Baking Article

Making crispy, crusty, golden loaves of bread at home has never been easier. It all starts with bread baking in a Dutch oven (lidded pot), the perfect vessel for making artisan-style loaves. The steam that’s created inside the pot miraculously transforms the dough, ensuring the bread’s crust will shatter into delicate shards with each bite. The best way to produce steam inside a lidded pot? It’s simple: preheat the pot. Gently slipping risen yeast dough into a searing hot pot and adding the lid creates steam. In turn, this results in bread with a crackly crust and a glossy surface that’s beautifully blistered with bubbles.  

If you’ve ever wondered how to soften brown sugar, we have four simple methods that do the trick. To quickly soften brown sugar: place the sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with a damp paper towel for about 20 seconds, or use a food processor to loosen the brown sugar. If you aren’t pressed for time, use a slice of bread or an apple in an airtight container with the brown sugar for 24 hours. One of the most frustrating things about baking is getting halfway through your recipe, preheating the oven, and almost tasting that delicious dessert in your mouth, only to realize that your brown sugar has gone rock hard. While lumpy brown sugar may be upsetting, it doesn’t have to be the end of a great recipe. There are many ways to soften hardened sugar, and you could purchase a terra cotta brown sugar saver or use ingredients you already have in your pantry. The four methods to soften brown sugar can actually save that brown sugar in time for those cookies to still bake perfectly. With a little help from baking experts worldwide, we’ve explained some of the top, most effective ways to soften up brown sugar and get your baked goods back on track!

If you cook in the kitchen often, you’re probably used to checking the expiration date of certain food items, especially perishables like milk and cheese. It’s relatively easy to tell when these items go bad based on the look, smell and changes in texture. However, did you know that the other items in your kitchen have an expiration date too?Though it’s much harder to know when you’ll need to replace kitchen tools like knives, appliances and cookware, each of these items has an expiration date you’ll want to be aware of. Whether you’re in spring-cleaning mode or just purchased new pots and pans, you will need to replace them at some point and the Bob’s Red Mill team is here to help. Keep reading to better understand the average lifespan of your household cookware and how to care for it properly.What Is the Average Lifespan of Household Cookware?If you’ve found yourself wondering, “how long do pots and pans last?” We have the answer. Different types of cookware have different lifespans. While there is no exact timeframe of when you should replace your cookware, most nonstick cookware items will remain good for about five years. This being so, you can do things to ensure that your pots and pans remain in good shape for as long as possible.Tips to Maintain Your Cookware To guarantee that your cookware is adequately cared for and improve your skills in the kitchen, follow these simple tips:Stick to Hand WashingBecause of the heat and pressure applied in a dishwasher, placing your pots and pans in one can be pretty damaging. To increase the lifespan of your cookware, be sure to hand wash them with dish soap and water.If you run into a few baked-on stains that won’t come off with a typical scrub, add baking soda to your pans while washing them. Doing so will help lift the stains off the surface and add strength to your scrubbing. To keep your pots and pans coating from coming off, use an ordinary kitchen sponge and stay away from metallic brushes.Oil Your Pans WellWhen cooking anything in your pots and pans, be sure to prepare them first with a bit of oil. Adding olive oil, coconut oil, or butter will help create a non-stick surface and prevent food from adhering to the pan. Not only does this protect your cookware, but it also results in a much easier cleanup.Use a Soft SpatulaWhen handling food in your pans, be sure to use a spatula made of a soft material like wood, silicone, or food-grade plastic. This will protect the non-stick coating of your cookware and ensure that they are not damaged in the process.Refrain from Using Cooking SpraysCooking spray often contains chemicals, and these chemicals are not suitable for you or your baking tools. To prevent the nonstick coating on your pans from damage, refrain from using cooking sprays and use oil instead.Different Types of Cookware Nonstick PansDifferent types of nonstick frying pans are extremely popular and have made cooking (and cleaning) in the kitchen an easy task! Nonstick pans are a type of cookware that has a special nonstick coating. This coating allows food to cook in the pan without actually sticking to it. The coating of most nonstick cookware is made of polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as Teflon.When well taken care of, most nonstick pans will last up to 5 years. So, how do you know if it’s time to replace your nonstick cookware? It’s advisable to replace your pans once you notice that the surface has begun to peel. If the surface is peeling, the coating underneath could