Making homemade bread or pizza dough might seem like a daunting task for busy bakers during the workweek, but a few smart strategies can save you time without sacrificing quality. Whether you’re tackling a loaf or prepping for pizza night, here are some practical tips to speed up your bread-making process.
- Weigh your ingredients. Using a tared scale is faster and more accurate than filling up measuring cups repeatedly.
- Choose a direct dough recipe. Skip the preferment to save time—most direct dough recipes take 4–6 hours, and they don’t compromise on flavor. Our Direct Farmer’s Bread or Direct Focaccia are great alternatives because they skip this preferment step. For pizza, we recommend any of our emergency recipes found in Modernist Pizza, which take 2–3 hours to make from start to finish.
- Use warm water. Stick to 24–26°C (75–78°F) water to speed up fermentation without harming the yeast.
- For bread, try making pan loaves and boules; they are faster to shape than other shapes. You can decide to divide the dough, shape it, and then put it directly in a baking pan. Most of our recipes will work well as pan loaves.
- For pizza dough, use a dough relaxer. Doughs that have such little time to relax after being mixed, divided, and proofed will be difficult to stretch properly. You can also add 0.8–1% instant dry yeast to your recipe and you will have a dough that is ready in 2–3 hours.
- Skip folds by mixing fully in a stand mixer. Or opt for rye bread, which doesn’t require full gluten development—just mix it into a smooth paste.
- Bulk ferment in a warm place. A cozy spot will accelerate fermentation.
- Streamline shaping. Pan loaves and boules are faster to shape, in the case of bread. For even more time saving, skip preshaping and rest by placing the dough directly into pans.
- Proof warmly. Like bulk fermentation, a warm proofing environment speeds things along.
- Skip scoring. If you proof seam side up, you can bake without scoring the dough.
- There aren’t any practical shortcuts for baking or cooling your dough. You want to make sure that the bread has enough time for the crumb structure to fully set and to form the proper crust (although we won’t blame you for tearing into a loaf of warm bread fresh from the oven).
With practice, these tips will help you save time and make homemade bread and pizza an achievable treat, no matter your schedule.
Bread Recipes to Try
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Everything Bagel
- Second Chance Sourdough
- Direct Farmer’s Bread
- Sablée Brioche
- Candied Fruit Vollkornbrot
Pizza Recipes to Try