My grandmother makes the best rolls I’ve ever tasted and I learned to make bread from her. I had tried to use her recipe but never got the good results that she did. It wasn’t until I moved in with her during college and actually got to see how she made bread that I realized how very different she made bread from what the recipe said. It wasn’t that she meant to misled, but none of the amounts matched the recipe and sometimes even the ingredients were different. “Everyone knows that potato water makes better bread.” I certainly didn’t  It never occurred to her that others might not know these techniques. What she used had a lot more to do with what she felt like tossing in than what the recipe said, but no batch ever failed because she knew what the dough needed to feel like if it was going to rise properly. Now I bake just like her and have no true recipe. At the end, I’ll include my “recipe” so you can see what I mean. These techniques can be used on any recipe to make it rise better.

Most bread recipes will make good bread but they often fail to explain the techniques of what to do with the dough once it’s mixed. Here is a list of the top 6 reasons for less than perfect bread (and it’s almost never bad yeast).

You followed the recipe – Too much or not enough flour. Flour absorbs moisture from the air. On a dry day it will suck up your liquid like a sponge and you will use less. If it’s raining outside you will need more. That is why most recipes will say something like 5 to 7 cups of flour. It really can make that much of a difference. Add flour ¼ cup at a time until your floured hands don’t stick. I can usually tell that it’s right when the dough stops sticking to the sides of the mixer and you can see almost to the bottom of the mixing bowl. You want it to still be soft enough that you couldn’t hold it in your hands very long before it oozed out to the floor. If it is too soft it can over-rise and then deflate. Best thing to do is practice and take notes on what works.

2. Not allowing the dough to rest before the first kneading. After I mix up all the ingredients I let the dough rest for 10 minutes before I knead it. This gives the gluten in the flour time to soften so it can stretch. I also don’t bother with proofing my yeast (yes, I can hear the horrified gasps for all the experienced bakers out there). Modern yeast is designed for bakeries that just toss everything in. It can take it, but it does need a little time to warm up and wake up so it can do its job. This rest period gives it time to do that.

3. Not kneading enough. If you have a good bread mixer like a Kitchen-aid or a Bosch, you can just set the machine to the kneading setting and leave it for about 7 minutes. If not you need to set the timer and do it by hand. Don’t be gentle. Folding it over and pushing it down works well. If it starts to stick add a little more flour, but be careful not to add too much or it will be both tougher to kneed and heavier in texture.

4. Not kneading it a second time. Most recipes tell you to let the bread double in size and then shape. Don’t just shape it, give it another minute of kneading. I know it can be really hard to beat down that lovely doubled dough, but if you don’t it will have lumpy areas or big air  pockets.

5. Poor shaping technique. If you are patting the dough into the right shape the same way you would a snowball, you are going to have lumpy or worse, flat bread. Bread and rolls rise because the gas bubbles get trapped in the dough. This works best if the dough is already stretched. For bread, take enough dough to fill your pan about 2/3rds of the way full. Use a rolling pin to roll out a rectangle as wide as the pan is long and about 15 to 18 inches long. Roll it up evenly and lay it into the bottom of a lightly greased pan. There are dozens of ways to form rolls, just make sure you use one that either rolls out the dough, or kneads the dough into a ball instead of just patting it. Do make sure you cover it with a clean dish towel so the dough doesn’t dry out. Let it rise until doubled in size again before you bake it.

6. Baking at the wrong temperature. A very hot oven causes steam quickly. I bake my pita bread as hot as the oven will go, about 500 degrees, for only a few minutes. The steam causes the pita to expand faster than the dough can cook so it blows up like a balloon that then deflates when you pull it out. This is great when you are wanting a pocket, but not so good for bread. Most of the time I bake bread at about 350 degrees for 50 min because I don’t want to cook the crust to over brown and get hard, but the French bread can be a little hotter maybe even 400 for about 25 to 30 min. The holes will be larger and the crust crisper.

If you are still having trouble, adding a Tablespoon or two of Dough Enhancer is a great way to add volume, and I do use this for my whole wheat recipes. Just be a bit careful not to use too much because as your technique improves it will become possible to overinflate the bread.

Basic Dough

2 cups hot liquid (water, milk, water that potatoes have been boiled in, even juice would work if you reduce or eliminate the sugar) hot but not so hot that you have to pull out your finger to avoid feeling burned.

5 to 7 cups flour (I never use just white flour – too gummy. My white bread has 1 cup of wheat flour in it. You can add 100% wheat, rye, or anything else you like. Rice flours don’t have glutton and can be more difficult to make rise.

1 to 2 TBSP Yeast (I’m a high altitude cook and never need more than 1 TBSP, I’ve been told by people at sea level that they always need 2.)

1 tsp. to 2 TBSP Dough Enhancer (This is usually found right by the yeast at the store. It helps to form the glutton better. In white bread I don’t use much if any, but with any other flour I always add it.

2 tsp. to 1 TBSP Salt (Technically an optional ingredient and the less you use, the better your yeast will work. I’ve left it out just to see and it was tasteless enough to be nearly inedible.

2 tsp. to 1/3 cup sugar (or honey. The 2 tsp is to feed your yeast. It needs to eat to do its job. Anything extra is to sweeten the bread. If you don’t have enough sugar for the yeast it will live on the flour and it starts to gain a slightly sourdough flavor. Great for sandwiches but not so good for cinnamon rolls.

0 to 1/2 cup oil or melted butter (fats help the bread to retain moisture. If you are eating it the moment it comes out of the oven, you can skip the veg oil, olive oil, or melted butter. It won’t be quite as rich, but it will still have a lot of moisture from the water. Anything longer than 1 hour, you’ll need some oil. ¼ cup is about right for most bread.

Other things you could add in would be:
An egg or 2 (gives flavor and a slightly different texture)
Herbs, spices, onion, roasted garlic (flavor) raisins, diced apples, nuts, brown sugar (Good to sprinkle on before you roll it up)
Just experiment and have fun with it.

bio: Rebecca Belnap developed a passion for food storage during the 15 years she spent flipping homes. Her book in progress “Two Tons of Wheat, But What Can I Cook for Dinner?” is a must for anyone trying to survive on an inconsistent income. Other interests include working with Autistic children, finish carpentry, quilting, gardening, and writing middle grade fiction. She lives in Lehi, Utah with her husband, three daughters, and two cats.

Note from Melva: If you have some suggestions on how to make better bread or some other baking/chef tips, please feel free to share in the comment section of the blog. Also keep an eye out for her book: Two Tons of Wheat, But What Can I Cook for Dinner?“