mix with the food cooked on it and become a health hazard.Ceramic CookwareIn comparison to nonstick pans, ceramic cookware is pricier but more efficient. Ceramic cookware requires less grease and is free of many chemicals and substances that nonstick cookware contains.This being so, the typical lifespan of ceramic cookware is much shorter than nonstick cookware. Ceramic pans have a lifespan of just about a year. However, that year can be extended to nearly three years when well taken care of.More and more at-home chefs are deciding to switch to ceramic cookware because the ceramic coating is free of PTFE and PFOA, two harmful chemicals often found in nonstick coatings. Most ceramic pans are also non-stick and easy to clean.When used frequently, ceramic cookware will begin to chip and these ceramic bits can mix with your food. If you notice your ceramic pan chipping, it’s time to replace them. Like traditional pots and pans, to extend the life of your ceramics and keep them in good condition, handwashing is recommended.Stainless Steel CookwareA stainless steel pan is non-coated and commonly made out of stainless steel. Their lack of coating allows food to brown better and makes them a little more durable than most nonstick pans. Because you don’t have to worry about protecting a coating, stainless steel pans are usually oven safe and can be cleaned without fear of damaging the pan itself.This being so, their lack of a nonstick surface can make burnt-on food challenging to remove and may require a bit of extra scrubbing. Because of stainless steel pans’ durability, they frequently last significantly longer than nonstick and ceramic pans. When well taken care of, stainless steel pans can endure for decades!Iron SkilletsKnowing how to use a cast iron skillet and properly caring for it will make it last for a very long time. You may even have a skillet that has been passed down in your family over the years. Because cast iron skillets don’t have any kind of coating on them, you won’t have to worry about it wearing down over time.The one thing you do want to look out for when cooking with cast iron cookware is bacteria. Each time you clean your skillet, be sure to clean it well. Due to their lack of coating, food tends to accumulate on the surface of cast iron skillets, and too much food growth over time can cause bacteria to form.When Should You Buy a New Set of Cookware? Regardless of which kind of pots and pans you purchase, there are several telltale signs that it’s time to swap them out for a newer version. Here are a few of the most common:Your Cookware Is WarpedIf your cookware has become warped, it’s likely time for a new set. Warped cookware is when your pan becomes bent out of shape. The most common cause of warped cookware is when a pan is heated or cooled too quickly, causing certain parts of the pan to expand and tighten faster than others.While warped cookware isn’t generally a health hazard, it will affect your pots and pans’ cooking quality and distribute heat unevenly. How can you tell if your pan is warped? If you can’t tell just by looking at it, try placing your pan on a flat surface and see if it wiggles. If it does, the heat won’t be distributed evenly, resulting in certain areas being over or undercooked.Your Stainless Steel Cookware Is ChippingIf you know how to clean stainless steel pots and care for them properly, stainless steel pots and pans can last for a long time. However, if you notice that the stainless steel exterior on your pans has begun to chip, it’s time to invest in a new one. You’ll want to replace your pots and pans upon the first sight of chipping to ensure that bits of stainless steel don’t break off into your food.How can you tell if the stainless steel is wearing off? Take a look at the base of your pot; if it’s a different color, then the stainless steel coating has started to wear down.The Cookware Handles Are in Bad ShapeTaking proper care of cookware extends far beyond the actual pot and pan. You’ll want to pay attention to the handles as well. Not all cookware is equipped with heat-safe handles, and because of this, the amount of heat they encounter needs to be monitored. If your pan’s handle is introduced to too much heat at once, it may melt or fall off while you’re cooking.Additionally, over time handles can wear to the point where there is a chance they may break when using them. If you notice your cookware’s handle is about to fall off, then it’s time to replace it. If new pots and pans aren’t in your budget at the moment, we recommend removing the handle altogether rather than continuing to cook with it. A faulty handle may expose your food and your hands to high levels of heat that put you at risk of getting burned.If you’re working with a pot or pan without the handle, be sure to use an oven mitt to protect your hands from high temperatures.Overall, taking proper care of your cookware will drastically affect how long it lasts. This is also true of the quality. Purchasing high-quality cookware will help your pots and pain remain intact, even when used frequently.Pots and pans of a lower quality are generally made with materials that warp, chip and melt easier. Use the signs above to determine when to replace your cookware and invest in a new set. From everyone at Bob’s Red Mill, happy cooking!

