decided to take it one step farther and finally invest in some bread flour. I went with King Arthur’s unbleached bread flour because of its gluten content (a choice made after all that research). And let me just tell you, by god that was some of the best sandwich bread I’ve made so far. It was spongy and looked very similar to the sandwich bread you buy in stores. But this bread was different! It was very fresh, tasted super clean and was so, so good!!!!

If your interested in baking your own bread, give it a shot. Here is a link to the bread recipe I’ve been using: http://www.thebakerupstairs.com/2015/11/the-best-white-sandwich-bread.html

I’ll work on providing links to the sites/blogs that provided me with great tip and techniques on baking bread.

I’d love to hear from you as well. Do you have any great recipes? Great tips, techniques or advice? Please share them!!!

And, thanks for reading!!!

-RayRay