It is very hard to over knead dough by hand. This takes a long time and plenty of aggression. The dough may have overproofed if there was no springback when you pressed it. Try testing the proof just a bit earlier next time. It is better to bake a loaf that has not fully proofed than one that has overproofed. Also, a good, crispy crust on a baguette is not a bad thing with this dough.

It just takes plenty of practice to get it right. Keep on making bread and pay attention to every step of the process. You'll learn how to make slight tweaks. It takes artisans take a long time to perfect their loaves - it makes us all appreciate the work that they put into it. Glad you enjoyed the lesson and making your very own bread. Cheers!

For those of you looking for a recipe, I recommend Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 2. It has lots of sketches, not as much fun as watching Rouxbe videos, but very useful and easy to follow. I bake on a rectangular stone which I've kept on the floor of the oven at all times for probably 15 years. I just reposition it to bake. I really enjoyed watching these, and learned a lot, especially about determining the protein content.
I have bleached bread flour from Costco, but will look for unbleached when this huge bag is gone. It doesn't mention peroxide, but it does say it contains bleached wheat flour, so maybe I have to assume it was bleached with something nasty.
Thanks for all the great information. I learn something new every time.

I picked up some quick yeast (assume it's the same as instant?) but when I got home the packet instructions said to add the dry ingredients to the yeast before adding the water. Should I ignore that as I thought the salt kills the yeast?

Quick, or instant yeast dissolve immediately with water, so it can be directly added to dry ingredients. Either or works, but if you're first committing to liquid and then adding flour as needed, best to first dissolve in water.

Hi everyone!

Thanks again for the informative videos, I learn everyday from Roux be and loving it!

Everyone at home have praise for my breakthrough in cooking!

The baguette is now an established item on the table and I did shape it right (finally) by not rolling it too much.
Nothing like experience in the learning process!

Thanks again

After I bake my bread and take it out of the oven the middle caves in...WHY?
I have an idea..I have tried not to let the dough rise too far up the pan (30min for rapid rise yeast and 40-60 for reg yeast)
There might be too much moisture, etc...
I have tried adjustments, but it keeps falling....

Oh, another thing is that I bake Gluten-free which is way different from regular wheat flour baking.
The concepts are the same in the proofing and baking even if the flour combos are different.
I follow all the recipes to a tee.....

Anyone familiar with Gluten-free baking?? HELP!!! ..........

Thanks,
Hal

This is a whole new category of bread. Our chef at the school is just starting to learn about them, and concludes they are more complex than gluten breads. So too early from our part to give you any definitive answers here. My only suggestion is that perhaps you need to bake your breads longer to form a solid crust.

Another suggestion. Keep trying. It takes time to understand the chemistry of gluten-free baking and more info is coming out on this topic.

Thanks Tony.
I am oooohhhhh sssooooo familiar with the GF Bread thing. I have been at it for over a year now and I am soon to open a GF Boulangerie.
I am always experimenting with making new flour blends and getting more info from people with more experience and better results.
Since I am pretty OCD in most of my life I am always striving for the Nirvana of GF bread to be as close to "BREAD" as possible......Oh well, the back to the "Lab"....

Hal

Hal,
This may not be new to you, but Bernard Clayton, in his _New Complete Book of Breads_ has several substitutes for 1 cup of wheat flour from the American Dietetic Association. Let me know if you want me to just type them in for you. No problem there. Here is one mixture he gives for general use: 1 cup cornstarch, 2 cups rice flour, 1 cup soy flour, 3 cups potato starch flour. "When using this combination of flours, lower baking temperatures by 25 degrees and use a little less shortening. Substitute cup for cup in recipes that call for wheat flour" (31). There's more about quick breads, but I know that's not what you're doing. Good luck with your Boulangerie!

Thanks for the recipe Stephanie.
A lower temp is probably what I need to do. Maybe my GF breads are cooking too fast and look done while the middle is trying to catch up.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Hal

I tried making bread today following the video. It turned out pretty well. I do feel that bread is a little dense. Where could I have gone wrong?

Is it a GF bread or regular wheat bread???

For regular wheat bread, one reason why it may be too dense is that you are using too much flour. A sticky dough is a happy dough...so be careful with how much flour you add. The key is to keep practicing and continue to make tweaks based on the type of flour you use, your environment and your oven. The first few times you make bread, you may not "nail it"...bread making takes time and patience and a full understanding of how ingredients and techniques work together to produce consistent results. Don't give up...the key is to practice over and over again and pay attention to what you are doing in every step. Cheers!

I've always wanted to make better bread. Today is my first day and thanks to Rouxbe I have learned so much. I found that I have been making a lot of mistakes. This school is FANTASTIC!

At the supermarket I see Active and RapidRise (bread machine) yeast. Is RapidRise the same as instant yeast?

Yes, Rapid Rise is the same as instant yeast. They are just called different things based on the brand and location. Here is a good site that indicates the name equivalents as well as substitutions. Cheers!

Can you explain why sugar is not needed in the yeast here as opposed to being needed in for example the pizza dough? Is it because the sugars/starch in the flour is enough for the yeast to feed on? but flour is used in the pizza dough as well and some recipes for pizza dough actually omit sugar in yeast too. I'm a bit confused How do we know when to use sugar and when not to? thanks

Not all yeast doughs require sugar. The yeast is able to feed off of the starches/sugars from the flour alone. Sugar helps to speed fermentation, and, depending on the amount, can affect the flavor. But too much sugar can actually slow down the yeast's activity. Enriched doughs that contain higher amounts of sugar, are usually combined with higher amounts of yeast to balance it out.

This is the most basic of lean doughs and it is just to get you started on understanding the function of ingredients (using the bare minimum) and the process of making a very simple loaf of bread. When making other doughs, it is best to follow the formula given because excellent formulas help to create excellent doughs. Until you are comfortable enough and have enough experience with dough to make your own tweaks to the formula, it's best to follow them. Hope this helps! Cheers!

When I was in Italy 2 years ago, a chef showed us how to make pasta and bread - haven't practice since, but now attempting to but could not remember if he was recommended the 00 flour for bread or pasta. Any thoughts on using 00 Flour for pizza or pasta or both?
thanks

Read the package carefully. Some are more ideal for pasta because of lower gluten content (make a more tender pasta), while some are more ideal for bread. However, for pizza you can use either, though the one for bread would give you more chew.

Imported 00 flour has been inconsistent to say the least. I personally don't rely on Italian imported flour, just like I don't often trust what they put in bottles labeled "balsamic vinegar". I'd highly suggest relying on domestic flour brands you can buy regularly and anywhere. When in Rome...but when home, stick to home.

My white loaf bread turns out really tasty, but when it bakes the top is ragged on one side. In other words it splits. Any suggestions

Bread that splits on the side could mean that the dough was underproofed or it was not scored before it was baked. Make sure that the dough has almost doubled in size before baking and score on the top to allow the dough to expand before a crust can form. Cheers!

Thank you. i will try scoring it which I have not been doing. I will let you know how it turns out.

In the video you talk about the flour proteins needing to be around 12 ercent. Here lies the problem, I live in the states and all I seem to be able to find for protein listings is 4 grams. Nothing list a percentage for the proteins. Is this 4 grams 12 percent and if so is there a formula to figure out the percentage? My breads are working out quite well just confussed about this protein thing!
Thanks

My guess is that your flour reads 4 grams protein per 30 grams of flour. If so, this means your flour is at about a 13% protein content, which will be fine for making bread. Check the package. Please review the pre-requisite lesson on Wheat - here we go into detail on how to determine the protein content in flour. Cheers!