Tips for Baking Your First Loaf of Bread

I, like many people, love homemade bread. There simply is no better aroma, and the taste trumps anything I've ever had from the store. Yet, as much as I love cooking and baking, I shied away from making my own bread until a few years ago. I was intimidated by the task, fearing I wouldn't know how to knead the dough properly or that the bread would end up tasting terrible. I considered myself a novice in cooking, and felt homemade bread was far too advanced for me to attempt.

My attitude changed when I was paging through one of my mother's 1970s-era vegetarian whole foods cookbooks one day, and I happened upon a delicious-sounding recipe for whole wheat French bread. I read it over, realized it didn't seem that difficult, and decided to dive right in. That first loaf, which turned out perfectly, inspired me to bake bread whenever I had the opportunity. Along the way, I've learned a few things that might help newcomers to bread-baking.

First, good homemade bread cannot be rushed. Don't start two hours before you have to go to your son's soccer game unless the recipe you are using provides you with shortcuts to make it in that amount of time. (If you must, however, you can wrap up the kneaded dough and refrigerate it to be used later in the event you can't finish right then.) My first loaf of bread took me six hours, because I had to let it rise twice for a couple of hours each. Read the recipe you are using carefully beforehand.

Next, choose the largest mixing bowl you have for the recipe. You will need to let the dough rise, and it can get to twice its original size during this process. You want to make sure it has plenty of room to expand.

Familiarize yourself with the terminology describing the various properties of dough once it's been kneaded. For stiff dough, you usually need to knead about 10 minutes. It is very sturdy, firm dough. It is often used for substantial, classic country breads. Dough that is "moderately" or "somewhat" stiff is a bit more pliable and yielding than stiff dough. It is usually kneaded between 5 to 8 minutes. Dough that is "somewhat" soft is kneaded about 3 to 5 minutes. It may feel a bit sticky. Some recipes are very explicit about the time required for kneading; others may assume you know these terms.

You will also need to find a good warm place to let your dough rise. If you're at a loss, place your mixing bowl on the upper rack of your oven, the bottom of a roasting pan on the lower rack, and fill the roasting pan with boiling water. Then slide both in the oven for the allotted rising time. This step seals in the heat and creates the perfect draft-free environment for your dough to rise.

Lastly, before baking your dough, be sure the oven is fully heated. During the first few minutes of baking, the yeast in the dough expands for the last time, and if your oven is not fully heated, the yeast may expand too fast and then cause the bread to collapse. The bread will not bake properly (and it won't taste too great, either).

Making homemade bread does not have to be an intimidating task that only the most accomplished chefs can do correctly. Take these suggestions to heart, clear a few hours on a gray Saturday morning, and soon you will be enjoying wonderful, fresh bread. And best of all, it will be from your own hands.