Baking terms and tips
I’m never going to get this page up and running all in one go, so I figure it’s better to have it exist as a work in progress and add to it as I bake. If there’s something that isn’t clear to you in my bread recipes, ask and I’ll try to answer your question here. In the meantime, view it as a work in progress!
Can you use active dry yeast (or fresh yeast) in place of instant?
Yes, as long as you adjust your recipe slightly to accommodate your substitution. First off, rapid rise yeast = instant yeast = bread machine yeast. You can use all of these interchangeably, as they’re pretty much the same thing. For everything else, here’s the conversion: T. fresh (caked) yeast = 2 t. instant yeast = 2-1/2 t. active dry yeast.
A warning: you must “proof” active dry yeast, which means you have to rehydrate it in 1/2 c. or so of warm water (105-115°F is perfect for the little creatures — yes, use a thermometer until you learn the temperature by touch). All you do is add it to the water, stir it a bit, and wait until it gets a little foamy on top (kind of like Guinness bubbles). Make sure to adjust the liquid amount in your recipe accordingly, to take into account the proofing liquid.
How do you make crusty, golden bread in a home oven?
If you’re baking bread, and want a nice, crispy crust, don’t be afraid to pour water on your oven floor. Use unglazed quarry tiles to line your oven shelves (they’re a cheap, easy alternative to pizza stones, and you can find them at Home Depot). If you have a gas oven, put a few on the oven floor. Once it’s preheated, you can pour water directly on the floor of the oven when you first slide the bread in, to create the steamy environment you need to get gorgeous, crackly crust.
Any tips for improving the flavor of your bread?
Slowing down the rising process will make you tastier bread. Throw your dough in the fridge overnight and continue the baking process after the dough has warmed up, rather than shaping it and waiting for it to finish rising for an hour before baking it right away
