Now that you mention it I think the problem is that I put to much water with the bread in the oven. This was only clarified when I went throught the 2 lessons Stages of Bread Making and How to make bread basics.
I am getting used to handling these classes and starting to really enjoy what you and your teams at Rouxbe have to offer.
Thank you.

Using the term 'sea salt' sets up problems with bread 'recipes' and is why a typical bread 'recipe' is actually a 'formula' based on percentages measured by weight and not volume(s). A teaspoon of "Sel Gris De Guerande 'fine'" is probably ten times denser/heavier than "Le Saunier de Camargue 'Fluer de Sel'" yet both are "sea salt". Kosher salt is generally considered to be twice a lightweight at table salt so there's at least some degree of continuity.
The most successful formulae suggest using non-iodized table salt if they're using volumetric measures (teaspoons or tablespoons.) That way every bread 'recipe' has the same weight of salt... from the sea or from wherever else it might hail.

... another quick note. It's imperative to use filtered water. Chlorine and other chemicals attack and kill yeast.

I know a Swiss bread-maker who only uses fresh water from a local waterfall, especailly after a heavy rain! No doubt that something as seamingly as simple as bread deserves specific attention. However, this lesson is simply to get people to try breads with everyday ingredients, including tap water; however, filtered water, or a bucket from a nearby waterfall, might work better.

As an instructor, I've learned that the first and greatest victory is to get people to do something with their own hands. Once that happens, understanding the individual ingredients becomes the next logical step. I completely appreciate where you're coming from, and your passion for bread should be an example of why we should all investigate every food we take for granted. But food education and learning requires a slow "fermentation". This forum, rather than a video lesson, is a better place for the details you mention above - at least for now. When we tackle artisianl bread-making, these details will add the necessary layers to the present fundamental lesson.

I baked it with a 50/50 regular/whole wheat mix and it was excellent!
(although it didnt pass the "window test" !)

Are you planning on doing a special lesson on whole wheat bread baking? It would be wonderful to get special instruction for this!

Good job for experimenting! The window test will be harder to achieve as the whole flour tends to tear through the window. A lesson specifically on whole wheat bread making is not on our production schedule at the moment. We will cover the other bread basics first before moving on to more specific lessons that use specific ingredients. In the meantime, continue to experiment using whole wheat flour in other baked goods by substituting up to 50% of the all-purpose/bread flour for whole wheat. Cheers!

Hey there rouxbe,

I'm having a lot of trouble kneading this dough by hand. In the video it says not to add too much flour because after kneading for a while the mass should start to come together. However, this is the complete opposite for me. I added more than two cups of flour and kneaded for at least ten minutes and still resulted in a huge sloppy mess on my hands and countertop. Can you explain please? I feel like the more I knead the more it wants to loosen up on me.
-Thanks

What type of flour are you using & what is the protein content? Four cups of flour sounds like quite a bit of flour to only one cup of water, but it depends. We do stress not to add too much flour because most beginners go way overboard with flour and wind up with very dense dough. It should feel soft and tacky but not mucky.

If you haven't done so already, please check out the lessons on Bread Basics and the Stages of Bread Making. These lessons go into great detail about the ingredients and how the dough should look. Cheers!

Hi,

I made bread using this receipe, and have made artisan bread before. It always comes out great, but very dense. Its great for eating by itself with some butter or olive oil etc. , but way to dense to use for a sandwich like you would get in the freshly made bread section of the supermarket.

What can I do to make the bread less dense ?

You can use lower gluten flour, such as all purpose. Longer fermentation, overnight in fridge rather than room temperature, helps.
Getting more air bread by beating with fast speed mixers is how it's done commercially. Achieving that fluffy texture at home is a bit difficult with artisinal ingredients.

how would i go about using my cuisinart mixer to add more air to the bread ?

