Yes, the dough can be frozen. Here is another thread on freezing pizza dough that you might find helpful. Cheers!

Is it possible to bake a nice bread in a gas oven or only an electric one should do?

If you are lucky enough to have gas then by all means bake the bread in your gas oven. In fact, most commercial bakeries use gas and not electric. Cheers!

I have tried and failed 6 times so far in getting past the shaping stage in making bread. Each and everytime once i get the gluten relaxed enough to hold it's shape it always collapses and flattens out during the proofing. The only successful loaves have been boule that I cook in a dutch oven and they still spread out to fill the oven so they end up being about 3 inches high at the apex. Crispy crust, nice crumb but not the best shape to make a sandwich with. Any suggestions on what i should be looking for to fix the issue?

It must be indeed disappointing.

Here are a few things that may happen, I will assume you are using the right flour, it it first rises during proofing and then flattens it is because you let it proof for too long or the temperature is too hot (slow rises are better than fast ones), yeast has only so much strength.
It that is the case ,you can reshape it a second time and this time don't let it proof too long.

If it does not even rise during proofing but get flat as you let it rest(proof) then somehow you did not develop enough gluten or your dough is too wet and or your flour is not strong enough.

Another tip, try to have it proof in a loaf pan, the sides are very helpful, and in a loaf pan even if you let it overproof a bit it will keep the shape of the pan.
I make bread at home twice a week and use the loaf pans it allows me to go for a walk or do the things I need to do without having to be monitoring the loaves if they were "free form'.

Hope it helps

Hi,
I have two questions please.
What should be the proportions for making rye bread? Will the baking formula from this lesson do? I have run out of instant yeast. Can I use natural yeast (made out of honey and raisins) for making rye bread?
Many thanks

I experimented with this lesson last night, and everything seemed to go fairly well. I ended up splitting the dough and making two epis, both of which looked very nice. However, by the time they baked to a fairly even color, the crust was quite hard. It tasted very good with a little butter, but the crust on the bread in the video seems to be a little chewier and it almost had a kind of sheen to it. Mine looked rather dull and, as I said, the outside was very hard -- almost like a hard pretzel. The inside was fine. I want to experiment and try to get the results I'm looking for, but there are so many variables, I'm not sure where to begin. So, I am wondering whether there's something in the "science" part of baking that can help pinpoint where the problem is so that I can focus on that next time.

Do you know what factors can lead to a dull, hard crust as opposed to a chewier one? Not enough fermentation (though the dough seemed to double)? Over or under kneaded (though the dough looked smooth, remained tacky throughout, and never developed a skin)? Over or under proofed? (This was the most difficult stage for me to tell, so I wonder whether this could be the problem.) Overcooked, even though the crust had an even color? Not enough time hydrating the yeast? Not enough steam, or maybe too much? I used an unbleached bread flour with more than 12% protein and dry yeast.

Thanks for the help. This was a fun lesson, and I look forward to giving it another go. There's nothing quite like homemade bread!

Oh, and by the way, do you have any idea when you might be posting additional lessons on more advanced bread-making techniques and recipes? This area of baking has always been the biggest mystery to me, so I'm fascinated by it and eager to learn more!

Yes, all of those things can lead to troubles. My first suggestion would be to practice. One cannot become an expert bread maker after just a few loaves of bread. You will learn a lot just by simply practicing...over and over again, until you feel comfortable with the process.

As for advanced bread making videos, again, first master the basics and then we can move onto advanced stuff. More in depth bread making lessons will be something that is covered in the future. For now we are focused on teaching the skills and techniques behind a basic cooking school curriculum. Cheers!

Thanks. So am I to understand that there is not one specific thing that will lead to a crust as I've described? I will certainly continue to experiment, but without really knowing which parts of the process I'm not doing properly, it's tough to know where to focus and how to improve. As I said, I thought the process went quite well throughout, and I was pretty pleased at each stage as I seemed to get something that looked a lot like the video -- that is, until I got to the finished product. I guess I was hoping for an answer like, "oh, a crust that is too hard is caused by ______. You can correct this by ______." But, I suppose if I just work at mastering all the steps, the bread will turn out well, anyway!

Sorry for being persistent, but..
What should be the proportions for making rye bread? Will the baking formula from this lesson do? I have run out of instant yeast. Can I use natural yeast (made out of honey and raisins) for making rye bread?

Very complex questions. Making rye bread is a whole new ball game. I'd start with a mixture of rye and wheat flour, 1/3 to 2/3 to start, and go from there. But there are so many other happenings in making rye and other grain breads we have not yet covered.

Making natural yeast depends on environment, temperature, and time. Again, much too complex to cover even in a lesson. Nothing stopping you from trying, but making one's own yeast requires more knowledge than we have provided or can provide.

Joseph, I wish answers could be as simple as black and white or 1,2,3. If it were, all wines and beers would taste the same. There are so many factors at play here, and the most important one is your oven. Your bread in my oven would produce a different crust. And I'm not even talking about the flour you used (no, not bread or AP flour, but where you bought it, where it was made), the ph of your water, the temperature and humidity of your kitchen, the amount of kneading you did, how much flour you added when you dusted, if your oven produced enough steam when you added a splash of water, if you cooked long enough (not in terms of time, but colour of the crust), how much heat bounces off the walls and roof of your oven, etc., etc., etc.

