Often we field questions about making great bread. Great bread is a matter of using the right ingredients and the right techniquestheres no single secret that will make perfect bread. But really great bread is readily attainable. Weve compiled our list of what goes into great bread.
1. The right flour.
2. An understanding of yeast.
3. A good dough conditioner.
4. A bakers thermometer
Now this isnt everything that goes into great bread but the baker that is armed with these four tools is likely to be baking great bread.
The Right Flour
Recently we stated that if there is a secret ingredient that bakers use its the flour. So we put the right flour on the top of our list.
To understand how important flour is, you need to understand just a little about gluten. Gluten strands are formed from the proteins naturally occurring in wheat flour. It’s what gives bread its chewy texture. If you use a flour with a higher percentage of protein, you will have more gluten. Most commercial bread bakers are going to use flours with 10 to 14% protein–bread flour.
Commercial bakers have access to dozens of different flours. If...