📖 Find the written recipe in the link below the video ⤴️ 🌾 If you would like to support my work click here ⤵️ www.ko-fi.com/chainbaker 🔪 Find all the things I use here ⤵️ 🇺🇸 www.amazon.com/shop/ChainBaker 🇬🇧 www.amazon.co.uk/shop/ChainBaker 🥨 To learn more about bread making click here ⤵️ Principles of Baking bit.ly/principles-of-baking The Steps of Baking bit.ly/steps-of-baking
What makes Chain Baker unique is his clarity, conciseness and precision. He has a gift for explaining why and how he uses these processes. A great teacher.
Update, i have made half the stuff on your channel now and this one is probably the best and easiest, amazing the difference the small things you go into detail about make such a difference. Thanks so much man my family are eternally grateful.
I've made this loaf 5 times this week. Thats how much my family loves it. The loaf is gone before its completely cooled. 😄 Thank you for sharing all these recipes. Were making your pate fermente sandwich loaf tonight. And were really looking forward to bagels. 🍞🍞🍞
This is the first loaf I have made with a preferment and it came out pretty much just like the one in the video. My wife told me it was the best bread I have ever baked! Chain Baker, you are a brilliant teacher and unlike some other "bakers" who post videos, you are clearly someone with great knowledge and experience. Great video and very clear, easy to follow instructions - thanks so much 🍞👍
I don’t usually leave comments, but I had to on this bread. 1. I truly appreciate your approach to bread making. I have seen most of your videos and have made quite a few breads by hand. Thanks for that. Knowing how to make bread by hand and how bread feels once kneaded makes me a better baker. 2. This bread is amazing. My husband adores it. The preferment truly makes a difference.
Thank you so much! :) That is the right way. I think everyone should first make bread by hand and only then if they wish to continue making it with a mixer. Knowing how it should feel makes us better bakers. I'm glad you're enjoying the process :)
Ohhh damn! I'm eating thus right now for breakfast and all the steps are so worth! I took the bread at 12:15 in the night out of my oven and was going to bed really happy. At first my dough was a little bit stickier than yours but in the end everything came together. Thank for being such a Bread Nerd and sharing all these information with us. I wish you all the best and have a nice day!
Just did my first loaf, it was off the hook, it was soo delicious, dip the bread on tuscan olive oil, gurantee even litle kids will want more. Thank you Mr. Chainbaker, and God bless you.
Can't thank you enough. About 4 months ago, I started baking bread that was supposed to be a copy of Italian bread from a famous bakery in my area. It was close but I wanted to improve it. To say that I spent hours looking a countless websites and videos (I'm retired) would be an understatement. I would try different techniques that I learned to augment the recipe but had inconsistent results. I tried your biga and your techniques and got a beautiful and delicious loaf of bread. Again, thank you.
I made the original white loaf last week and it was great. We haven't bought bread in over a week. Right now it is in it's first 45 minute proof. It will be ready and cooled for dinner. Also I have everything set up for the sourdough bread loaf on the counter, starter is almost ready. The sourdough will be baked tomorrow morning. I also bought the lodge cast iron set you use in your videos and I can't wait to see what a difference it will make compared to a dutch oven. I'll post the photos on Flikr when done. Happy baking !!
Hey, just baked your bread recipe, yesterday I made the biga and oh my!!! next i will try the poolish one, i have been baking sourdough for awhile though but these are awesome additions to my repertoire, thanks man !!
I diiscovered preferment in 2004 when I was desperate to produce a "real French bread" with my newly acquired bread machine.....( I'm French and was living in Texas at that time) In France we have bakeries everywhere and I had never made bread from scratch. The machine had a French bread program but the recipe had nothing to do with what I was expecting. All I knew was that our classic bread had only 4 ingredients, water, flour, yeast and salt but it did not work at all when I tried that combination. A search on the internet took me to the official site of the French bakers and I found "poolish" for making "tradition" baguettes....the timing of the recipe was matching the whole wheat program so I tried it and bingo! I got a quite decent good tasting lozf of French bread! I don't make bread anymore, having retired in France but I really enjoy your videos By the way that machine was also making excellent brioches!
I'm new to preferments and I'll never go back. I just made this. Mine didn't rise as much as yours, but I'm very happy with my first try. Thanks for these videos.
Wow. I had never used a preferment before, and I was suspicious if my bread was going to be like this (this crumb looks so soft and beautiful). But the bread turned out amazing and very similar to yours!
Excellent video. This is next on my list of bread to bake. I really enjoy the science bit - I need the why and how it works, and you explain it in a manner that I would wish to explain it to someone were I the teacher. I have loved bread for as long as I can remember. If it could provide me with everything I need to live, I would eat nothing else. Thank you for your videos
Dear chainbaker your videos inspire me a lot. I tested biga (made by whole mill flour) using simple all purpose flour and 65% hydration. Guess what. It works smoothly. What i only changed is lefting biga 48 hours to start sensing the acetic acid. I need some more air pockets. Next time i will go for 70% hydration. Thanks so much educating us.
Outstanding. I just got it out of the oven. Looks amazing, smells and taste great. Honestly, wasn't expecting the results to be this good. BTW, loved your compare video on the 4 pre-ferments and how they work.
made this this bread and now my wife said do not make any other but this one, taste like childhood! If there is Russians, this same taste as white bread for 28 kop.from old days!!!! Thank you brother!
Just made three loaves of this with AP flour. The crust tastes amazing! It seems to work equally well with cast iron or with a pan of boiling water in the oven for humidity
I can’t believe I was able to make this, even with so many interruptions and problems with timing. The recipe is much more forgiving than it seems. I told my husband not to buy any bread at the grocery this week so I would have been in trouble if I couldn’t pull through haha. If I can make it at 8 months pregnant with a sick toddler and a husband who turns off my timer without telling me, anybody can make it!
A great video, and thank you for making it. Following this recipe enabled me to make the first loaf of bread, finally, that had the kind of crumb I had been trying to get. Up to now none of the loaves have worked out. Now if only I can get a batch of sourdough starter that is actually right (currently on fourth attempt and this one isn't working either). The whole sourdough thing has been discouraging, so it was great to make a good loaf of bread using this recipe. Thank you.
How to make a starter - ruclips.net/video/qliOAeGFkLc/видео.html How to keep a starter active and build a leaven - ruclips.net/video/vzG67PcJ7mo/видео.html How to store your starter in the fridge - ruclips.net/video/ppc7OxmS3ZY/видео.html These should put you on the right track ;)
@@ChainBaker I fired up starter attempt #5 I'm going to follow your own recipe to see what happens. I hadn't seen any with that 1:10:10 recommendation but no matter-I'll use it in this attempt. Previous attempts had lots of "upward" activity but lacked bacterial development. Attempt #4 seemed to have bacteria-but somehow, no yeast. After 5 days it smelled bad, had begun to liquify, and hadn't expanded _at all._ No idea what's going wrong! Will keep trying. (I was tempted to add a small pinch of dry yeast at the very start, but nobody ever recommends that.)
Finished a loaf with this recipe right before bed last night, fresh bread on the counter this morning sure was a treat. My cast iron Dutch oven retains so much heat I had to pull the bread out quite a bit sooner than the times on the recipe. Also loving this way to shape loaves. Was nice & tight and expanded beautifully! Lower hydration also made for a very simple and relaxing kneading experience. Thanks again for all you do, man!! Edit: The bread is amazing.
Even though I made this on a pizza stone, it turned out great! thank u for sharing this recipe and all your detailed explanations. keep up the good work!