Plant-based milk has been around for centuries. However, it has only recently begun appearing on grocery store shelves. With more people choosing plant milk over dairy milk for numerous reasons, the non dairy milk section is getting crowded. If you recently decided to swap dairy with plant milk, you might wonder how the popular varieties like soy milk and almond milk stack up against each other. To help you better determine which plant milk is suitable for your diet, we’ve created this guide covering the basics of soy milk vs. almond milk protein and its benefits.What Is Soy Milk?Soy milk is plant milk made from soybeans. It’s a popular alternative to dairy milk made by soaking and grinding soybeans. Soy milk is available at most grocery stores in sweetened and unsweetened varieties. It is often fortified with vitamins and minerals like calcium and vitamin D. Soy milk can also be made at home and enjoyed as a beverage.Soy Milk NutritionThere are several types of soy milk available for purchase, and the nutritional facts will vary depending on the one you buy. Many kinds of soy milk contain added sugar and flavorings, creating plant milk that’s high in calories. For the most nutritious soy milk, search for one that uses minimal ingredients and sweeteners. Natural soy milk tends to be relatively healthy and acts as a source of protein and fiber. What Is Almond Milk?Almond milk is a nut-based milk alternative that’s quickly growing in popularity. Its light flavor makes it a favorite amongst dairy-free individuals. Almond milk is made by soaking, grinding and straining raw almonds into a milk-like liquid. It is an excellent alternative to dairy milk and can be used in various recipes.Almond Milk Nutrition Though almond milk is nutritious on its own, manufacturers usually fortify it with additional vitamins and minerals like calcium, riboflavin, vitamin D and vitamin E to create a more rich nutritional content. Soy Milk ProteinSoy milk is a source of plant-based protein, making it an excellent milk alternative for vegans and vegetarians looking to incorporate more of this nutrient into their diet. While many plant proteins lack the essential amino acids to be a complete protein, soy milk contains all nine essential amino acids required. Your body uses these amino acids to create new proteins, which help boost immune system function, produce energy, facilitate nutrient absorption and aid in tissue repair.How Does Soy Protein Compare to Meat?Soy protein is a high-quality protein. Compared to meat, soy contains comparable amounts of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals without the extra cholesterol and saturated fat typically found in meat.Almond Milk Protein Almonds, in their complete form, are often labeled a superfood. This is because they contain vitamins, protein and other nutrients vital to good health. However, that doesn’t mean that a glass of almond milk has the same nutritional benefits. For example, while almonds are naturally high in protein, the protein found in almond milk isn’t comparable to the protein in dairy milk. In addition, unlike dairy milk, almond milk is mostly water. This high percentage of water means that it contains a small percentage of almonds and their nutrients.How Does Almond Milk Protein Compare to Soy Milk?Compared to soy milk protein, almond milk is not a complete source of protein. Because it does not contain all nine essential amino acids, other foods are needed to complete the protein source and provide you with the health benefits.Benefits and Disadvantages of Soy Milk vs. Almond MilkBenefits of Soy MilkAside from being a source of high-quality protein, soy milk also offers many other health benefits.Soy Milk Is a Source of Vitamins and MineralsSoy milk is full of beneficial nutrients. Vitamins and minerals are an essential part of a healthy diet, and soy milk contains many. In addition, drinking soy milk can increase your intake of essential nutrients like calcium and iron, which work to keep your bones, blood vessels and tissue healthy and strong. Whether you drink soy milk straight from the glass or use it in baked good recipes, it is an excellent boost of nutrition.Soy Milk Is VeganSoy milk is an excellent milk alternative for individuals who avoid dairy products. Aside from being a high-quality plant based protein source, soy milk is