Bread Baking Basics

Don't be scared. This one is definitely not going to be a series like my 'Cake Decorating Basics Series'. There are two reasons why I am writing this. First, I am away from my kitchen so I can't really make something and post about it.  Secondly, some people asked questions about the ingredients that I have used in baking bread. This is basically a collection of many links related to bread baking in one place. See, my years of research is helping you to learn everything you need to learn in less than a day or shall I say less than an hour?
Some people are intimidated with the term 'baking'. But there are others who bake cakes, cookies, pies but are scared of using 'yeast'. Don't be. Yeast is probably the easiest to handle and is not too much of work at all.

What is bread? Flour, warm water, yeast, some salt, some sugar to help yeast grow. Mix them, knead them, let them raise, shape it and bake them. That's it. There is nothing special about it. Are there fancy  things you can do with it? Oh, yes. The bread dough can be made into so many things. Fritters, flat breads, rolls, buns, stuffed bread, bread stick etc. Bagels, pretzels are also kind of bread dough though they are treated differently. Then you have doughnuts. They use yeast too but are deep fried. The list of the baked stuff that use yeast is pretty long. There are english muffins which are yeast dough cooked on the griddle. There are crumpets which are similar to english muffins, but are baked in the oven. Naans, kulchas they use yeast too.

Science of baking yeast bread is very simple. Yeast is bacteria. A good one. We have yogurt culture which is a bacteria too. Yeast is inactive until it comes in contact with liquid. Then, it starts growing. Sugar is food for yeast. When they grow the gas they release makes pockets in the dough to make it spongy. When you bake it, it grows some more initially before dying leaving all the air pockets in tact. This is my understanding of how this works, I could be wrong. If I am, I apologize for misleading you.

Confused about the different kinds of flour in each recipe? What to use? Bread flour, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cake flour? What is Vital wheat gluten? Why is it used? All these questions have answers that can be found here.

There are cake yeasts (that are blocks rather than powder), there are regular yeast and fast acting or breadmachine yeast. Are they same? Yes and No. Read this article to know more. This article gives you details about different types of yeast and how to convert a recipe to use what you have on hand.

Want to know all about proofing the yeast, handling the dough, here is another article to refer to.
Many people asked questions about 'Sourdough' starter. It is nothing but a mixture of water and flour in equal weights mixed together and fed on a regular basis. If the starter was never added any yeast, it gets fermented by bacteria in the air and that is called 'Wild Starter'. All you need to know about how to start your own 'Starter' is here.

If there are any particular questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them. I am not claiming to be an expert mind you. I just have been baking bread for some years now and I have experimented to some extent.

Happy Baking!!