Your videos led me to make my best loaf so far due to your direct and to the point method of explanation. Half the flour was bread flour which i used to make my biga, the other half was organic whole meal flour. I made my biga before work, and 6 hours later I mixed the remainder of my ingredients; the rest of the water, (around 60% hydration, give or take) the whole meal flour, the rest of the yeast, salt, two egg yolks, honey, oats and walnuts with a tablespoon or so grapeseed oil.(next time I plan on presoaking flax seeds instead of oil); then added my biga. Maybe you can try this and let me know what you think.
Charlie made the biga bread with pre-ferment this morning in regular size loaf pan. The texture and crust was simply amazing. You have me sold on pre-ferment. I don't care for hand kneading so use a Chinese Bear kneading machine of which I am satisfied with..
wow it works. i have try to make a good bread for long time. this one is like the one the bakery make. thanks for this video! only thing i have to change is set the oven to 200 degree
Wonderful recipe, love making a boule. My wife asks I make it in a loaf pan, any changes I should make. Also, we have a tiny kitchen with tile counter. Used our wood cutting board to knead on but it slipped all over. Bought a kneading board on line because couldn’t find it in your online store. Great solution, you might want to show people what it is and definitely sell it in your online store! Thanks for a great Chanel!
You can knead on any surface really. As long as it's kind of smooth :) this bread can be baked in a tin for sure. There is nothing to change as long as it fits in the tin.
Made this with poolish and biga, for me good choice was to take a sample after kneeding, i wait till almost double in size, it tooks me ~2.5h. Also nice choice is to shorten proofing a little bit and put it in the freezer, after that it is easier to score and dough is not that louse if you go for higher hydration. Ice cube, water in container and spray buttle together make my dough almost triple inside after bake with bueatiful "ear". Done it with 11% flour and 71% hydration. With 13% flour dough become a lot easier to handle even at 75% hydration, all you need to do is need a little bit more (keep in mind tempareture increase). Love your video
Ive followed you from instagram, and this is the video ive never knew that I needed. Cant wait for you to blow up, so glad I stumbled on to your page, top man, keep up the good work.
Thanks for the great recipe as always Charlie. I used the recipe and the resulted bread tastes fantastic and has a great texture, but it seems to fail to spring in the center like yours in the video, and only gets to about 60% of the height (it spread more to the sides than yours ended up like). I used a baking stone with a metal pan underneath it at the bottom of my oven with boiling water, but my oven seems to release all of the steam and moisture. Do you have any suggestions as to how may I get a nice spring like yours, or what to look out for that affects the spring the most?
Charlie i love your channel and i watch it all the time. Your tips are invaluable, my buga bread turned out oerfect, just like yours, but was wondering how i get a pronounce yeast flavor in my breads like i remember from grandma?
Bread should not taste very yeasty. Grandma might have been using too much 😁 if you want a nice fermented flavour, then try cold bulk fermentation. It's a game changer - ruclips.net/video/x-8UoEgtt48/видео.html But if you really miss that yeast taste, then use a bit more yeast and don't ferment for too long.
I started this way too late my time and I'm on the shaping at 3am my time. But I'm super excited for bread in the morning. The Georgian Cheese bread got me here and now I'm back into baking. Thank you!
@@ChainBaker perfect thank you so much! My bread is bulk fermenting as we speak, first time!😍 I did 150g white and 150g whole wheat flour and 15g extra water, will let you know how it turns out !!
@@ChainBaker turned out amazing and so yummy! Can't believe how much better it tastes than any other bread I had. Thank you so much for sharing these delicious recipes 😍😍
Really happy with this recipe now! Got it down to a T! Doing my 3rd batch today and it's kinda my only successful bread so far lol. If I wanted to get more air bubbles like a Sourdough in there, is that possible... without making a sourdough starter cause I'm too lazy to maintain that lol Or what realistically would be the... next step to making this bread BETTER if that's even possible cause it's just really good right now. Gonna try baguettes next I think.
I‘ve been baking for 15 years but never made bread before. Today I tried this recipe and it worked splendidly. Easy to follow, with all the necessary detail - I learned a lot about baking in general just following it. Thanks a lot for posting this. :) One question, though, if you do read comments: My dough didn‘t keep its shape as nicely and overall seems noticeably stickier than yours even though I accurately measured everything. Any tip or hint what I could have done wrong? I did accidentally use 405 flour for the biga (550 for the rest), could that explain the difference? Again, thanks a lot for your awesome videos. :)
That is awesome! I'm so glad it was a success. It could be because you used different flour for the preferment, and it could be because my flour is different from yours. Perhaps next time you could try and lower the hydration slightly (10g less in the main dough) to make it smoother and easier to work with. Cheers :)
@@ChainBaker Thanks a lot for the reply. :) I think I'll use the correct flour next time and if it still turns out too sticking I'll go with your second suggestion and use less water for the one after that. I really enjoyed the bread and it will definitely make a recurring and regular appearance in my kitchen.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about bread making. I've made breads over the years by "going through the motion" following recipes. I came across your channel this past week and I'm so thrilled. Understanding why I'm doing what I'm doing sure makes a big difference...especially the temperature control. Anyway, I made this bread today and it came out wonderful...everything was perfect, except the bottom. It has wonderful texture, has a spring to it, the taste is sinful delicious and the crust is perfect coloring expect I need a chainsaw to cut though the bottom. It's not burnt and it's the same color as the rest of the bread. I have a gas stove that heats from the bottom. Cooked it in the cast iron pan, covered for 20 mins and then 15 mins uncovered. Any idea what might have caused this to happen?
It could be that the heat from the bottom is too aggressive. You could try and heat the oven and the pan to a higher temperature before baking and when you place the bread in, then lower the temperature. That way the bread will get baked in a falling temperature and it will prevent the oven from heating up again. In theory anyway 😄
Hello. I've made this bread twice now and both times it came out quite well. Not as beautiful as yours is, but I am practicing. Do you have any tips for baking at higher elevation? My elevation is 4,500ft (1371m). I've read that it can be helpful to slightly adjust flour and water as well as increase baking temperature while reducing bake time. Any suggestions? Also, can you let me know what protein content your flour is for this recipe? Best, Justin
I don't think there is a need to adjust anything especially for this recipe. If you were to make a lower hydration bread then perhaps slightly more water could be added to compensate for lack of humidity. 1370m is not that high anyway and there is only about 3% less effective oxygen so I don't think any temperature adjustments are needed. But you can do some experiments and see what works best. I can't say for sure because I have never baked at that elevation.
Thank you for sharing the recipe! I tried today and the dough turned out a lot stickier. I was using t55 flour. Could that be the reason it is stickier? The bread turned out very tasty but the shape is more flat and doesn’t have the spring like yours.
Love your channel! I’ve learned so much about baking….I made this recipe and it was delicious ….one question though….the dough seemed much stickier than in your video…any ideas on what I might have done wrong thanks!
Hey! Thank you so much 🙏 Perhaps the preferment was over proofed? That could break down the gluten a make it stickier. Or maybe you have different flour. I use string white bread flour with 12% protein. The higher the protein percentage the stronger the gluten which results in a dough that is less sticky. If you use all purpose flour that could be why it's sticky. Or perhaps it was humid in your kitchen that day. Cheers :)
You can add softened butter instead of melted. After 3 minutes of kneading would be best. If you are adding a small amount (10% or less), then you can do it from the beginning. Here is a guide - ruclips.net/video/lo95Ie21M2E/видео.html
I tried this bread today. It had a great taste. To be honest mine did not spring like yours did? I baked it in a casserole as my basket is too big for my cast iron pot. I think I may not have created enough tension at 2nd folding and/or at shaping. It spread out more than it went up. It also fell flat when I cut it? Possibly a tad too warm - proofed near fire place. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Sounds like it was over proofed. Perhaps the warm environment sped up fermentation and you did not catch it in time. Shaping it more tightly would also help. But a collapsing loaf after scoring definitely means it rose too much 😎👍
I used 100 gram Doves white bread flour, 2 ozs water at 22 C temperature and a pinch of Hovis fast action dried yeast, placed it in my fridge last night and this morning it has risen just a little but hasn't tripled in size like your video. I will leave it at room temperature for awhile and still go ahead with it for trial purposes. I have to make a loaf in 5 days time with a plait around it and some religious symbols on top as well as shake some flour over a stencil for presentation for my local Church and was hoping to use this recipe but I'm concerned it won't turn out as well as I hoped being as the preferment didn't work for me. I have always preferred to use fresh yeast in the past but since covid one cannot buy fresh yeast for the love of money in the U.K.