incredibly versatile. Its mild flavor and milk-like texture make it easy to recreate your favorite recipes sans animal products. You may notice slight flavor differences when first drinking soy milk. However, most people adjust to the taste of it quickly.Soybeans Contain AntioxidantsSoybeans contain potent antioxidants that work hard to protect your cells from damage known as oxidative stress. When molecules called free radicals cause damage to your cells, it results in oxidative stress, which is attributed to aging, illness and disease. So consuming antioxidant-rich foods like soybeans help better protect your cells to keep you healthy and youthful.Disadvantages of Soy Milk Soy Milk Is a High-Allergen FoodWhile soy milk is an excellent dairy alternative, it’s not for everyone. Individuals with soy allergies should avoid soy milk and consume other plant based milk alternatives like almond milk. Additionally, people with a soy allergy will need to check food labels frequently as soy milk is in many processed foods.Soy Milk Can Be High in SugarWhen purchasing pre-made soy milk, check the label for processed sugars and additives. Flavored and sweetened soy milk can quickly boost calorie intake without offering extra nutritional value. We recommend choosing an unsweetened, unflavored and minimally processed variety for the best quality soy milk.Benefits of Almond MilkWhile almond milk is not a source of high-quality protein, it does offer up some pretty impressive benefits. Here are a few of the most noteworthy.Almond Milk Is Low in CarbsUnsweetened almond milk is naturally low in carbs, making it an excellent option for individuals following a low-carb diet like the ketogenic one. Additionally, the small amount of carbs that almond milk does contain is primarily dietary fiber, which is crucial to good gut health. When searching for low-carb options for almond milk, stick to unsweetened varieties that don’t contain additives, artificial flavors, or sugars.Almond Milk Is VeganLike soy milk, almond milk is a vegan alternative to cow’s milk. It’s made from almonds and water and is an excellent option for people who need to limit dairy, no matter the reason. Almond milk can be enjoyed as a drink, combined with cereal, or used to create delicious baked goods. Great-tasting and versatile, the possibilities are endless.Almond Milk Is Widely AvailableAlmond milk is a popular plant based drink found in most grocery stores. Its widely available nature and pleasant flavor make it easy for those with dairy, soy and lactose allergies to enjoy. Additionally, almond milk is easy to make and can be made at home with just a few ingredients.Disadvantages of Almond Milk Almond Milk is Not Safe for Individuals with Tree Nut AllergiesWhile almond milk is lactose free, dairy free, gluten free and vegan, that doesn’t mean that it is an appropriate and safe milk alternative for everyone. For example, individuals with a tree nut allergy should not consume almond milk, as they can suffer from a severe allergic reaction. Instead, we recommend choosing different plant based milk such as soy, oat or hemp milk.It’s Not a Great Source of ProteinThough almond milk does have some protein, it’s not a good source. Almond milk contains more water than it does almonds, meaning that many of almonds’ nutrients are not as concentrated as they would be if you ate the almonds whole. While almond milk is a good alternative to dairy-based milk, it’s not the best option for those looking to add more protein to their diet.If you’re looking for an alternative to cow’s milk, almond milk and soy milk are excellent places to start. Both unique in their ways, soy milk provides high-quality protein and nutrients and is ideal for individuals looking to boost the nutritional value of their meals. In comparison, almond milk offers a low-calorie and low-carb alternative, beneficial for those who follow low-carb diets like the ketogenic diet. Depending on your dietary needs and restrictions, we encourage you to incorporate one or both of these plant based milk into your weekly menu and try them out for yourself. From everyone at RedMan, we wish you a happy and healthy day!Do you have a preference when it comes to plant based milk? We’d love to hear about the dairy-free ingredients you use in at-home recipes. Share your favorites with us in the comments below!

