The ingredients are important, but if you don't know what to do with them, your chances of success are limited. One cannot simply throw everything listed together in a bowl. The proper order of mixing and kneading is key for professional outcomes.

Mixing

In the following recipes, ingredients are always listed in the order they are to be used. One exception is when an ingredient is added in more than one stage. This usually occurs with sugar, as too much should not be added in the beginning, or it will retard fermentation. In those instances, such additions are clearly noted, “… add 1 tablespoon sugar,” and later, “… add remaining sugar.”

Mixing should be done in a large bowl, to prevent overflows. The initial mixing can be done with your tool of preference, but for ease of cleanup, a simple dinner fork is the best tool. Spoons do not incorporate ingredients enough, and a whisk only works well until flour is added, at which time the dough clumps into the center of the whisk. As soon as the dough holds together, the mass should be turned out onto a lightly floured work surface for kneading.

Kneading

Kneading is the most important step in bread making. This is the stage when the gluten is created, and the dough becomes capable of holding the carbon dioxide that is built up during fermentation. There are many ways to knead. The key is to keep the dough moving around the table. It must be well agitated. Some bakers fold and press; others lift and slap; others roll and drop. As long as it is kept moving for 8–10 minutes, any method will work. As the dough is kneaded, it may be necessary to add more flour.

• Kneading with Electric Mixers

  An electric standing mixer can do the work for you, but the best machines are those with a corkscrew-shaped hook. The angled screw shape encourages the dough to slide off and slap the edge of the bowl with each rotation. Machines with a fishhook-shaped attachment are more likely to grab the dough and hold on to it, spinning it around, but not actually agitating it. Regardless of the hook style, it is important to monitor the kneading periodically to be sure adequate agitation occurs. This may require stopping the machine and scraping the dough off the hook from time to time.

• The Right Consistency

  When dough is kneaded, it transforms from a slack, lumpy dough to a tight, smooth one. This transformation is key to the outcome of your bread.

  After 10 minutes the dough should be tight and elastic, and should spring back into shape when poked or stretched. If it does not, rest the dough for 5 minutes and check it again. It is possible to over-knead (although it is difficult to do by hand). The over-kneaded dough looks much like the underkneaded dough, lumpy and rough. The difference is that the over-kneaded dough will feel tight, not slack.

• Kneading and Flour

  The yeast bread recipes may list flour as the last ingredient, and most measurements are given as a range, such as 4–5 cups. This is because bread baking is an inexact science, and the amount of flour a particular recipe will require depends on several variables, including human error.

  Air temperature, ingredient temperature, humidity, measurement accuracy, and the type of flour and its manufacturer contribute to the amount of flour a recipe will take on any given day. There is only one sure way to know how much is enough, and that is by looking and feeling. The dough should be smooth and soft, but not sticky, and not so tough that it's hard to knead.

  To make a loaf of bread successfully, it is necessary to reserve the last cup of flour called for, and to add it slowly, a little at a time, as the dough is kneaded. Let each addition work in completely before determining if more is necessary. The dough should be moist and soft, but not sticky. Adding a little flour at a time prevents the over-addition of flour, which makes dough tough and hard to knead, and results in a dry finished product. Sometimes a recipe will require more than what is called for, sometimes less. That's what makes baking so exciting!

Fermentation

Once the dough is kneaded, it must be put up to rise, or double. This step is called fermentation, and it is when the yeast begins feeding and consequently releases carbon dioxide. If you've kneaded properly, that gas will be trapped within the dough, and the bread will rise.

Certain things control fermentation. Yeast likes warmth, so the more warmth you provide (up to about 100°F), the faster the yeast will create gas. Conversely, if you want to slow down the fermentation, you can remove warmth.

Therefore, the placement of the rising dough has everything to do with controlling the speed of fermentation. Set in a sunny window or near a warm oven, and the dough will double in about an hour. Stored in the refrigerator, the dough will rise slowly, over a period of 8–10 hours.

The slower, chilled method is ideal for busy cooks who may not have time to make a dough from start to finish in any one day. Fermentation stops completely below 32°F, which makes the freezer a great place to store dough for extended periods. Defrost frozen dough in the fridge for even results.

Forming

Before a loaf can be baked, it must first be formed. Each recipe includes a suggestion for form, but most doughs can easily be made in a variety of shapes.

There are two key points to remember when forming a loaf. First, the dough should be tight, smooth, and free of air pockets. This is achieved by rolling, flattening, and folding as the dough is formed. The more a dough is worked, the tighter and more elastic the gluten will become. Second, the forming should be done fairly quickly, because as long as the dough is unbaked and unfrozen, fermentation will continue. As the dough sits, gasses build, gluten relaxes, and the loaf will lose its shape.

If the form is not to your liking, the process can easily be repeated, but the dough must rest for about 5 minutes first. Resting relaxes the gluten, allowing for more gas to build up, thus softening the dough and making it easy to form once again.