@yolanderapple285 egg wash would definitely make it brown nicely. Let it proof a bit less next time before you do the stencils and it should be ok. Do another practice bake to be more confident 😎
Any tips or suggestions how to stop the crust from braking once baked, what to brush it with so stencils and symbols stick on, when and how to stick on a plait around the bread. I'm worried if I plait it, stick the symbols on and then leave it for the final rise that the plait and symbols will be too high, they need to look flatter. I am fully aware that you are a busy person however if you have the time to answer my concerns above before Wednesday 25th October I'd be eternally grateful. BTW I emailed you about 2 weeks ago about this. Thank you in advance.
Multiple times I have attempted to replicate the same texture of your dough. I find my dough is consistently sticky, and I suspect I am adding too much water, although I weigh it exactly as directed. I think because I live in a very humid area (2 miles from the ocean) I should cut back a trifle of the water. Irrespective I just cannot seem to get that soft, puffy jiggly dough. Clearly there is a lot of skill involved that will just take time. On the plus side, the bread is delicious.
How do you keep the dough from deflating during the last fold and shaping? Mine almost completely deflated during both stages (bread still turned out awesome. Best bread I have ever managed to bake).
Perhaps it is over fermented and that is why it deflates so much. Try fermenting it a little less next time. Or perhaps the flour you use is weaker. Mine is at 12.5% protein. If yours is less, then you can lower the amount of water in the recipe slightly.
I’m making this again! Watching you was inspiring and it was my first time baking bread. It was awesome and delicious. Thanks, liked shared and subscribed!
I finally did his experiment where you do regular same day ferment. And last week I did the preferment and slow ferment. And while same day bread is good, the preferment is next level amazing. What size lodge pan is that?
Hi ChainBaker, thank you for your amazing content. I tried to make this today and it turned out really good except the top of the bread was burnt. In the video, you turned on your top heating element of the oven and baked the bread with the cover on. You then took out the lid and put the loaf right in. I followed the exact same thing and the top of the bread burnt in the second part of the baking process because the heat came from up top. I placed my pot on the lowest rack and it still burnt. My question is: which heating element you use when you bake your bread, top or bottom and do you switch it mid way?
Sounds like you had the oven set to broil. As ChainBaker noted, his oven only has a top heating element, so just set your oven to the typical setting and it should work.
Would you recommend using your hands only or is it fine to use mixer with flour attachment as well? Especially in 3:00 and 3:44 Not sure if it would make the dough slightly worse or it wil be kind of the same.
@@ChainBaker if I was using 1% yeast in a standard loaf, and if I used the same percent of yeast in my preferment, both yeast cultures would die when they ran out of food. How can it be said that the dough with the preferment is fermenting longer if we are starting with a smaller portion of yeast? Isn’t the dough fermenting for the same amount of time, if we are measuring time as a measurement of the output of yeast/dough/starch/sugar? Please forgive my confusing question, I am trying to understand how the the flavor changes, I mean what characteristics or qualities change and what causes those changes in a preferment vs a straight through dough. If I was going to put my dough in the oven right before it was over fermented, wouldn’t the dough + fermented byproducts be equal in both scenarios? What am I missing here? Does that make sense? Please forgive me for not being clear. How can 1 flour grain ferment longer if it is consumed by 1 yeast cell? Once the flour grain is consumed, doesn’t the yeast move on and/or just die out? What is causing the flavor difference? Thanks for everything bro, I started with your simple white loaf, and am now getting into dough conditioners and autolyzing and am starting to max out the limits of the white loaf, except I haven’t dabbled into the preferments, because I don’t understand how they work and what they actually change vs yeast alone.
It would take a long time for the yeast to die. The preferment could be left for another 12 hours or more before the yeast ran out of food. Adding a preferment that has been fermenting for 12 hours to a dough that will be fermented for another 6 or so will produce far more flavour than just a straight through dough that is fermented for 6 hours. Make two breads - one with preferment and one without and see for yourself.
Can the timing for preferment be extended to 24 hours? Maybe put it in the fridge after 12 hours, take it out 12 hours later and let it warm to room temperature? I prefer to bake in the morning.
If I wanted to add olive oil to this recipe, make it more like an italian white or pane francese, at which stage should I add the fat, before or after adding the biga? Cheers.
New subscriber here. Awesome videos, and presentation skills you have! Love the short animation inserts 😁 A quick question on the oven. Why no fan? I previously tried to bake my bread with the fan on and it gave me awesome crunchy crust.
Hey! Welcome to the channel. and thank you so much for the nice comment :) The crispiness of the crust is more affected by the dough itself. I tend to not use the fan when baking at higher temperatures as the fan essentially makes it even hotter. I normally use it for breads that contain sugar or are glazed and then baked at a lower temperature. It does however help with blasting the hot air around evenly and browning the crust more evenly, but that too can be achieved by turning the tray around halfway through the bake. There is no right or wrong. You can use either method. Just as a rule of thumb - fan vs no fan should be around 10% in temperature difference. So 180 no fan = 160 with 👍
Ello mate I'm trying to get into baking (and messing it up lol) ended up on your page and I'm trying this one. I'm getting a bit confused though - your recipe calls for 20c water and a normal temp biga, but then your other links talk about colder water, just wondering what is best ? I've started a biga and am going to crack on with this tomoz so I'm not going for perfection or owt, just curious. Also I messed up when getting into this and ordering everything - i bought extra strong flour, because in my head it was just..better innit. Turns out it's not and it's a bit of a ballache. You got any tips on best way to handle it ? (16% protein. REALLY strong lol). Also just wanna say love your vids for being just reasonable sized loaves. Everyone seems to be doing these huge portions, and as a beginner, who is going to be cocking it up more often than not, I'd rather limit the practice sizes!
Don't worry about the temperature adjustments too much. See how it goes and then adjust on the next bake if need be. The strong flour should make the dough easier to handle. For a beginner that may be an advantage. Btw I have all but given up on pre-ferments and kneading. Here is a great example of a white bread I'd do nowadays ruclips.net/video/hYuc9kW2OfA/видео.html Cheers! 😎
@@ChainBaker I just typed out a huge reply and then pressed the wrong button god damnit! Long story short, funnily enough I'm on the cold ferment vid just as I noticed your comment, so nice timing. Loaf is coming along, about to take it out, kinda went OK. Gonna follow your vids as your style and ways is really easy to follow, and appreciate the reply, thank you
@@ChainBaker holy SHIT that might've been the nicest bread I've ever had. Well worth the monumental faff! So many times I thought I'd cocked it up. Biting into the crust and it being chewy and crunchy and fluffy was just insane. I need a few days rest (messed up back, this was a painful endeavour!) but I'll try the cold ferment next. And ya it's doubly good because it won't cause me as much pain with not having to knead. Cheers bud.
