Bread Baking 101- Master Artisan Breads at Home

Explore essential bread baking tools, from bench scraper and thermometer to bread knife, scale, paring knife, and parchment paper, and learn how they support dough handling and temperature control.

Explore essential equipment for bread baking at home, from sheet pans and cooling racks to proofing baskets, scoring tools, and parchment, enabling perfect focaccia, rolls, and loaves.

Learn baker's percentages by treating flour as 100 percent and calculating hydration and other ingredients from that base, enabling easy scaling of recipes.

Master the desired dough temperature (ddt) by balancing room and floor temperatures with water to reach about 27°C. Gain control over fermentation and proofing, and improve flavor and texture.

Explore how gluten forms a dough network that traps CO2, giving bread its chewy, airy texture; learn how fermentation, flour type, and hydration influence gluten development through stretching and folding.

Understand how yeast, flour, and water ferment to create carbon dioxide, air pockets, and flavor; salt regulates activity, cold fermentation develops gluten, and proofing leads to the final loaf.

Explore cake flour, all-purpose flour, wholemeal, and bread flour, noting protein levels and suitable uses from cakes to breads, with bread flour delivering a chewy crumb and strong gluten.

Explore the three yeast types—cake yeast, active dry, and instant—and learn how they ferment flour sugars into carbon dioxide and ethanol, and how blooming affects dough texture.

Salt enhances flavor and preserves dough structure so bread stays fluffy as it expands with CO2 during baking. It also regulates fermentation, supports yeast activity, and acts as a preservative.

Learn bakers percentages with 100% flour as the base for focaccia. Adjust 0.5% yeast, 2% salt, 5% olive oil, and 70–75% water to shape rise and texture, and scale recipes.

Learn to measure ingredients with a digital scale, reset to zero before each add, weigh in grams (preferred) and convert to ounces when needed, with practical salt and water examples.

Calculate the water temperature by adding room temperature and flour temperature, then subtracting 81 to reach the optimal dough temperature, illustrated with a 23-degree room yielding about 35 degrees.

Check the water at 34 C, measure three grams of yeast and five grams of flour, keep salt on the side, and form a shaggy dough to rest 30 minutes.

Develop gluten through repeated stretch and folds with olive oil on hands, producing a smooth dough. Refrigerate for 8–32 hours to deepen flavor through cool fermentation.

After a fridge rest, shape the dough like a golf ball, note its doubled size and airy texture, then oil the tray, dust with semolina optionally, and rest two hours.

Explore creative focaccia toppings—tomatoes, olives, sage, rosemary, potatoes, and thyme—brushed with olive oil, pressed in at the end, then proved before baking for desired texture.

Preheat the oven to 240 C (460 F) and bake the focaccia for about 10 minutes, then lower the heat and brush with olive oil and sea salt.

achieve a light, nicely baked bread as the final result of mastering artisan bread at home.

Learn how flour, sugar with yeast, milk, egg, butter, salt, and fats build gluten and dough structure. Maintain temperatures around 20–25 C to control fermentation and prevent fat from melting.

Partially develop the gluten, then add butter, salt, sugar, yeast, and egg; knead by hand or stand mixer, use a bench scraper, stretch it, and rest about 30 minutes.

Develop gluten in the dough through hands-on kneading, incorporating butter until smooth, then refrigerate for 12-15 hours to develop flavor before shaping the next day.

Learn home-friendly techniques to shape burger buns using fermentation for flavor and easier handling. Master hand-formed dough, portions, and a seal-and-fold method to create smooth, impressive buns without flour.

Learn to portion dough into pieces, flatten into ribbons, and shape dinner rolls into braided, bow-tie, and buns using a two-hand shaping technique, with center folds, sealing, and tucking.

Master dough proofing by covering with plastic wrap to retain moisture as it doubles in size, then preheat to 200°C and bake with an egg wash for about 15 minutes.

Glaze breads with egg wash or milk for a golden crust, optionally add sesame or poppy seeds for look and flavor, and use the wobble test to check proofing.

Learn how to proof and shape dinner rolls for perfect buns, comparing tight versus loose shapes, checking doneness with a gentle wobble and spring back, then top with sesame.

Bake darker for richer flavor, brush warm bread with butter for shine, and use 60 to 80 gram portions for industry standards, with 30 gram sliders and 90 gram burgers.

Discover dough percentages for bread: mix 50% less flour with 50% wholemeal for a lighter dough, with 2% salt, 1% yeast, 70% hydration, and stretching and folding.

Mix wholemeal flour with water, salt, and 4 g of yeast at about 25 degrees Celsius to slow fermentation and improve hydration for a light, airy loaf, 30-minute rest.

Develop gluten in the dough through repeated folds and rests, shaping and turning to strengthen structure and flavor overnight while keeping the dough moist with plastic wrap.

Butter the pan, shape the dough by folding the sides and sealing the seam, place it in the pan, and proof for one to two hours as it rises.

Learn how to determine when a loaf is fully proved using a gentle poke and shake test, monitor proof stage, and score the loaf at about 200°C for 15 minutes.

learn how to dust flour, score the loaf with a blade at a 45-degree angle, add steam, bake for about 30 minutes, and cool using a pallet knife.

Develop a light, soft crumb loaf with high hydration and gentle dough development, test doneness by hollow bottom sounds and a nutty aroma, then cool before slicing.

Learn the key dough percentages for a basic French loaf: 400 g flour, 8 g salt, 2 g yeast, and 70% hydration to master the dough assembly.

Mix 400 g baker's flour with 12 percent protein, salt, and yeast; add water at 27 degrees to form raft dough, rest 30 minutes to absorb liquids and develop gluten.

Knead and rest with water on your hands to prevent sticking, then let the dough ferment, proof, and develop gluten for a light, well-structured loaf, overnight in the fridge.

Master the art of shaping dough by handling it gently, resting it for 30 minutes, and using light flour and a bench scraper to preserve air bubbles.

Proof the dough in a floured banneton or linen cloth for two to three hours, then preheat the oven and bake in a Dutch oven for best results.

Learn to bake breads at home with a Dutch oven; watch fermentation and bubbles, score on parchment, bake with lid on at 250 C, then uncover for a crisp crust.

Master baking artisan bread in a regular oven without a dutch oven, using a preheated stone or tray, steam from ice and water, and temperature shifts for a crisp crust.

Cut through the loaf to reveal the inside, confirm a light crumb with open holes, and listen for the hollow sound to show the bread is nicely baked.

Celebrate your progress as you finish this bread baking course, recognizing the concepts you've learned, and reach out with questions. Follow the instructor on Instagram and YouTube for future classes.