Learn Something New - Working With Yeast

Yeast can be tricky. If you don't handle it correctly, you can kill it.

The first tip is to make sure your yeast is room temperature before you begin. Pour what you need into a bowl, and let it sit out for about an hour or so. I'm speaking about using bulk yeast here, not the freezer kind. I know the directions for those packages are different than the bulk yeast, so keep that in mind.

You also need to make sure the liquid you're adding to the yeast isn't too hot OR too cold. Too hot, and your yeast will die. Too cold, and it won't activate the yeast at all. A good rule of thumb is to put your hand under the running water, and if it's a bit too hot for what you'd feel comfortable showering in, it's at about the right temperature. You really don't have to make it an exact science. I wouldn't bother busting out a thermometer or anything.

Lastly, let the yeast and water stand until the yeast is really foamy, about 5-10 minutes. That way, you know all the above steps worked and that your yeast is activated.

Learn Something New - Making Bread

Moving on to bread-making tips. Making bread really isn't as hard as you'd probably think. The key to great bread is all in the rise. If you let it rise too long, your outside will be charred before your inside is even cooked. If you don't let it rise long enough, your bread will be too dense.

As for allowing the bread to rise, here's the way I do it. I bring a small saucepan of water to a boil on the stove. Then I pour it into a casserole dish and put it on the bottom rack in my oven. Then I place my dough into the oven, still inside my metal mixing bowl, and the warm water makes it the perfect temperature for rising without killing the yeast. This method is the one I've found to be fool proof, as long as you don't open the oven door until the rising time is up.

The first few times I made bread, I botched it. Big time. There's definitely a learning curve. Here are the mistakes I made. The first time, I set the dough onto my counter to rise. Problem was, my kitchen wasn't warm enough to allow for rising action, so nothing happened. Boo. The second time, I decided I'd preheat my oven to the lowest possible setting, turn it off, and then put the dough into the oven to rise. Even the lowest setting was too hot, so I had yet another ruined batch of dough.

I blame my mother. Seriously. She was an avid baker but never made bread or homemade doughs, so I never learned the proper methods. In all honesty, I probably only really ruined 2 batches of dough. Luckily for you, I've outlined my mistakes, so you'll hopefully be successful from the get-go! But don't get discouraged if things don't turn out quite right the first time. Practice makes perfect!