Yes. It's a great indicator for a successful bake. The crust is nice and crispy. Sometimes it is said that the bread is 'singing'. A bit too romantic, but it makes sense 😄
Great video, very precise and solid! Thank you very much :) A question: Is 220C enough? I was told bread needs very high temperatures (240-250). Does it make any difference for the taste?
Thank you! :) It depends on how you want the crust to be. At a higher temperature it will get darker more quickly, which is ok of course. In my opinion 240-250 is better suited for sourdough bread. The crust is more thick and it is able to take a high heat. A yeasted bread which has not been fermented for very long, like this one, is more delicate. But it's not the law. Give it a try at various temperaturas and decide which is best for you. But you can certainly bake this bread at 240 🙂
Trying an experiment with this recipe today. It worked great the first time around. This time I decided to see what would happen if I used 20% rye and 80% bread flour. Both times the dough was stickier than it appeared to be in your video, and I had some trouble getting it out of the bowl-it really wanted to stay in there. (I did not add more water than the recipe calls for.) Any thoughts on what creates that unwanted stickiness? It certainly didn't affect the first loaf. Now I'm waiting for the second one to finish baking...
@@ChainBaker The rye certainly adds a bit of flavor. But again I overproofed a bit even though it did pass the "poke test" . Not a disaster, but I really must get a handle on these proofing times.
The recipe in the description states that for the biga we use 100 gr of flour but in the video it's about 35 gr of flour (~100 gr -> water + flour) according to the scaler. Which of these is true?
Just started watching your channel and found it a gem! Thank you Chain Baker! I am trying this recipe and cannot find the ingredients here so I am using the easy white bread one, which I used before and it's delish!! You are amazing since I even find Bo Lo Bao (pineapple bun) here !! (Im from Hong Kong so I feel nostalgic :D) Good job! I will keep trying your recipes! Take care!
Hey! :) Thank you so much. I'm glad you're enjoying it. The recipes are always in the link in the video description. Sometimes you may need to click the little arrow pointing down to reveal it. It is right below the video on the right hand side of the screen. Here is a direct link to this recipe - www.chainbaker.com/improving-the-basic-white-bread-by-using-a-preferment/
When you say Fan Off in this video, it shows you changing your oven to 'Grill' which uses the heating elements at the top to toast bread or grill meat. Then there is Fan only, then Fan & Grill. I didn't know you would use the grill option (a lot of top down heat) to bake bread. Getting the oven to 220C with just the grill seems inefficient. What am I missing here?
I've made this bread three times and it was always stickier then yours after first 45 minutes. My smooth side always sticks to the counter more then yours, and it perforates slightly at the surface. I cannot pick it up without sticking to the surface to fold it like you. Does this degass dough too much or it isn't that important? I took care I scale the ingredients precisely and the temperature of the dough is right after kneading (24-26°C - if it was warmer then 25°C I placed it somewhere cooler). And I noticed that it fermented slightly better when I used fresh yeast - it fermented like yours only that time. I calculated the difference relating to dry yeast, but I had not took in consideration more water that was added with fresh yeast. Could that be the difference in better fermentation?
Your flour is likely weaker. You can give the dough a heavier dusting of flour when handling it or you can lower the hydration to compensate. Perhaps the yeast you use is just slightly more active.
Why do you add the pre-ferment after you've kneaded the dough. Why not mix it in with the water/salt/yeast bowl? Making this recipe now so I'll follow the video anyway but just curious! Thanks.
@@ChainBaker So adding it before the flour makes no difference to adding it after a 2 min kneading session? Also in multiple videos you say 'Fan off' or 'Fan on' does this mean the Fan & Grill combo so you get the extra heat from the top? Appreciate the videos man my dough is doing its first 45 min rest now!
Maybe I'm asking about something based, but tell me: should I add boiled water in proper temperature or mineral water from the bottle or maybe directly from the tap (if it's safe for drink raw)? Is there any difference? What about adding other liquids based on water like a tea? :D
You can use any water that is drinkable. Other liquids can be used for sure. I am planning to make a video about different liquids like juice, beer, etc.
📖 Find the written recipe in the link below the video ⤴️
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Principles of Baking bit.ly/principles-of-baking
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What makes Chain Baker unique is his clarity, conciseness and precision. He has a gift for explaining why and how he uses these processes. A great teacher.
Thank you so much 😍
Totally agree.
I couldn't have said it any better.
Update, i have made half the stuff on your channel now and this one is probably the best and easiest, amazing the difference the small things you go into detail about make such a difference. Thanks so much man my family are eternally grateful.
🙏
I've made this loaf 5 times this week. Thats how much my family loves it. The loaf is gone before its completely cooled. 😄 Thank you for sharing all these recipes. Were making your pate fermente sandwich loaf tonight. And were really looking forward to bagels. 🍞🍞🍞
Sounds great! :))
This is the first loaf I have made with a preferment and it came out pretty much just like the one in the video. My wife told me it was the best bread I have ever baked! Chain Baker, you are a brilliant teacher and unlike some other "bakers" who post videos, you are clearly someone with great knowledge and experience. Great video and very clear, easy to follow instructions - thanks so much 🍞👍
😉
I don’t usually leave comments, but I had to on this bread. 1. I truly appreciate your approach to bread making. I have seen most of your videos and have made quite a few breads by hand. Thanks for that. Knowing how to make bread by hand and how bread feels once kneaded makes me a better baker. 2. This bread is amazing. My husband adores it. The preferment truly makes a difference.
Thank you so much! :) That is the right way. I think everyone should first make bread by hand and only then if they wish to continue making it with a mixer. Knowing how it should feel makes us better bakers. I'm glad you're enjoying the process :)
Ohhh damn!
I'm eating thus right now for breakfast and all the steps are so worth!
I took the bread at 12:15 in the night out of my oven and was going to bed really happy.
At first my dough was a little bit stickier than yours but in the end everything came together.
Thank for being such a Bread Nerd and sharing all these information with us.
I wish you all the best and have a nice day!
Cheers! :)
Following this recipe, it was the best bread I've ever made.
Awesome! 🤩
Just did my first loaf, it was off the hook, it was soo delicious, dip the bread on tuscan olive oil, gurantee even litle kids will want more. Thank you Mr. Chainbaker, and God bless you.
Can't thank you enough. About 4 months ago, I started baking bread that was supposed to be a copy of Italian bread from a famous bakery in my area. It was close but I wanted to improve it. To say that I spent hours looking a countless websites and videos (I'm retired) would be an understatement. I would try different techniques that I learned to augment the recipe but had inconsistent results. I tried your biga and your techniques and got a beautiful and delicious loaf of bread. Again, thank you.
Cheers! :)
I made the original white loaf last week and it was great. We haven't bought bread in over a week. Right now it is in it's first 45 minute proof. It will be ready and cooled for dinner. Also I have everything set up for the sourdough bread loaf on the counter, starter is almost ready. The sourdough will be baked tomorrow morning. I also bought the lodge cast iron set you use in your videos and I can't wait to see what a difference it will make compared to a dutch oven. I'll post the photos on Flikr when done. Happy baking !!
Hey, just baked your bread recipe, yesterday I made the biga and oh my!!! next i will try the poolish one, i have been baking sourdough for awhile though but these are awesome additions to my repertoire, thanks man !!
I diiscovered preferment in 2004 when I was desperate to produce a "real French bread" with my newly acquired bread machine.....( I'm French and was living in Texas at that time)
In France we have bakeries everywhere and I had never made bread from scratch. The machine had a French bread program but the recipe had nothing to do with what I was expecting.
All I knew was that our classic bread had only 4 ingredients, water, flour, yeast and salt but it did not work at all when I tried that combination.
