Bread baking newbee

[pushok2018]

I am not a newbie in general baking but know almost nothing about baking bread... and always wanted to try. I read many posts about making bread on this forum and online but at this stage I what to ask a general queitson: what do I need before I start this new hobby? I know I need a dutch oven but don't know what size would be sufficient for this? Would 4,5 Qt be OK? Or I need 6 Qt oven? Also, I need a dough scraper. Anything else? I am not talking about ingredients - I am interested about hardware part. Thank you!

 

[chopsaw]

I just use a stand mixer or the food processor to mix the dough . Used to do it all by hand . I have baked in a dutch oven , but not something you have to have .
Bench scraper is nice to have for a lot of things .
I have nice sheet pans that just get used for baking , and some wire cooling racks .
That's it for me , but I'm no expert .

 

[pushok2018]

Thank you, chopsaw! I got the idea of having a dutch oven from this forum. Also, I know that a dutch oven provide more even cooking.... I understand that this is not exactly necessity to have...

 

[Whoppr]

I do not do a lot of baking, but do really enjoy the no-knead method when making bread.

 

[noboundaries]

It really depends what kind of bread you are making. I use an 8 quart stainless Dutch oven for round rustic bread. For long rustic loaves you can use a pizza stone, pizza pan, or cookie sheet with a pan of boiling water in the bottom of your kitchen oven. The moisture is what creates the crisp crunch.

For sliced sandwich bread, a 9x5 inch loaf pan works great.

An electric knife will give crumb-free slices.

I, too, use a stand mixer for the vast majority of the kneading. Unless I'm making a biga bread which requires minimum kneading but 12-24 hours.

Post some bread pics!

 

[noboundaries]

A cast iron pizza stone or thick bottom skillet is great for making flour tortillas, pita bread, and naan bread. These are SOOOO easy. You can go from idea to finished product in less than an hour, sometimes less than a half hour. Make a lot and freeze the extras, or make a little and make more often. They don't keep as long as store bought.

 

[pushok2018]

Thank you, noboundaries. I am planning to make round rustic and sandwich brads but depending how it progress - I am not limited to only those type of breads...

 

[mneeley490]

This is a very easy bread recipe. I have a couple smaller dutch ovens that were given to me by my mother-in-law that work very well. No markings on them, but I figure one is about 4-4.5 qt, and the other is a little bigger. I've also seen people use a deep enamel pot for this recipe. Just click the link.

Dutch Oven No Knead Bread

I found this recipe by a farmer on Youtube. He and his wife appear to be self-sustaining, which is remarkable in this day and age. Tried it out yesterday, and the result was very good. It's very easy, and makes a round, artisan-style loaf.

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[pushok2018]

Thank you, mneeley! I appreciate that. BTW, I have this recipe bookmarked...

 

[oldsmokerdude]

I'm a bread baker from way back, currently bake most everything myself: sandwich bread, sourdough, bagels, hot dog and hamburger buns, etc. I can honestly say you don't NEED anything special to make great bread except an oven. There are lots of tools and gadgets that make the process easier or more efficient, but every baker has different ideas of what those are.

One item that I think most might agree on and which I recommend (but again, you don't need) as your first purchase is a high quality baking stone. Get the largest that will fit in your oven. I use it for breads, pizza, and most things. Mine actually stays in my oven all the time and helps provide a more even and consistent heat.

The next item I would recommend is an accurate digital kitchen scale. Most bakers weigh their ingredients instead of using volume measurements. Many recipes you find on line will list the ingredients by weight. But you can certainly make good bread without one.

After you bake a few loaves, you may find that you want a certain bread pan or dutch oven or cloche or whatever. You may decide you want a high end mixer or a bread proofer. Just make sure it is something you believe will help you make better bread and not something someone said you needed in a post somewhere.

And, most importantly, have fun with it.

 

[bregent]

For rustic breads you really want a dutch oven. You need high humidity in order to form that crispy crust. You could try adding humidity with bowls of boiling water, wet towels, or several other methods that folks try. None of them really work well because home ovens are vented, and any humidity you create goes right out the vent.

I use a 5-qt Lodge dual purpose dutch oven. I like the dual purpose design because it doesn't have a long handle that would get in the way, and the lid is flat (no top handle), so you can dump the bread into that, slash, and then cover with the deeper piece. It just makes it easier to slash without burning your arm :)

I don't see the Lodge available on Amazon right now, but this one is very similar:

 

[pushok2018]

One item that I think most might agree on and which I recommend (but again, you don't need) as your first purchase is a high quality baking stone.

Thank you, oldsmokerdude! This is what I needed to know at the beginning of my journey... It's good to know about baking stone... On my list to order...

I use a 5-qt Lodge dual purpose dutch oven.

Thank you, bregent. Currently I have one 7 qt dutch oven (I have it for about 5 years) but it is little too bit... I ordered another good quality dutch oven 5 qt (oval form) from Amazon today... Just dropped a 5-qt Lodge dual purpose dutch oven in my cart and saved it for later (I don't wnat my wife kick my axx for ordering too many toys at once) but will definitely order it later because I would like to have a round oven also...
Thank you again to all!!

