Bread
Poolish, biga and sponge do three different things to the same flour
A preferment is a portion of the dough fermented in advance. The hydration and the length of that head start decide whether you get…
Bread
Dough, fermentation, shaping and the loaf you can repeat on a Tuesday.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Bread
Autolyse does with time what kneading does with force
Mixing flour and water and then walking away looks like doing nothing, but the dough is building structure while the bowl sits…
Bread
Stretch and fold builds strength during the rest, not during the pull
The folding takes seconds and the waiting takes the rest of the afternoon, which is a fair description of where the work actually…
Bread
Rye holds a loaf together with pentosans, not with gluten
A rye dough that behaves like wheat is a rye dough with very little rye in it, and the difference is not stubbornness but chemistry.
Bread
Bran is a blade, which is why wholemeal loaves sit lower
The same recipe made with wholemeal flour rises less and feels heavier, and the reason is physical damage to a network that formed…
Bread
The poke test reads gas pressure, and every dough answers differently
Pressing a finger into proving dough tells you something real, but what it tells you depends on the flour, the temperature and the…
Bread
Less yeast and more time is the cheapest flavour upgrade in bread
Cutting the yeast in a recipe does not make a smaller loaf, it makes a slower one, and slow is where most bread flavour comes from.
Bread
Tangzhong gelatinises starch on purpose so the crumb can hold more water
Cooking a small part of the flour into a paste before mixing sounds like an extra chore, and it changes the softness of the…
Bread
Open crumb is a structure you build, not a hydration number you copy
Adding water to chase big holes usually produces a flat loaf with a wet crumb, because hydration is one input among several and…