A search on the internet took me to the official site of the French bakers and I found "poolish" for making "tradition" baguettes....the timing of the recipe was matching the whole wheat program so I tried it and bingo! I got a quite decent good tasting lozf of French bread!
I don't make bread anymore, having retired in France but I really enjoy your videos
By the way that machine was also making excellent brioches!
I'm new to preferments and I'll never go back. I just made this. Mine didn't rise as much as yours, but I'm very happy with my first try. Thanks for these videos.
Awesome! I'm glad it worked out :) perhaps your kitchen was cooler. You can try adding a slightly larger pinch of yeast next time.
Wow. I had never used a preferment before, and I was suspicious if my bread was going to be like this (this crumb looks so soft and beautiful). But the bread turned out amazing and very similar to yours!
I just made this today and it turned out fantastic! Thanks for sharing this video and explaining all the details :)
Glad you liked it! :)
Excellent video. This is next on my list of bread to bake. I really enjoy the science bit - I need the why and how it works, and you explain it in a manner that I would wish to explain it to someone were I the teacher. I have loved bread for as long as I can remember. If it could provide me with everything I need to live, I would eat nothing else.
Thank you for your videos
Dear chainbaker your videos inspire me a lot. I tested biga (made by whole mill flour) using simple all purpose flour and 65% hydration. Guess what. It works smoothly. What i only changed is lefting biga 48 hours to start sensing the acetic acid. I need some more air pockets. Next time i will go for 70% hydration. Thanks so much educating us.
Thanks!
Cheers :))
Outstanding. I just got it out of the oven. Looks amazing, smells and taste great. Honestly, wasn't expecting the results to be this good. BTW, loved your compare video on the 4 pre-ferments and how they work.
✌️😎
made this this bread and now my wife said do not make any other but this one, taste like childhood! If there is Russians, this same taste as white bread for 28 kop.from old days!!!! Thank you brother!
Just made three loaves of this with AP flour. The crust tastes amazing! It seems to work equally well with cast iron or with a pan of boiling water in the oven for humidity
My mouth is watering! Thank you for the great tips
Vicki B 🙏🏻😊
I can’t believe I was able to make this, even with so many interruptions and problems with timing. The recipe is much more forgiving than it seems. I told my husband not to buy any bread at the grocery this week so I would have been in trouble if I couldn’t pull through haha. If I can make it at 8 months pregnant with a sick toddler and a husband who turns off my timer without telling me, anybody can make it!
That is awesome! 😁😍
A great video, and thank you for making it. Following this recipe enabled me to make the first loaf of bread, finally, that had the kind of crumb I had been trying to get. Up to now none of the loaves have worked out. Now if only I can get a batch of sourdough starter that is actually right (currently on fourth attempt and this one isn't working either). The whole sourdough thing has been discouraging, so it was great to make a good loaf of bread using this recipe. Thank you.
How to make a starter - ruclips.net/video/qliOAeGFkLc/видео.html
How to keep a starter active and build a leaven - ruclips.net/video/vzG67PcJ7mo/видео.html
How to store your starter in the fridge - ruclips.net/video/ppc7OxmS3ZY/видео.html
These should put you on the right track ;)
@@ChainBaker I fired up starter attempt #5 I'm going to follow your own recipe to see what happens. I hadn't seen any with that 1:10:10 recommendation but no matter-I'll use it in this attempt. Previous attempts had lots of "upward" activity but lacked bacterial development. Attempt #4 seemed to have bacteria-but somehow, no yeast. After 5 days it smelled bad, had begun to liquify, and hadn't expanded _at all._ No idea what's going wrong! Will keep trying.
(I was tempted to add a small pinch of dry yeast at the very start, but nobody ever recommends that.)
Finished a loaf with this recipe right before bed last night, fresh bread on the counter this morning sure was a treat. My cast iron Dutch oven retains so much heat I had to pull the bread out quite a bit sooner than the times on the recipe. Also loving this way to shape loaves. Was nice & tight and expanded beautifully! Lower hydration also made for a very simple and relaxing kneading experience. Thanks again for all you do, man!!
Edit: The bread is amazing.
I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Cheers!
The stop motion sections always give me such joy 😆
Your needing technique is second to none! Thank you
Thank you :)
Even though I made this on a pizza stone, it turned out great! thank u for sharing this recipe and all your detailed explanations. keep up the good work!
Cheers!
Thank you for replying so promptly, I think you are amazing, the best teacher as well😊😊😊😊😊😊!!!
Your videos led me to make my best loaf so far due to your direct and to the point method of explanation. Half the flour was bread flour which i used to make my biga, the other half was organic whole meal flour. I made my biga before work, and 6 hours later I mixed the remainder of my ingredients; the rest of the water, (around 60% hydration, give or take) the whole meal flour, the rest of the yeast, salt, two egg yolks, honey, oats and walnuts with a tablespoon or so grapeseed oil.(next time I plan on presoaking flax seeds instead of oil); then added my biga. Maybe you can try this and let me know what you think.
That sounds pretty nice! :) Honey, oats, walnuts. A great combo!
Charlie made the biga bread with pre-ferment this morning in regular size loaf pan. The texture and crust was simply amazing. You have me sold on pre-ferment. I don't care for hand kneading so use a Chinese Bear kneading machine of which I am satisfied with..
wow it works. i have try to make a good bread for long time. this one is like the one the bakery make. thanks for this video! only thing i have to change is set the oven to 200 degree
Let me know how it turns out :)
@@ChainBaker it's great good taste and real good. just like from the The bakery in my town.
I baked this bread yesterday,,it turned out so good,,thank you
Nice one :)
thank you so much for this recipe, it's the best bread I've ever made!
right on. excellent descriptions with your videos. thnaks so much.
Cheers!
Love it!!! Another fab video, Charlie - with all the important stuff included 😁👍 I'm learning heaps from you. Thanks so much! 😄 Have a great week 🙋♀️
Thank you! :)
Baked this earlier this morning. yum!! Photo has been posted.
I made it and it was outstanding!! Making it again today.
Wonderful recipe, love making a boule. My wife asks I make it in a loaf pan, any changes I should make. Also, we have a tiny kitchen with tile counter. Used our wood cutting board to knead on but it slipped all over. Bought a kneading board on line because couldn’t find it in your online store. Great solution, you might want to show people what it is and definitely sell it in your online store! Thanks for a great Chanel!
You can knead on any surface really. As long as it's kind of smooth :) this bread can be baked in a tin for sure. There is nothing to change as long as it fits in the tin.
Wonderful! Next loa in a tin for my wife’s preferred sandwich style. Thank you!
Made this with poolish and biga, for me good choice was to take a sample after kneeding, i wait till almost double in size, it tooks me ~2.5h. Also nice choice is to shorten proofing a little bit and put it in the freezer, after that it is easier to score and dough is not that louse if you go for higher hydration. Ice cube, water in container and spray buttle together make my dough almost triple inside after bake with bueatiful "ear". Done it with 11% flour and 71% hydration. With 13% flour dough become a lot easier to handle even at 75% hydration, all you need to do is need a little bit more (keep in mind tempareture increase). Love your video
Great tips there! Cheers :)
In a world full of fast-paced ADHD induced tiktok videos, your slowed down teachings are a gift from the Gods.Thank you!
Ok, you have convinced me to try this with my next loaf. Thank you 😊
Ive followed you from instagram, and this is the video ive never knew that I needed. Cant wait for you to blow up, so glad I stumbled on to your page, top man, keep up the good work.
Oh you legend thanks for the kind words! 🤩 I’m just happy that I can help. And I have many many more videos in the works :)
Thanks for the great recipe as always Charlie.
I used the recipe and the resulted bread tastes fantastic and has a great texture, but it seems to fail to spring in the center like yours in the video, and only gets to about 60% of the height (it spread more to the sides than yours ended up like).