It's harder to do this with this type of dough in a home mixer. Commerical-grade mixers are extremely durable and are designed to handle the torque. The motor on your home mixer may not be able to handle it. Try the first couple of suggestions (all-purpose flour, fermentation). If you are looking for a softer dough, this will be covered down the road when we get to Enriched doughs/breads in the Cooking School. This recipe was based on a lean dough which corresponds to the lessons on Bread Basics and the Stages of Bread Making. Cheers!

Is there something I'm not understanding? What is the purpose of lean /hard bread.. it tastes good but the texture is so dense, hard, and chewy it makes me feel its not worth the work or calories.. how would you eat or serve this bread?

Lean vs hard has nothing to do with calories, but texture. Chewy is what Europeans know and appreciate, what artisinal bread is mostly about. The soft, fluffy bread you desire is just easier to make commercially because of the machinery used.

got it .. so my real question then is, can i learn to make rolls for sandwhiches, or is that just a product that's best i buy from a store ?

Again, these types of breads are usually enriched breads which means that they contain fat, eggs and/or other ingredients to soften the dough. It is absolutely possible to make these types of breads at home; however, this is not something that we have covered in the Cooking School - yet. Enriched breads will be covered sometime down the road. While this is a great subject, we are currently focused on producing other lessons in the Cooking School. Cheers!

The first time I made this dough I measured exactly the 1 cup water and 2 cups flour, but it came out very sticky and not able to handle at all. But, when I went back and watched the video, it did say the flour made already have more moisture in it, so a little more flour may be needed. I add less than a 1/4 cup of flour more and it came out perfect. The trick is not too much flour, but enough to be able to handle the dough. I was kneading the dough just like in the cooking school video. What a thrill!! Love the videos. The bread is deeeelicious.

Does this recipe benefit from a longer rise? Should it be somewhat adapted to use it? Thanks in advance!

I'd also like to know if it is possible to change the recipe to allow a longer rise at room temperature. Thanks

Yes, you can let the dough slow rise at lower temperatures (in the refrigerator). Please refer to the lesson on the Stages of Bread Making for more information. This recipe is a supporting text recipe for that lesson. Cheers!

Thank you, Kimberley. What happens if I leave this dough fermenting at 25-30 Celsius degrees? Should I change the recipe to allow it, for exemple adding less yeast? How should I do it?

You do not have to change the recipe. The rate of fermentation depends on the temperature. The warmer the temperature, the faster the rise. The colder the temperature, the slower the rise. Dough that is allowed to ferment slower at lower temperatures will develop more flavor because of the slow process. Experiment to see if you prefer one method over the other. Cheers!

Kimberley, my dough doesn't rise in the refrigerator at the same temperature I want my beers chilled! So I have to fermentate it at room temperature, which is as high as 30 degreess Celsius where I live, if I want to develope those nice aromas from the fermentation.

My doubt is if I can use the same amount of yeast of the recipe in such a hot temperature for 24h of fermentation.

I've been sucessfully making those no-knead breads popularized by Jim Lahey, and I use only 2g of fresh yeast for 400g of flour. After 24h, the dought is very sticky and much softer than the one of this recipe. So it's dificult to make a baguete with it. But the taste is wonderful - in fact, the best bread I've ever tryed!

So, I wanted to try a long fermentation at 30 degrees Celsius for this recipe and don't know how to change the amount of yeast to do it or other changes.. Would you help me? Thanks.

At 30C too many things can happen. This is not the best temperature to ferment dough for any length of time. Besides, the type of yeast, flour, and your environment can cause the dough to exhaust itself before it develops any flavor. You can definitely experiment with smaller amounts of yeast, but it is hard to tell you exactly how much based on the ingredients/conditions mentioned. This is where your practice comes into play. Start with half and see what happens.

A sourdough starter would work best, buts that’s a whole different lesson which will be covered down the road. It is much too complex to get into in the context of a forum. I say enjoy your cold beer while you wait for your dough to ferment :) Cheers!

This is so easy and so Good! I did not realize how easy it was to make a baguette.
Thanks Rouxbe!