While ring-shaped wheat breads have long existed in many parts of the world, the bagel has two main distinctions: it’s traditionally boiled and then baked, and it’s often associated with Jewish culture. Bagels have been around for centuries, their origins tracing back to Poland over 400 years ago. What began as a local specialty in […]
Enriched breads are a delightful evolution from the simple, humble beginnings of flour, water, salt, and yeast. By adding ingredients like fats, eggs, milk, and sugar, bakers create a wide array of breads with unique textures, flavors, and aromas. Unlike lean breads, which are known for their crackly crusts and open crumb structure, enriched breads […]
Sourdough starter (or what we call “levain”) is a living, breathing organism that plays a crucial role in the art of bread making. However, just like any living thing, it takes some work and commitment to take care of—and doesn’t come without its challenges. Starters, for example, can easily become inactive. This can happen for […]
When it comes to making crusty loaves of bread, one of the biggest challenges home bakers have to contend with is home ovens. If you simply bake a loaf of bread in your oven, as water evaporates from the surface of the dough, it will begin to dry out and thicken. Even if all the […]
In the world of bread, wheat flour dominates. Rye, the next most popular bread flour, doesn’t even come close. Part of the issue is that rye flour behaves differently than wheat flour, and it can be more difficult to make a lofty loaf of bread with rye. That’s what we thought, anyway, until we began […]
A year or so after starting our research for Modernist Bread, we thought we knew a fair amount about rye. Much of it was based around one central theme: rye bread is dense and brick-like. It took a cross-cultural mix-up to help us see rye flour, and rye bread, for all its nuance. And what […]
Understanding the science behind making bread can help you control the quality of your bread or adjust the recipe for different circumstances. Below, we’ve detailed exactly what is happening in every step of the process to help you get that better scientific understanding. From the initial mixing of ingredients to the final rise in the […]
Proofing can be one of the trickiest steps to nail down when it comes to making your own dough. Temperature is one of the most important factors to consider. When possible, we prefer to cold-proof pizza dough. This technique, which involves refrigerating the dough for an extended period, offers not just convenience but also improved […]
If you’re a pizza enthusiast, you know that achieving the perfect crust is an art. That’s especially true when it comes to the handling and shaping of your pizza dough. A supple, extensible dough is easier to shape or stretch to fit a pan. But some doughs tear or break so easily that they seem […]
People have strong opinions about crumb and crust—crispy, soft, charred, blond, or nonexistent. The diversity of preferences is hardly surprising; after all, the rim crust is an integral part of most, but not all, pizzas. Understanding the science of baking dough is something that can help you take control of your own preferred texture in […]