I used a baking stone with a metal pan underneath it at the bottom of my oven with boiling water, but my oven seems to release all of the steam and moisture.
Do you have any suggestions as to how may I get a nice spring like yours, or what to look out for that affects the spring the most?
Try shaping it tighter. It could also be a bit over proofed. You can ferment it for less time before baking :)
Charlie i love your channel and i watch it all the time. Your tips are invaluable, my buga bread turned out oerfect, just like yours, but was wondering how i get a pronounce yeast flavor in my breads like i remember from grandma?
Bread should not taste very yeasty. Grandma might have been using too much 😁 if you want a nice fermented flavour, then try cold bulk fermentation. It's a game changer - ruclips.net/video/x-8UoEgtt48/видео.html
But if you really miss that yeast taste, then use a bit more yeast and don't ferment for too long.
Also, fresh yeast could make it taste more yeasty. Try that.
I started this way too late my time and I'm on the shaping at 3am my time. But I'm super excited for bread in the morning. The Georgian Cheese bread got me here and now I'm back into baking. Thank you!
Haha love a bit of late night baking 😄👍 good luck!
Thank you so much!
Today I used this recipe (yesterday i made the 1st version). Another success! My girlfriend ate more than half in one go...
Lovely simple instructions, thanks.
Thank you so much! I try to keep it as simple and quick as possible whilst keeping in enough relevant information :))
Thank you 🤙love the way you teach ❤
Hi I noticed you said no fan for the oven setting and it seemed you set it to the grill setting, is that what we bake in the whole time?
My oven only has the top heating element, so that is why I use it. If you can't switch off the fan, then decrease the temperature by 10%.
@@ChainBaker perfect thank you so much! My bread is bulk fermenting as we speak, first time!😍 I did 150g white and 150g whole wheat flour and 15g extra water, will let you know how it turns out !!
@@ChainBaker turned out amazing and so yummy! Can't believe how much better it tastes than any other bread I had. Thank you so much for sharing these delicious recipes 😍😍
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I enjoy your channel, solid advice! I was wondering if you can allow the final proof in the fridge? If so can I bake straight from the fridge? Thanks!
Definitely. Here's a full guide - ruclips.net/video/fMq3eUSgv28/видео.html
After shaped and put a bread in a banneton, can I proof the bread over night in a refrigerator? Thank you
Sure. I would use less yeast to begin with though. Here's a guide ruclips.net/video/oL4HX-6J6XY/видео.html
Thank you, charlie @@ChainBaker
Really happy with this recipe now! Got it down to a T! Doing my 3rd batch today and it's kinda my only successful bread so far lol. If I wanted to get more air bubbles like a Sourdough in there, is that possible... without making a sourdough starter cause I'm too lazy to maintain that lol
Or what realistically would be the... next step to making this bread BETTER if that's even possible cause it's just really good right now. Gonna try baguettes next I think.
Increasing the amount of water will do that!
@@ChainBaker wow it's that easy! Nice. Love the channel man!
@Zursen just don't add too much. An extra 20g will be more than enough ✌🏼
I‘ve been baking for 15 years but never made bread before. Today I tried this recipe and it worked splendidly.
Easy to follow, with all the necessary detail - I learned a lot about baking in general just following it. Thanks a lot for posting this. :)
One question, though, if you do read comments: My dough didn‘t keep its shape as nicely and overall seems noticeably stickier than yours even though I accurately measured everything.
Any tip or hint what I could have done wrong? I did accidentally use 405 flour for the biga (550 for the rest), could that explain the difference?
Again, thanks a lot for your awesome videos. :)
That is awesome! I'm so glad it was a success.
It could be because you used different flour for the preferment, and it could be because my flour is different from yours. Perhaps next time you could try and lower the hydration slightly (10g less in the main dough) to make it smoother and easier to work with.
Cheers :)
@@ChainBaker Thanks a lot for the reply. :)
I think I'll use the correct flour next time and if it still turns out too sticking I'll go with your second suggestion and use less water for the one after that.
I really enjoyed the bread and it will definitely make a recurring and regular appearance in my kitchen.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about bread making. I've made breads over the years by "going through the motion" following recipes. I came across your channel this past week and I'm so thrilled. Understanding why I'm doing what I'm doing sure makes a big difference...especially the temperature control. Anyway, I made this bread today and it came out wonderful...everything was perfect, except the bottom. It has wonderful texture, has a spring to it, the taste is sinful delicious and the crust is perfect coloring expect I need a chainsaw to cut though the bottom. It's not burnt and it's the same color as the rest of the bread. I have a gas stove that heats from the bottom. Cooked it in the cast iron pan, covered for 20 mins and then 15 mins uncovered. Any idea what might have caused this to happen?
It could be that the heat from the bottom is too aggressive. You could try and heat the oven and the pan to a higher temperature before baking and when you place the bread in, then lower the temperature. That way the bread will get baked in a falling temperature and it will prevent the oven from heating up again. In theory anyway 😄
@@ChainBaker Thank you. I'll give that try next round.
Hello. I've made this bread twice now and both times it came out quite well. Not as beautiful as yours is, but I am practicing. Do you have any tips for baking at higher elevation? My elevation is 4,500ft (1371m). I've read that it can be helpful to slightly adjust flour and water as well as increase baking temperature while reducing bake time. Any suggestions?
Also, can you let me know what protein content your flour is for this recipe?
Best,
Justin
I don't think there is a need to adjust anything especially for this recipe. If you were to make a lower hydration bread then perhaps slightly more water could be added to compensate for lack of humidity. 1370m is not that high anyway and there is only about 3% less effective oxygen so I don't think any temperature adjustments are needed. But you can do some experiments and see what works best. I can't say for sure because I have never baked at that elevation.
Thank you for sharing the recipe! I tried today and the dough turned out a lot stickier. I was using t55 flour. Could that be the reason it is stickier? The bread turned out very tasty but the shape is more flat and doesn’t have the spring like yours.
Love this recipe! Would it be possible to use sourdough discard as the preferment?
Definitely! Great way to use up that discard 👍
Awesome! I cant wait to try it! Thanks!
Love your channel! I’ve learned so much about baking….I made this recipe and it was delicious ….one question though….the dough seemed much stickier than in your video…any ideas on what I might have done wrong thanks!
Hey! Thank you so much 🙏
Perhaps the preferment was over proofed? That could break down the gluten a make it stickier. Or maybe you have different flour. I use string white bread flour with 12% protein. The higher the protein percentage the stronger the gluten which results in a dough that is less sticky. If you use all purpose flour that could be why it's sticky. Or perhaps it was humid in your kitchen that day. Cheers :)
Love your videos. Just love them. Right amount of explanation, music and visual. A follower from Argentina.
Thank you so much! 🙏 Welcome to the channel!
could you freeze a batch of preferments that have risen , to speed process when you next come to make a loaf or two .
That sounds like it could work, but I have never tried it.
Great bread , could I add some melted butter at some point while mixing the dough?
You can add softened butter instead of melted. After 3 minutes of kneading would be best. If you are adding a small amount (10% or less), then you can do it from the beginning. Here is a guide - ruclips.net/video/lo95Ie21M2E/видео.html
@@ChainBaker thank you sooo much for your reply😊😊
is there an easy way to take some sourdough starter as the preferment and still keep with bakers percentages?
Use 5g - 10g starter instead of the yeast in the pre-ferment and that should do it.
Great channel!
Can a biga sourdough starter be used in a similar manner?
I've never tried this exact method with a natural leaven but it sounds like it should work just fine.
