How steam works Baking from the baker’s perspective sometimes looks like one simple process - put the bread in the oven, and the bread bakes. For the bread, it is an entirely different matter, with two distinct stages of baking. During the first stage of baking, which lasts around twenty minutes, the bread hits the oven, and it continues to rise with very rapid yeast activity until the yeast dies off when the dough reaches around 60ºC (140ºF) During this oven spring stage it’s good to have...

All About Rye Sourdough bread made from 50% rye and 50% whole wheat. Rye is probably the most misunderstood grain. To begin with, much of the rye bread found for sale contains only a tiny amount of rye, and most of these loaves also contain caraway and molasses, so many people think that a rye bread tastes like a mixture of wheat, caraway and molasses, and don’t know what real rye tastes like. The misunderstanding further deepens when baking with rye – it just does not behave at all like...

Understanding bakers percentages Firstly, I should say that there is no need to know anything about baker’s percentages to start making great bread, but understanding this stuff is helpful when it comes to tinkering with recipes, making larger or smaller batches, and understanding the differences between recipes and how different levels of water, starter, and salt affect the dough. Bakers percentages for the beginners whole wheat bread recipe shared here. Flour percentages Baker’s percentages...