Lessons > How to Make Bread | Basics

Your culinary journey starts here

★★★★★ (47)

26,675 Students
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Lesson Overview

There is something magical about combining the simplest ingredients and kneading them together with your very own hands to create a beautiful, rustic loaf of crusty bread.
No matter what type of bread you choose to make, all yeast breads go through the same main bread making stages.

In this …

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Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson you'll be able to:
  • identify suitable flours for bread making
  • understand the role flour plays in bread making
  • identify types of yeast for bread making
  • understand the role yeast plays in bread making
  • understand the roles of water and salt in bread making
  • identify the stages of bread making
  • make and bake a lean dough
  • know how to prepare and mix lean dough using the straight dough method
  • knead dough and perform a window pane test
  • understand the concept of fermentation
  • shape dough into a basic baguette
  • understand the concept of proofing
  • perform a spring back test
  • slash dough and describe why it often is done
  • bake bread and test it for doneness
  • identify the reasons for cooling bread
  • know how to properly store and refresh bread
  • identify the necessary tools required for making basic bread
  • define épi
  • shape an épi

Course Syllabus

START: Watch Lesson Platform Tour
1. Introduction: How to Make Bread | Basics
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2. Complete Your Self Assessment
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3. Flour for Basic Bread Making
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4. Yeast & Bread Making
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5. Water & Salt in Bread Making
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6. Basic Bread Making Tools
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7. Preparing & Mixing the Dough Stage
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8. Kneading & Developing Dough Stage
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9. Fermenting Dough Stage
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10. Shaping & Proofing Dough Stages
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11. Slashing & Baking Dough Stage
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12. Cooling & Storing Bread Stage
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13. How to Shape an Épi
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14. Practice Activities & Recipes
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15. Lesson Quiz
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Practice Recipes

A few of the practice recipes you'll learn in this lesson.

What People Are Saying

"I thought I knew how to make basic bread but learned that I was doing a lot incorrectly and picked up many new techniques." ★★★★★
"Really enjoyed this extensive lesson on lean breads!" ★★★★★
"I hope I can revisit this later?" ★★★★★
"Please evaluate question 20 true or false yeast is activated by liquid, in the explanation that is the first sentence, and I said true, I felt my answer was correct it is activated by liquid and then must feed on the flour to live. That was not part of the question. Just the activation was. Am I wrong please explain?" ★★★★★
"Outstanding! Amazing how we can learn and understand the basic steps of making bread." ★★★★★
"Well, it was a wonderful experience going through each lesson on my own pace and taking notes as I go. I really enjoyed baking class, and I could say now, I can bake some fresh bread!" ★★★★★
"Thank you so much i have learned so much from these task and videos ........ looking forward to learn so much more" ★★★★★
"After completing this lesson I am confident I can make a basic baguette fro, memory. I also understand the basic principals of bread making and have already begun to experiment with my own variations of the recipes from this lesson." ★★★★★
"great class! I learned so much. Thank You" ★★★★★
"Wow wow wow: clear insightful and very enjoyable course!" ★★★★★
"Super informative." ★★★★★
"I can’t wait to be making bread more often and not buying it at the store. That’s my goal at least for now. Loved this course." ★★★★★
"How To Make Bread demonstrates a thorough, clear and simple way to successfully make bread." ★★★★★
"I HATED IT SO FREAKING MUCH!!! I FAILED IT LIKE A BILLION TIMES!!"
"Great lesson learned a ton!" ★★★★★
"This lesson was very helpful to start me off on my journey through the Rouxbe course." ★★★★★
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17 Videos | 15 Tasks
Task 1: Introduction: How to Make Bread | Basics
Task 2: Complete Your Self Assessment
Task 3: Flour for Basic Bread Making
Task 4: Yeast & Bread Making
Task 5: Water & Salt in Bread Making
Task 6: Basic Bread Making Tools
Task 7: Preparing & Mixing the Dough Stage
Task 8: Kneading & Developing Dough Stage

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