Want to make sourdough bread, but not sure where to start? You’re in the right place.We’ve pulled together our sourdough resources to create a guide that takes you from beginner to baker. Start by making (or buying!) a sourdough starter, learn how to feed and maintain it, then begin baking with our classic recipes. Don’t know the tools you actually need? Unsure what to do with all that discard? We’ve got you covered there, too. Let’s get baking.If you want to make your own sourdough starter from scratchTo make your own sourdough starter, you only need three things: flour, water, and time. You’ll start by combining equal parts flour and water. Let that mixture rest at room temperature, and then regularly discard some of it and refresh with more flour and water. As the mixture sits over the course of several days, it will begin to cultivate a flourishing community of microorganisms (which is what makes your bread rise) and slowly become bubbly and vigorous.You’ll keep up a regular schedule of refreshing (or “feeding”) the starter twice a day, every 12 hours, until it doubles in size within six to eight hours. This can take anywhere from five to 14 days, depending on conditions. (So if you’re not seeing much activity, just be patient! And feel free to call our Baker’s Hotline for troubleshooting and advice.) Once the starter has reached this point, you can start baking with it or keep maintaining it until ready to use. (See “How to maintain sourdough starter” below.)Instead of taking days to make a starter from scratch, you can have one delivered in the mail. Our fresh sourdough starter is a mature, ready-to-use sourdough culture. You’ll just need to refresh it with flour and water (in other words, “feed” it) until it’s bubbly and doubles in size within six to eight hours. Then, it’s ready to bake, or to be stored and maintained until you want to use it. (See “How to maintain sourdough starter” below.) Wait, did someone give you some of their starter? If someone gifts you some of their starter, the best thing to do is to feed it immediately. Combine equal parts (by weight) starter, flour, and water, and let sit at room temperature. Gauge how active the sourdough starter is: Did it double in volume in six to eight hours? If so, it’s ready to store and maintain for future use, or to bake with right now.Did the starter not double in volume? Feed it again. Continue these maintenance feeds every 12 hours at room temperature until the starter doubles in size in six to eight hours. Then get baking, or store it according to your maintenance schedule.How to maintain sourdough starterGenerally, there are two routines you may choose to maintain your sourdough starter. Depending on your choice, here’s how often to feed sourdough starter:1. Twice daily at room temperature: If you’re a regular sourdough baker, the best way to have ripe starter when you need it is to keep your starter on the counter at room temperature and feed it twice daily, about every 12 hours.2. Once a week in the fridge: If you’re a more casual sourdough baker, it’s easiest to keep your starter in the fridge and feed it once a week. (We recommend leaving it on the counter for a few hours after feeding to start fermenting before returning it to the fridge.) Then, a day or two before you want to bake, give it a couple of feedings at room temperature before using it to bake.To feed sourdough starter, you simply discard some of the existing starter, then replace it with flour and water. Essentially, you’re giving the starter’s microorganisms food (in the form of flour) to keep them happy and healthy. Once fed, the starter will become active and bubbly again, doubling in volume before it exhausts itself and begins to sink back down.