I tried this bread today. It had a great taste. To be honest mine did not spring like yours did? I baked it in a casserole as my basket is too big for my cast iron pot. I think I may not have created enough tension at 2nd folding and/or at shaping. It spread out more than it went up. It also fell flat when I cut it? Possibly a tad too warm - proofed near fire place. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Sounds like it was over proofed. Perhaps the warm environment sped up fermentation and you did not catch it in time. Shaping it more tightly would also help. But a collapsing loaf after scoring definitely means it rose too much 😎👍
@@ChainBaker thanks a million - really appreciate the advice and channel.
I used 100 gram Doves white bread flour, 2 ozs water at 22 C temperature and a pinch of Hovis fast action dried yeast, placed it in my fridge last night and this morning it has risen just a little but hasn't tripled in size like your video. I will leave it at room temperature for awhile and still go ahead with it for trial purposes. I have to make a loaf in 5 days time with a plait around it and some religious symbols on top as well as shake some flour over a stencil for presentation for my local Church and was hoping to use this recipe but I'm concerned it won't turn out as well as I hoped being as the preferment didn't work for me. I have always preferred to use fresh yeast in the past but since covid one cannot buy fresh yeast for the love of money in the U.K.
The pre-ferment is meant to be kept at room temperature. That is why it did not rise.
@yolanderapple285 egg wash would definitely make it brown nicely. Let it proof a bit less next time before you do the stencils and it should be ok. Do another practice bake to be more confident 😎
Any tips or suggestions how to stop the crust from braking once baked, what to brush it with so stencils and symbols stick on, when and how to stick on a plait around the bread. I'm worried if I plait it, stick the symbols on and then leave it for the final rise that the plait and symbols will be too high, they need to look flatter. I am fully aware that you are a busy person however if you have the time to answer my concerns above before Wednesday 25th October I'd be eternally grateful. BTW I emailed you about 2 weeks ago about this. Thank you in advance.
@yolanderapple285 egg wash should do. To prevent the crust from cracking try baking the bread sooner. The decorations can be added just before baking.
Also is it o.k. if I make this bread 2 days in advance?
Multiple times I have attempted to replicate the same texture of your dough. I find my dough is consistently sticky, and I suspect I am adding too much water, although I weigh it exactly as directed. I think because I live in a very humid area (2 miles from the ocean) I should cut back a trifle of the water. Irrespective I just cannot seem to get that soft, puffy jiggly dough. Clearly there is a lot of skill involved that will just take time. On the plus side, the bread is delicious.
It could be the humidity or it could be that your flour is weaker or both perhaps. Lowering the amount of water should fix it 👍
@@ChainBaker Thank you.
How do you keep the dough from deflating during the last fold and shaping? Mine almost completely deflated during both stages (bread still turned out awesome. Best bread I have ever managed to bake).
Perhaps it is over fermented and that is why it deflates so much. Try fermenting it a little less next time. Or perhaps the flour you use is weaker. Mine is at 12.5% protein. If yours is less, then you can lower the amount of water in the recipe slightly.
I’m making this again! Watching you was inspiring and it was my first time baking bread. It was awesome and delicious. Thanks, liked shared and subscribed!
Great job! I'm glad you like it! :) Thank you so much! :)
Thank you so much 🤩 I will definitely keep going. And I hope you find good value in what I present. Happy baking 😉👍
Can you use a very active stiff starter in place of the yeast?
Certainly!
I finally did his experiment where you do regular same day ferment. And last week I did the preferment and slow ferment. And while same day bread is good, the preferment is next level amazing. What size lodge pan is that?
3.2L
@@ChainBaker I found it on your Amazon site. And I think that’s my next purchase. Amazing thanks for all you do!
What would be the best moment to cut the dough into halves?
After bulk fermentation, before final shaping.
Hi ChainBaker, thank you for your amazing content. I tried to make this today and it turned out really good except the top of the bread was burnt. In the video, you turned on your top heating element of the oven and baked the bread with the cover on. You then took out the lid and put the loaf right in. I followed the exact same thing and the top of the bread burnt in the second part of the baking process because the heat came from up top. I placed my pot on the lowest rack and it still burnt. My question is: which heating element you use when you bake your bread, top or bottom and do you switch it mid way?
My oven only has the top heating element. You could try and bake it at a lower temperature perhaps :)
Sounds like you had the oven set to broil. As ChainBaker noted, his oven only has a top heating element, so just set your oven to the typical setting and it should work.
@@edgriffin6732 this is probably the case, the symbol for conventional oven on the video is the same as the symbol for grill/broil on most ovens
It would be great to provide a sourdough starter amount in your recipes that use yeast
Would you recommend using your hands only or is it fine to use mixer with flour attachment as well? Especially in 3:00 and 3:44
Not sure if it would make the dough slightly worse or it wil be kind of the same.
You can definitely use a mixer. Medium speed for the same amount of time as in the recipe :)
That was a gorgeous piece of dough!
🙏
Can I use this same method when using fresh milled flour?
Definitely ✌️
How/why does the flavor change with a preferment if both use active dry yeast?
Because the preferment is fermented for much longer. The longer dough ferments the more intense the flavour.
@@ChainBaker if I was using 1% yeast in a standard loaf, and if I used the same percent of yeast in my preferment, both yeast cultures would die when they ran out of food.
How can it be said that the dough with the preferment is fermenting longer if we are starting with a smaller portion of yeast? Isn’t the dough fermenting for the same amount of time, if we are measuring time as a measurement of the output of yeast/dough/starch/sugar?
Please forgive my confusing question, I am trying to understand how the the flavor changes, I mean what characteristics or qualities change and what causes those changes in a preferment vs a straight through dough.
If I was going to put my dough in the oven right before it was over fermented, wouldn’t the dough + fermented byproducts be equal in both scenarios? What am I missing here?
Does that make sense? Please forgive me for not being clear. How can 1 flour grain ferment longer if it is consumed by 1 yeast cell? Once the flour grain is consumed, doesn’t the yeast move on and/or just die out? What is causing the flavor difference?
Thanks for everything bro, I started with your simple white loaf, and am now getting into dough conditioners and autolyzing and am starting to max out the limits of the white loaf, except I haven’t dabbled into the preferments, because I don’t understand how they work and what they actually change vs yeast alone.
It would take a long time for the yeast to die. The preferment could be left for another 12 hours or more before the yeast ran out of food.
Adding a preferment that has been fermenting for 12 hours to a dough that will be fermented for another 6 or so will produce far more flavour than just a straight through dough that is fermented for 6 hours.
Make two breads - one with preferment and one without and see for yourself.
@@ChainBaker thank you!
Can the timing for preferment be extended to 24 hours? Maybe put it in the fridge after 12 hours, take it out 12 hours later and let it warm to room temperature? I prefer to bake in the morning.
Definitely!
What size is the cast iron Dutch oven/skillet you use? I searched the links for equipment used but it doesn’t show this item. Cheers.
It is a Lodge 3L (3.2QT) Combo Cooker 👍
If I wanted to add olive oil to this recipe, make it more like an italian white or pane francese, at which stage should I add the fat, before or after adding the biga? Cheers.
If it is a small amount like 10% or less, then you can add it right at the beginning.
@@ChainBaker thanks!
You are a skilled baker. You’ve just gotten a new subscriber here! Can’t wait to see more videos
Thank you so much 🙏🤩 and welcome to the channel :)
New subscriber here. Awesome videos, and presentation skills you have! Love the short animation inserts 😁
A quick question on the oven. Why no fan? I previously tried to bake my bread with the fan on and it gave me awesome crunchy crust.