Ph'ds can be written about what creates a hard crust on bread. Bread, like wine, beer, and most of cooking, needs to be experienced over and over again. Try again, and again. Compare notes from bread to bread. Alter the oven temp, cooking time. See what happens. Patience. Persistence. Practice.

Is it ok to ferment and proof dough in a warm oven to make it rise faster?

For yeast breads, fermenting is usually done between 75 - 85F (24 - 29C). Proofing is usually done between 80 - 115F (27 to 46 C). Yes, you can ferment and proof dough in a warm oven (many new ovens have a pre-set proof setting) or you can close the door and keep the oven light on. You might need to check the temperature though to make sure it doesn't get too hot. If yeast dough is fermented or proofed too quickly, the yeast can cause unpleasant flavors and the structure of the dough may suffer due to a rapid rise. Colder, slower fermentations are often done to develop better flavors. Cheers!

I've made somewhere close to a half dozen loaves now (not including pizza dough)--enough that I've gotten a good feeling for the dough. For example, I don't do the window pane test anymore--I can just feel when the gluten has been developed. I also decided to try experimenting with the recipe a little. If you like softer bread, try replacing the water with whole milk. It doesn't change the flavor profile very much, but it makes for a more tender bread. Personally, we like the lean dough better.

Interestingly enough, I've found that after punching down my dough and letting it rest, it quickly loses its density and becomes puffy . . . almost sluggish and slow to respond when I try to shape it. It feels like I should punch it down again. As a result I end up shaping it more by applying pressure than rolling it. However, the bread is fantastic.

Does anybody have any thoughts about why this is happening? Next time, I might try punching it down again and then shaping it immediately, but I'm not sure if there would be any adverse consequences of this. I'm also interested in what effect pre-shaping would have (i.e., punch down, shape back into a ball, and rest).

Michael, your question is that of someone who is getting into the mindset of a craftsperson. First of all, love the fact you mention you've tried the dough a few times. More importantly, you mention you've gotten a good feeling for the dough - as an instructor those are the very words I always want to hear from a learner. That "feeling' has allowed you not only to do experiments, but to ask a very artisinal question.

As long as yeast is not cooked to 140 F, it is always alive. Punching down and letting the yeast build up co2 in the dough rebuilds the gluten structures. There are some bread-makers that punch down more than once, and some that don't punch down at all. Both will produce different textures, and as you mention, you have now discovered that you prefer lean dough with some minor changes.

There's the victory! Personal, experiential discovery. I'm not sure if I've answered your question here (and doubt I have the scientific knowledge on breads to do so), but your comments and question above is a prime example of why the learning cook needs to do things more than once, twice, thrice, and pay attention, get a feel for what is happening, and then dig deeper.

I wish all users of Rouxbe follow your example. In fact, I wish every professional student I teach does the same.

Happy baking, my friend!

Tony, first of all, my culinary ego says "thanks." :)

I made a multi-grain baguette this weekend (2/3 c whole grain wheat, 1 1/3 c bread flour, 1/3 c oatmeal, 1 tbsp flax seed) and after punching down the dough I shaped it into a ball, let it rest, punched it down again, and then shaped it. The results were what I was hoping for and my ratios made for a very good bread. I'm not sure if it was the change in recipe (given that the whole wheat adds a bit of body to the dough) or the double punch-down, but I'll try this technique again when I next make the classic lean dough recipe.

With these exceptions, I used the same basic techniques as we were taught. I'm looking forward to the promised expansions on this topic. I'm kind of eager to try my hand at sourdough.

I have a convection oven and have tried using both the convection mode and the non-convection mode. Differences being minimal. What do you recommend?

Most commercial bread and pastry operations use convection ovens because the internal fans evenly circulate hot air around the products, making them cook faster and brown more evenly (exceptions are delicate pastry items that would otherwise fly around from the forced air). In your home oven, however, if you don't notice that big of a difference (in terms of cooking time and/or color), it doesn't matter. The main thing to be concerned about is that your oven has been properly preheated and that the heat is at the actual temperature that the oven has been set to. Many ovens can be off by 25-50 degrees, so it is best to test your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. Cheers!

One of the best tips I've picked up to improve my bread was generating steam in the oven for a better crust. For that I use a heavy pie pan that pre-heats with the oven and add water when I add the bread to the oven. Works pretty well, but wondering, during what stage of baking is the steam important to create a great crust? By the time the bread is done, the water is usually completely evaporated, begging the question, should I add more to have more steam throughout, but less at the beginning, keep the same or less to generate steam quicker during the initial baking phase.

A burst of steam is required only at the beginning of baking - that is it. Too much steam will produce a pale and thick crust. For the bread to brown, steam must not be in the oven during the final stages of baking, so make sure you don't add too much to the pan. Follow the instructions as shown in the lesson by either spritzing the dough or by adding just a bit of water to the pan. Cheers!

I have made several loaves of bread. Despite following the directions as I understand them, I still get a rather flat bread. Would adding sugar help?

No, you should not have to add sugar to lean dough to get a good rise. Make sure you are kneading well, shaping well, and not over proofing the dough before it bakes. Slash the dough to allow it to expand and make sure your oven is nice and hot. Overly wet dough will also have a tendency to be flat. Even though you have made several loaves of bread, it is also worth it to check if the yeast is old. Sometimes it can be as simple as that. There are so many factors that could be affecting the final product. Each time you make it, tweak something else and record your findings to eventually create the perfect loaf. Baking is a true art and takes plenty of practice. Cheers!

Can anyone tell me how to tweek lean dough to make burger buns?
Thanks.