In this comprehensive guide, Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of numerous books on baking, including The Bread Bible, teaches us how to make show-stopping loaves of bread from start to finish. In the first section, she covers the basics of measuring, kneading, and proofing, plus shaping, and decorating and baking the final loaves.
Before your bread bakes, there's a few aesthetic choices, like glazing and stenciling, that'll make it shine. Here's how to make your bread look like you're owning it.
Glazing
Glazes are used to produce different effects on bread crust. Spraying dough with water or brushing with a mixture of 2 tablespoons beaten egg white and 1/2 teaspoon water produces a crisp crust. A whole egg lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of water, produces a shiny golden crust. Egg yolks produce the brownest crust and usually necessitate tenting the bread loosely with foil after the first 20 minutes of baking. An egg yolk lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of cream produces a very shiny deep-brown crust, beaten with 1 teaspoon of milk, it gives a shiny, medium-brown crust. Melted butter or oil makes for a soft velvety crust. Glazes can also be used to "glue" or attach seeds to bread before baking.
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If using an egg glaze, do not use steam during baking, as it will dull the shine.
Rather than a liquid glaze, dough can be dusted with flour to create an attractive, crisp crust.
Stenciling and Slashing
Stenciling and slashing are done primarily for decorative reasons, but originally they served as ways to personalize and identify breads made in a communal oven. To stencil dough, cut a design into paper or parchment, lay it gently on top of the dough, and sift flour over the open portions. Carefully lift the stencil away.
Slashes, in addition to being decorative, also establish precisely where the bread will split during baking. If bread is not slashed, it will split open slightly at the sides, just under the crown if baked in a loaf pan and toward the bottom if free-form.
A one-sided razor blade works best for slashing. Make the slash 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep—if necessary, go over the slash again to deepen it.
Baking
The goal of baking is to gelatinize or cook the dough and to achieve good volume and an attractive crust. Here are several simple techniques for baking beautiful, delicious bread every time.
Preheat: Bread benefits from an immediate hit of strong heat right at the beginning of baking. Always preheat the oven, with a baking stone set on the bottom rack, at least 45 minutes before baking. If you're unsure of your oven's accuracy, use a separate oven thermometer to ensure the right baking environment for your loaf.
Steam: To get the most volume from your bread, you need to slow down the formation of the crust—the slower the crust forms, the more time the dough has to expand—by adding steam to the oven. To do so, place a cast-iron pan on the floor of the oven when you preheat it. As soon as you put the bread in the oven, toss a handful (about 1/2 cup) of ice into the preheated cast-iron pan and immediately close the door.