Hey! Welcome to the channel. and thank you so much for the nice comment :)
The crispiness of the crust is more affected by the dough itself. I tend to not use the fan when baking at higher temperatures as the fan essentially makes it even hotter. I normally use it for breads that contain sugar or are glazed and then baked at a lower temperature. It does however help with blasting the hot air around evenly and browning the crust more evenly, but that too can be achieved by turning the tray around halfway through the bake. There is no right or wrong. You can use either method. Just as a rule of thumb - fan vs no fan should be around 10% in temperature difference. So 180 no fan = 160 with 👍
Ello mate I'm trying to get into baking (and messing it up lol) ended up on your page and I'm trying this one. I'm getting a bit confused though - your recipe calls for 20c water and a normal temp biga, but then your other links talk about colder water, just wondering what is best ? I've started a biga and am going to crack on with this tomoz so I'm not going for perfection or owt, just curious.
Also I messed up when getting into this and ordering everything - i bought extra strong flour, because in my head it was just..better innit. Turns out it's not and it's a bit of a ballache. You got any tips on best way to handle it ? (16% protein. REALLY strong lol).
Also just wanna say love your vids for being just reasonable sized loaves. Everyone seems to be doing these huge portions, and as a beginner, who is going to be cocking it up more often than not, I'd rather limit the practice sizes!
Don't worry about the temperature adjustments too much. See how it goes and then adjust on the next bake if need be.
The strong flour should make the dough easier to handle. For a beginner that may be an advantage.
Btw I have all but given up on pre-ferments and kneading. Here is a great example of a white bread I'd do nowadays ruclips.net/video/hYuc9kW2OfA/видео.html
Cheers! 😎
@@ChainBaker I just typed out a huge reply and then pressed the wrong button god damnit! Long story short, funnily enough I'm on the cold ferment vid just as I noticed your comment, so nice timing. Loaf is coming along, about to take it out, kinda went OK. Gonna follow your vids as your style and ways is really easy to follow, and appreciate the reply, thank you
@@ChainBaker holy SHIT that might've been the nicest bread I've ever had. Well worth the monumental faff! So many times I thought I'd cocked it up. Biting into the crust and it being chewy and crunchy and fluffy was just insane.
I need a few days rest (messed up back, this was a painful endeavour!) but I'll try the cold ferment next. And ya it's doubly good because it won't cause me as much pain with not having to knead. Cheers bud.
@andytunnah7650 💪😎
So the loaf is done and making cracking noises on the cooling rack. Ia that because it is cooling and shrinking ?
Yes. It's a great indicator for a successful bake. The crust is nice and crispy. Sometimes it is said that the bread is 'singing'. A bit too romantic, but it makes sense 😄
Great video, very precise and solid! Thank you very much :)
A question: Is 220C enough? I was told bread needs very high temperatures (240-250). Does it make any difference for the taste?
Thank you! :)
It depends on how you want the crust to be. At a higher temperature it will get darker more quickly, which is ok of course. In my opinion 240-250 is better suited for sourdough bread. The crust is more thick and it is able to take a high heat. A yeasted bread which has not been fermented for very long, like this one, is more delicate. But it's not the law. Give it a try at various temperaturas and decide which is best for you. But you can certainly bake this bread at 240 🙂
@@ChainBaker I baked it eventually at 230 and it's absolutely delicious! :)
Awesome! 🤩
Trying an experiment with this recipe today. It worked great the first time around. This time I decided to see what would happen if I used 20% rye and 80% bread flour. Both times the dough was stickier than it appeared to be in your video, and I had some trouble getting it out of the bowl-it really wanted to stay in there. (I did not add more water than the recipe calls for.) Any thoughts on what creates that unwanted stickiness? It certainly didn't affect the first loaf. Now I'm waiting for the second one to finish baking...
Rye flour makes it sticky. But you can just dust your hands with more flour to make it easier to handle :)
@@ChainBaker The rye certainly adds a bit of flavor. But again I overproofed a bit even though it did pass the "poke test" . Not a disaster, but I really must get a handle on these proofing times.
Hello sir # sunil from INDIA.....
Some enquiry...
What will be the ratio of biga starter when flour is 1 kg.
Just multiply the ingredients and you'll have it 👍
The recipe in the description states that for the biga we use 100 gr of flour but in the video it's about 35 gr of flour (~100 gr -> water + flour) according to the scaler. Which of these is true?
In both the video and the written recipe it is 100g flour and 65g water and a pinch (0.1g) yeast 👍
Just started watching your channel and found it a gem! Thank you Chain Baker! I am trying this recipe and cannot find the ingredients here so I am using the easy white bread one, which I used before and it's delish!! You are amazing since I even find Bo Lo Bao (pineapple bun) here !! (Im from Hong Kong so I feel nostalgic :D)
Good job! I will keep trying your recipes! Take care!
Hey! :) Thank you so much. I'm glad you're enjoying it. The recipes are always in the link in the video description. Sometimes you may need to click the little arrow pointing down to reveal it. It is right below the video on the right hand side of the screen. Here is a direct link to this recipe - www.chainbaker.com/improving-the-basic-white-bread-by-using-a-preferment/
@@ChainBaker omg that bread is super DELICIOUS!!!! I can't stop after it came out of the oven! thank you!
“You can pinch together any gaps at the end if you want to, but that’s not totally necessary. I’m just OCD…” so chefy. 😂👊🏻
😄👍
I want to double the recipe. Should I double the yeast or leave it the same?
Double everything ✌️
When you say Fan Off in this video, it shows you changing your oven to 'Grill' which uses the heating elements at the top to toast bread or grill meat. Then there is Fan only, then Fan & Grill. I didn't know you would use the grill option (a lot of top down heat) to bake bread. Getting the oven to 220C with just the grill seems inefficient. What am I missing here?
I have a super crappy oven with just the one heating element at the top. Use both if you can 👍
Learned allot bout making bread. My last bread, added preferment, it was the best loaf I have ever made. It was like store bread.
I bet it was even better than store bread! :)
I've made this bread three times and it was always stickier then yours after first 45 minutes. My smooth side always sticks to the counter more then yours, and it perforates slightly at the surface. I cannot pick it up without sticking to the surface to fold it like you. Does this degass dough too much or it isn't that important?
I took care I scale the ingredients precisely and the temperature of the dough is right after kneading (24-26°C - if it was warmer then 25°C I placed it somewhere cooler). And I noticed that it fermented slightly better when I used fresh yeast - it fermented like yours only that time. I calculated the difference relating to dry yeast, but I had not took in consideration more water that was added with fresh yeast. Could that be the difference in better fermentation?
Your flour is likely weaker. You can give the dough a heavier dusting of flour when handling it or you can lower the hydration to compensate. Perhaps the yeast you use is just slightly more active.
I wonder what would happen if we combine Tangzhong or Yudane with Biga in a white bread?
Extra tasty, extra soft!
Why do you add the pre-ferment after you've kneaded the dough. Why not mix it in with the water/salt/yeast bowl? Making this recipe now so I'll follow the video anyway but just curious! Thanks.
It would not dissolve anyway so it does not really make a difference.
@@ChainBaker So adding it before the flour makes no difference to adding it after a 2 min kneading session?
Also in multiple videos you say 'Fan off' or 'Fan on' does this mean the Fan & Grill combo so you get the extra heat from the top?
Appreciate the videos man my dough is doing its first 45 min rest now!
Great! The tuck and roll technique will totally help my loaves look nicer 😃
Perfect! :)
Maybe I'm asking about something based, but tell me: should I add boiled water in proper temperature or mineral water from the bottle or maybe directly from the tap (if it's safe for drink raw)? Is there any difference? What about adding other liquids based on water like a tea? :D
You can use any water that is drinkable. Other liquids can be used for sure. I am planning to make a video about different liquids like juice, beer, etc.