Flour. Water. Yeast. Salt. Start here.
Bread has acquired an unnecessarily intimidating reputation. During lockdown, I think 80% of the US population took a stab at making bread, and Sourdough was king.
People talk about hydration percentages and gluten development and fermentation schedules. There are bannetons and Dutch ovens and scoring lames and sourdough starters with names and emotional needs (Mine is Doughlene. She is a bit needy).
Ignore all of that for just one minute.
Think of this. People have been making bread for thousands of years. As a matter of fact, archeology suggests bread is the FIRST thing people made. Not just consuming ingredients, but altering the chemistry of our food to create something brand new. Bread was first.
Your first loaf needs four things:
Flour. Water. Yeast. Salt.
Like billions of people before us, let's make bread.
What Each Ingredient Does
Bread becomes much easier to understand once you know what the ingredients are doing, why each is necessary, and how they play together.
Flour
This is our structure. This is our protein.
When wheat flour is mixed with water, proteins in the flour begin forming gluten. Gluten creates an elastic network capable of trapping the gases produced by yeast. That trapped gas is what allows dough to rise instead of simply bubbling, and gives you those beautiful little pockets you can fill with butter and jam later.
For your first loaf, ordinary bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour works beautifully. I prefer bread flour, as it has a higher protein content and makes stronger loaves.
Water
Water hydrates the flour, activates the yeast, dissolves the salt, and allows gluten to develop. The temperature of your water also matters.
Very cold water slows yeast activity. Excessively hot water can damage or kill yeast. Warm water is ideal. It should feel warm to the touch but not so hot you can't stick your finger in it.
Yeast
Yeast is alive. It is our fun little microorganism friend who will make our bread delicious and fluffy. Yeast consumes sugars and releases carbon dioxide. Those tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide become trapped inside the dough's gluten network and make your loaf rise.
Active dry yeast and instant yeast can both make excellent bread, although they are handled slightly differently, so be sure to follow the instructions for the type you are using.
Salt
Salt isn't optional decoration. Salt gives bread flavor, strengthens the dough, and helps regulate the yeast fermentation. Make bread without salt even once and you'll immediately understand why humans have historically taken salt so seriously, why wars were fought over it and why it was used as currency for so long.
A Simple First Loaf
You will need:
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3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more as needed (for kneeding or ensuring your dough isn't sticking to you).
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1 cup warm water, plus a little more if needed (depending on your altitude you may need a little more)
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2¼ teaspoons yeast, or one standard active dry yeast packet
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1½ teaspoons salt
You'll also need a large bowl, a spoon or dough whisk, a clean work surface, and a baking sheet or loaf pan. That's enough equipment to begin. If you find you like making bread, I would invest in a dutch oven, a bench scraper, and a scoring lame (razor blade on a stick).
Step 1: Wake Up the Yeast
If you're using active dry yeast, stir it into the warm water and let it sit for about 5–10 minutes according to the package directions. Wait until the mix looks creamy and foamy. We want bubbles.
If you're using instant yeast, you can generally mix it directly into the dry ingredients.
Step 2: Make the Dough
Combine the flour and salt. Add the water and yeast mixture. Stir until you have a rough, shaggy dough.
It will not look impressive. It will look like you must have messed it up. You didn't.
Step 3: Knead
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. (This is what our extra flour is for.)
Push it away from you with the heel of your hand, fold it back over itself, turn it slightly, and repeat. Keep going for roughly 8–10 minutes. If you have a stand-mixer, you can use your dough hook attachment instead, but I highly recommend doing this once or twice by hand.
At first the dough may feel sticky, lumpy, and awkward. Gradually it should become smoother and more elastic. Resist the temptation to bury sticky dough beneath mountains of flour. Add only enough extra flour to make the dough manageable and prevent it sticking to your surface. We want a moist dough, you're trying to develop gluten, not manufacture a brick.
Step 4: Let It Rise
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover it. I use a cooking spray to lightly coat a bowl, and a tea towel or kitchen towel to cover the top. Put it somewhere comfortably warm and let it rise.
Depending on your room temperature and yeast, that might take around one to two hours. Do not obsess over the clock. Check back every 20 or 30 minutes until your dough has doubled in size.
Step 5: Shape It
Gently press the risen dough to release some of the gas. Or you could just punch it.
Shape it into a round or oval loaf and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or shape it to fit a greased loaf pan.
Cover it again. Let it rise until noticeably puffy, usually another 30–60 minutes. This second rise is important for your bread to have that nice crust, do NOT skip it.
Meanwhile, heat your oven to 400°F.
Step 6: Bake
If you're making a free-form loaf, use a very sharp knife or bread lame to make a shallow slash across the top. Your dough will expand as it bakes, and if we don't score it, it will split wherever it feels like it. Scoring creates the space for expansion and keeps your loaf pretty.
Bake until deeply golden and cooked through, generally around 25–35 minutes, depending on the shape and your oven. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the center of a basic lean loaf is generally done around 190–200°F.
Then comes the cruelest instruction in bread making.
Just wait.
Let It Cool
Fresh bread smells specifically designed to destroy your restraint.
Still, give the loaf time to cool before slicing.
The structure of your bread is setting while it cools. Cutting it immediately will compress the crumb/bubble structure and your bread will end up with a gummy texture.
Put it on a rack. Admire it. Smell it every time you walk by. Then cut it.
What If It Isn't Perfect?
Your first loaf may spread sideways, be slightly dense, get darker than you expected.
Your scoring may look less "artisan bakery" and more "bread survived an altercation."
Eat it anyway (it's delicious).
Then ask what happened. You learn breadmaking through repetition.
Too dense? Maybe it needed more rising time or stronger gluten development. Too dry? You may have added too much flour or baked it too long. Barely rose? Check the yeast, water temperature, and room temperature. Huge holes surrounded by dense areas? Work on shaping and your rise times.
Every loaf tells you something.
Then Make Another One
This is where bread becomes interesting.
Once you understand the basic loaf, you can change it.
Add herbs. Replace some white flour with whole wheat. Fold in roasted garlic. Add seeds. Shape rolls. Try focaccia.
Eventually, if you want another living thing demanding counter space in your house, start a sourdough starter. My Doughlene has a permanent home on the counter in the corner, and watches all my baking shenanigans.
But you don't begin by trying to master bread. This take time.
You begin by making just one loaf.
Flour.
Water.
Yeast.
Salt.
Your hands.
An oven.
Bread.
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