 

[bregent]

Oh yeah, oldsmokerdude mentioned a scale and I agree, that's something you want to be able to have consistent results - they're pretty inexpensive these days.

Proofing chamber is not required, but will also help with consistency. I just use an small cooler, with a heating pad (some folks use a light bulb) and temp controller, which also doubles as a seedling starter :

 

[Whoppr]

This is a very easy bread recipe. I have a couple smaller dutch ovens that were given to me by my mother-in-law that work very well. No markings on them, but I figure one is about 4-4.5 qt, and the other is a little bigger. I've also seen people use a deep enamel pot for this recipe. Just click the link.

Dutch Oven No Knead Bread

I found this recipe by a farmer on Youtube. He and his wife appear to be self-sustaining, which is remarkable in this day and age. Tried it out yesterday, and the result was very good. It's very easy, and makes a round, artisan-style loaf.

www.smokingmeatforums.com

I use cast iron all the time for no-knead. Sometimes a clay baker if I dont want a round shape but more of a loaf. I use a lodge 8 qt cast iron, no enamel. It does not stick and lifts right out of the dutch oven when its done.

 

[pushok2018]

Oh yeah, oldsmokerdude mentioned a scale and I agree, that's something you want to be able to have consistent results - they're pretty inexpensive these days.

Proofing chamber is not required, but will also help with consistency. I just use an small cooler, with a heating pad (some folks use a light bulb) and temp controller, which also doubles as a seedling starter

Thank you, bregent. I do have scales (three of them - all with different gradation). Also, I have special bulb (I use it to ferment sausages) for heating and three temp controllers so... I am pretty equipped in this regard.... The idea of having small cooler as a proofing chamber is nice. Thanks again!

I use cast iron all the time for no-knead. Sometimes a clay baker if I don't want a round shape but more of a loaf. I use a lodge 8 qt cast iron, no enamel. It does not stick and lifts right out of the dutch oven when its done.

Thanks whoppr. I appreciate that. I have Tramontina 7 qt cast iron dutch oven. It's not Lodge but still pretty great quality and very durable. I will receive Le Creuset 5 qt dutch oven this Monday....
I may need bread pan to make loafs but this can wait for now.... I have to try this first, right?
Thanks again!

 

[bregent]

I will receive Le Creuset 5 qt dutch oven this Monday....

You might want to reconsider using that. The Le Creuset's are nice, but very expensive. I got one as a gift and started using that for bread but stopped because the high temp started to discolor the enamel. You don't need anything that fancy and you do not need enamel because if you preheat the dutch oven the dough will not stick - even very wet doughs. Also, you can make oval loaves in a round pot - I do it all the time - just use an oval banneton.

Why not just use the Tramontina you already have?

If you do decide to use the Le Crueset you may need to change the handle - the one I have cannot handle the high heat of break baking.

 

[pushok2018]

You might want to reconsider using that. The Le Creuset's are nice, but very expensive

bregent, thank you for the advice. I didn't choose Le Creuset oven because it is fancy - it about the same price as Lodge ovens and both were highly recommended by several people online for baking bread. Both brands can sustain high temperature (450-500) and enamel doesn't cheap off like it does on cheapper ovens...

started using that for bread but stopped because the high temp started to discolor the enamel

Hmmm.... This is interesting... You know, I'll try this oven for couple of time within first two weeks and if I notice any discoloration - I'll return it.

Why not just use the Tramontina you already have?

It's 7 qt. - kind of too big and heavy... Doesn't it? I don't want to bake a huge loaf of bread - something in the middle would be more appropriate for me...

Also, you can make oval loaves in a round pot - I do it all the time - just use an oval banneton.

I am sorry but I have no idea for is oval banneton. I am going to google it right now. Thank you for the tip! I really appreciate your input....

 

[zwiller]

Great thread. Wanna do some bread in the worst way but man, the learning curve... Am I right, I can put a SS bowl over the stone and has same effect as DO? Anyone have a good no knead recipe/simple rye or pumpernickel recipe?

 

[bregent]

t's 7 qt. - kind of too big and heavy... Doesn't it? I don't want to bake a huge loaf of bread - something in the middle would be more appropriate for me...

As long as you can lift easily while it's hot it's not too heavy.

If you're going to be making pre-shaped loaves like I usually do (last image below), then the size really doesn't matter. The function of the dutch oven is to create a saturated humidity environment. The loaf will not rely on the size/shape of the container for it's finished shape.

If you plan on doing unshaped loaves, where you just dump the dough from a bowl into the DO, then a DO that fits the size of the dough can effect the shape.

In the first image below, the DO helped form the final shape of the unshaped loaf. In the second image, I used a large DO, and the dough never touched the walls so the DO did not have a shaping effect.

In any case, with either pre-shaped or unshaped loaves, as long as the dough is well developed it will rise and not spread out and does not need the container to hold it's shape while baking.

 

[pushok2018]

Thank you, Sir! Big help in navigating me through the process.... A lot of unknowns....
One more question if you don't mind: making a starer for sourdough bread. I went through 4-5 Youtube videos and looks like the process of making a starter and all measurements are different in every video I watched. Weird... I just cannot get to the final conclusion on which method/process I should rely on... Any thought?