Last week, we took a look at the differences between conventional bread and organic bread. The lower price of conventional bread also includes chemical dough enhancers, preservatives, and other “junk” you wouldn’t normally choose to eat. Organic bread uses organic ingredients and leaves the “junk” out.

The trade off is a higher cost and shorter shelf life. Don’t want to spend $5+ on a loaf of bread? Then let’s make our own! We’re going to learn how to make two basic recipes: a basic sandwich bread and a crusty artisan-style bread.

The Science of Bread Making

Disclaimer: I am not a master baker, not even an ametuer baker. I like baking, have learned the basics from some good sources, and taught myself some more lessons along the way. The goal of this article is to encourage you to try making your own bread and (hopefully) pass along some knowledge to help make it as fun as possible!

There are four key players in bread: wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt.

1. Wheat flour – provides the structure for a great bread and feeds the yeast. Two proteins found in the starchy endosperm of the wheat berry (gliadin and glutenin) form a completely new protein (the infamous gluten) when combined. Gluten is responsible for the glorious chewy, springy texture of the bread and helps hold the air bubbles produced by yeast.

2. Water – hydrates the flour, helps feed the yeast. The amount of water you use affects the dough’s hydration level. Doughs can vary from 60-80% hydration. The higher the hydration level, the “stickier” the dough. The hydration level affects the end result, causing the difference between something like 60% hydration sandwich bread (few, small air bubbles) and an 80% hydration ciabatta (large air bubbles), for example. Read More→