How I Get Beautiful Bread

Good morning, steemfolk! This morning I have a Tanglebranch Special Edition Post coming your way!

Inspired by a little nudging from my good steem-neighbor @deerjay, I'm here to show you how I have learned to get my bread to look nice.

What you will NOT find in this post:
-the 'perfect' bread recipe
-the science of how bread works
-how to get your bread from the recipe book to the dough stage
-Herobrine.

If I included all those things, it would be too large of a post! I could maybe come back and revisit some of these topics on a different occassion.

So!

First, you'll need your favourite bread recipe. This is method is for 'conventional' bread, not sourdough types. Prepare it as you normally would, whether by hand or with the assistance of a bread machine.

The secret to nice looking finished loaves, in my experience, is how you fold the loaves!

This dough has been mixed, kneaded, and allowed to rise as per recipe instructions. It is ready for punching down and shaping into loaves. It is a 'double' batch as I intend to make some sausage buns as well.

I punch it down and divide the dough into three equal blobs, enough for three texas-toast pans. This same amount I would break into five pieces if I was making regular size loaves! Some bakers use a scale to get perfect portions, and if you're a stickler for size, that will help you acheive it. I tend to just eyeball things, and it usually works out 'close enough.'

Now for the shaping. You can have a great bread recipe, but if you just blob your dough into a pan, you don't get as nice of results as a thorough folding will get you. Apologies for the slight blurriness of the following photos, my husband was being my photographer and I was moving fast. He did his best!

Flatten your dough into a rectangle. Use fingertips or a rolling pin. Crush out all the bubbles you can. Use a light dusting of flour to keep it from sticking to counter, or a light smear of butter or other grease. Not too much though!

Fold one third back to the middle and firmly press it down to eliminate bubbles.

Do the same with the other third:

This is why it is important not to have too much flour or grease on your counter, or else the dough won't stick to itself very well where it overlaps. If it isn't sticking well, you can brush a bit of water or milk where the layers overlap to encourage the sticking. Press firmly to get bubbles out and layers stuck.

Now the stretch. Pick up each end of this rectangle and slowly pull.

If it is being stubborn, you can do a bit of 'skipping rope' movements with it to encourage the stretch!

Return the stretched dough to the counter, then fold both ends to meet in the middle.

Press and seal as before.

Then, fold in half, again squashing firmly to seal.

Don't forget to close the ends of the fold!

Then, I give mine a good roll, to lengthen the loaf a little. If your loaf is already nearly as long as your bread pan, you can skip this step.

Place into your greased or parchment-lined bread pan with the final seam on the bottom. Leave it to rise in a warm place! Here's mine after about an hour's rising:

The same principles are applied to making sausage buns,just on a smaller scale:

Here they are ready for the oven:

Once your bread has risen to the size you like it's time to bake, of course. I put mine in when they're just a bit smaller than I want for final size. They always fluff a bit in the heat of the oven!

Get them out of the pan, gently, as soon as you can after baking. This keeps the crust from getting soggy.

All those layers we folded give a nice even rise with a lovely domed top.

And that's it! I really think its less about what specific recipe you use and more about how you prep the dough for rising. So if you have a tasty bread recipe that just tends to look mediocre, give this method a try. It might be all you need!