Category Archives: bread

Ring molds are great for perfectly round omelettes (e.g. for egg sandwiches) or controlling the spread of loose doughs for English muffins, but how well do they work for burger buns?

What to do with leftover brioche dough? Buns allow for easy storage and variety.

I used to attribute the dark color of pumpernickel to its rye flour, but it is in fact artificial, typically contributed by added cocoa powder or caramel color. Even knowing this secret, the rich dark color combined with the slight bitterness of rye adds a certain air of sophistication. Why not bagelize this idea? OrContinue reading “Pumpernickel bagels”

Amateur bread bakers often struggle to create a crisp crust that gives way to a soft crumb beneath, using high-hydration dough and various techniques to infuse steam into the early stages of baking. Recently, I became aware of a shortcut that uses a crunchy topping to achieve something similar. While I have never encountered “DutchContinue reading “Easy Tiger”

One of the best aspects of my buttermilk bread dough is it’s versatility. It works equally well in loaves, rolls, and even cinnamon rolls. It’s a classic, soft white bread with a bit of sweetness and richness, but no one would confuse it with a cake or brioche. The bread freezes well, so it’s worthContinue reading “A Buttermilk Bounty”

Bagel dough is typically characterized by low hydration dough, with a hydration (weight of water/weight of flour) typically hovering around 60%. This results in a dense texture that many associate with bagels, but can make the dough hard to work with. I made a batch my traditional bagels, but boosted the hydration to 75%. InsteadContinue reading “High hydration bagels”

While I prefer alkali-boiled bagels, I have this lingering feeling that their crust is a bit softer than the ones I boil in neutral water. In an attempt to (excuse the term) neutralize this effect, I cooked my latest batch of baking soda boiled bagels for 30 minutes instead of the usual 25. The crustContinue reading “Crusty alkaline bagels”

Bagels must be boiled in lye! No, baking soda is fine! Use honey water instead! While it is widely accepted that bagels should be boiled before being baked, regional variations have produced a range of dogmas regarding the optimal poaching solution. My favorite recipe from Serious Eats’s Stella Parks recommends only a malt-sweetened water bath,Continue reading “pH Balanced Bagels”