Home made bread vs. commercial bread

[BoracayB]

I recently saw a couple shows about commercial bread companies and how they make bread. It seems to be less work than homemade.
The thing I am curious about is they mix the dough and then put it into their pans to rise. After it rises they cook it. They don't punch it down for another rise.
Is this how the bread bought in the store is so light and airy?

 

[GLC]

It's a combination of things. For one, they commonly use bread improvers. There are a variety of formulas, and some of them you may not want to read about where they come from. They are available from baking supply houses. They also frequently proof in temperature controlled environments at the ideal temperature of about 78F. They use bread flour and/or add gluten, never all-purpose flour. They may also add potato flour. They knead in a precise way for a precise time.

Here's a very succinct description of bread improvers:
Bread Improvers

Whether or not the standard store loaf is other than a tasteless foam is a matter of opinion.

 

[Mel!]

I dont punch my bread dough either and I also just pour the dough into the baking bowl to rise, or else I pour it onto some baking paper to rise and just bake it on the baking paper. Yes, this makes the bread more light and airy.

Other tips:
Pour water into the oven to make steam in the oven while the bread is rising and baking.
Put enough liquid in bread dough, so it is just wet enough to flow into the baking bowl, but not so wet that bottom of it is soggy or gluey after baking.
Bake for as long as possible, without burning the bread, to make sure the liquid in the bread does not make the bottom of the bread soggy or gluey.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I used to go through all that rigmarole with the rising and punching and shaping and baking, but now I just throw everything into the bread machine according to the directions and when it dings, I eat it!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I used to go through all that rigmarole with the rising and punching and shaping and baking, but now I just throw everything into the bread machine according to the directions and when it dings, I eat it!

I hope you switch it off first.

 

[Addie]

The bread improver is just one of the reason their bread will stay fresh longer and your home made bread will stay fresh for only two days at the most. Putting a pan of water at the very bottom of your oven will give you the moisture that is necessary for good bread making. Commercial ovens often have a controlled sprayer in their ovens. There are so many variables to making bread. I prefer artisan bread. No muss or fuss.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I'll have to try that not punching down my bread too. Even if it doesn't work as good I'd like to know what the punch down adds.

 

[Addie]

The ingredients for making bread are reasonably inexpensive. So it is worth experimenting some. And it should be intresting. Go fo it. Just make sure you give your dough a really good kneading for the first time.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I hope you switch it off first.

Nah, the bread machine only dings once then quits. It's the damn oven timer that keeps beeping and beeping and beeping until you go into the kitchen and manually turn the beeper off.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Making bread is one of those things that people seem to think is mysterious, labor-intensive, and complex. It isn't. I've been making virtually all of my own bread for 10 years, and it's unbelievably simple.

I used to go through the whole kneading, rising, punching down nonsense. Then, about 5 years ago, I found this video on YouTube. What a revelation. I make bread twice a week using this technique. It takes about 5 minutes of actual labor. The rest of it is simply allowing time for rising and the flavors to develop in the dough.

Here you go:
Making No-Knead Bread - YouTube

Like Mark Bittman says in the video, you can make bread as good as any commercial bakery in the country using this simple technique.

 

[FluffyAngel]

I want to start this no knead bread today but... the recipe I looked up after watching the video says the 12 - 20 hours you leave the dough out should be in a room temp of about 70° F. It gets down to the 50's here at night & we've already turned off the heat because it gets 70's & 80's in the day time. Will this be an issue?

 

[FrankZ]

Bread dough doesn't have a watch and can't tell time. You need to let it double. Colder conditions slow the rise, so the only issue should be do you have time for a longer rise?

Remember once you put yeast into water, flour and salt your life is no longer your own. Those little yeastie beasties are now in charge and when they are ready you are expected to show and up do your part.

 

[FluffyAngel]

Ok. I think I will turn the heat back on tonight for quality assurance & productivity's sake. Thank you.

 

[FluffyAngel]

Also could I sub out king Arthur's whole wheat flour for a.p. flour?

 

[FrankZ]

Quality likely wouldn't be affected with the lower rising temperatures (at least to a point). Usually the longer the rise the better the flavor as it has more time to develop. Time is really the only factor in a sense of do you have enough time, or will you be ready when the bread is.

More or less you can sub out whole wheat flour for all or part of the AP flour (mind you I use bread flour not AP flour). Whole wheat hydrates slower and doesn't produce as nice a rise as white flour. You may want to try a mix to start. With my bread I use a ratio of 70/30 or 80/20 depending on my mood (bread flour/white whole wheat).

If you use all whole wheat you may need to add vital wheat gluten or you may end with a very dense loaf.

Be careful about changing too many factors at one time. It is best when running experiments to change one thing at a time to see what the effects are. If you make too many changes you can't be sure what caused what.

The upside with bread is if you totally bomb with it your time is really the biggest waste, the ingredients are cheap enough and you can always find a duck pond and make the little quackers happy.

 

[FluffyAngel]

I've got bread flour also. So, I will do two batches. One batch with just a.p. flour, another with bread flour alone to start with so I can see the difference. I just realized my whole wheat flour is out of date anyway. I'll maybe incorporate a little of that next batch when I get fresh flour.

 

[FluffyAngel]

The upside with bread is if you totally bomb with it your time is really the biggest waste, the ingredients are cheap enough and you can always find a duck pond and make the little quackers happy.

Great idea. I've started walking at a nearby Botanical Garden that has a couple of duck ponds on it. Those ducks will be well fed... well actually I hope I don't screw up that much. We'll see.

 

[FrankZ]

AP flour tends to be lower protein and hence less gluten development.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I want to start this no knead bread today but... the recipe I looked up after watching the video says the 12 - 20 hours you leave the dough out should be in a room temp of about 70° F. It gets down to the 50's here at night & we've already turned off the heat because it gets 70's & 80's in the day time. Will this be an issue?

Not at all. As Frank says, it will only affect yeast activity. When I make bread, I sometimes put the dough right in the fridge. It continues to rise, just more slowly. Yeast activity is not nearly predictable as you might think. Sometimes it will rise just as quickly in the fridge as on the countertop.

The recipe as shown is almost too simple to be believed. But it does work. As tempting as it might be, for this recipe I wouldn't use 100% whole wheat. Maybe a half-half mix at most. Either bread flour or AP will work, too. I like bread flour myself, but have used both with good results.

The other thing is to make sure you heat the Dutch oven for at least 30 minutes before putting the dough in it. Just put it in the oven when you turn it on to preheat. 450 degrees is fine. It doesn't have to be 500 like the video says. Move quickly when you do put the dough in the pan. You don't want the pan or the oven to cool off. The steam that forms between the wet dough and hot pan is what makes the crust so outstanding in this loaf.

 

[FluffyAngel]

Both versions did well. I'm not sure which one was which but - I think the one with bread flour was the one that was more firm & held its shape better. I believe the regular a.p. flour dough spread more. Both were good, had the overall same taste but I preferred the firmer one. Now, I wonder which flour that was? Hmmm...