If you recently tried a fava bean-based dish and loved it, then you’re probably searching for more ways that you can incorporate this bean into your diet. Fava beans, also known as broad beans, are legumes regularly consumed in Southern Europe, Northern Europe, East Asia, Latin America and North Africa. Most popular during springtime when they’re harvested, fava beans are one of the oldest known foods and have been cultivated and consumed for nearly 10,000 years.Quickly becoming popular worldwide, fava beans are available at most grocery stores in dried, canned and fresh varieties. You can use these beans to make soup, stews, paste and even falafel. And while there’s no doubt that this legume is excellent tasting, one of the questions often asked is if it has any health benefits. If you plan on cooking with fava beans and want to ensure that you add nutritional value to your meals, you’re in luck. This article will dive into fava beans health benefits and provide recipes you can try today.The Benefits of Fava BeansThe benefits of fava beans are plentiful. Fava beans are rich in many nutrients, which promote better health in unique ways. Since cultivation, fava beans have been used to treat many ailments and are one of the most inexpensive ways to meet your daily nutrient requirements. Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of fava beans and what makes them a great addition to a healthy diet.Fava Beans Are a Source of FolateFava beans are a quality source of folate—a vital vitamin for energy metabolism. Sufficient folate levels support the nervous system’s function and assist in synthesizing DNA, RNA, and red blood cells. Eating a diet rich in beans can help boost your folate intake and may decrease your risk of certain diseases and depression. Fava Beans Increase Iron IntakeMeeting your daily requirement for iron is essential to good health. Iron helps produce red blood cells and provides your body with a primary cellular energy source known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. A diet lacking iron may make you more susceptible to developing anemia and other health problems. One serving—1/4 cup of fava beans—provides 10% of your daily recommended iron intake. The iron found in fava beans is in non-heme form and not as easily absorbed by the body. However, you can quickly increase the amount that you absorb by combining fava beans with meat or a source of vitamin C. Enjoying fava beans as a side dish to steak, chicken, or fish is an excellent way to incorporate both forms of iron into your diet.Fava Beans Contain Dietary FiberIncorporating fava beans into your meals can work wonders for your digestive health. Like most legumes, fava beans contain two types of fiber—soluble and insoluble. However, they are especially rich in insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber promotes a healthy digestive system, regularity and a balanced gut biome, and eating adequate amounts of it will help keep your body feeling its best. 1/4 cup of cooked fava beans supplies 29% of an adult’s daily dietary fiber requirement.Fava Beans Are an Excellent Meat SubstituteFava beans are a good source of protein and iron, making them a fantastic meat substitute. Protein is a nutrient required by the body to perform basic tasks, and without it, It’s nearly impossible for us to function. Our skin, brain cells, muscles, hair and nails all require protein to remain healthy and strong. The issue is that many people following a plant-based diet find it hard to fill their meals with protein-rich ingredients. Meat is often recognized as one of the most protein-rich foods around. However, many plant-based protein sources, like fava beans, provide just as much, if not more, of it. Adding fava beans to soups and salads or using them to create a plant-based burger alternative is an excellent way to ensure that you meet your daily protein requirements.Now that you know just how great fava beans are for you, you can begin adding them to your homemade meals. Work fava beans into recipes that you already know you love, or search our online recipe book to find a new bean-based dish to create. Fava beans can be added to nearly any soup or stew recipe and are an excellent substitute for lima beans when you don’t have any on hand. Share your favorite fava bean meals with us in the comments below. We can’t wait to see what you come up with. From the Bob’s Red Mill family to yours, happy cooking!

Even if you’re not an avid baker, you’ve probably heard about tapioca flour once or twice. Often considered a baker’s secret ingredient, tapioca flour is just the thing you need to take your favorite recipe to the next level. If you’ve ever made a stew that was too watery or a pizza crust that didn’t quite have the chewy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside crust that you were hoping for, then you’ve had reason to use tapioca flour.Though incorporating starches into your baking routine might be a new concept to you, it’s been around for years. Starches are an excellent way to amp up the texture of any recipe. Whether you’d like to thicken up your favorite pie pudding or create the ooey-gooey gluten free cookies that you have saved on your Pinterest board, tapioca flour is your new best friend.At RedMan, we know just how useful starches can be. To help you get started, we created this all-in-one guide to tapioca flour. Use it to learn more about this helpful starch and determine which of your favorite recipes would benefit from it. Let’s get started!Tapioca PowderTapioca is a starch that derives from the cassava root. This starch is extracted through a process of washing and pulping. Once enough wet pulp has been gathered, it is then squeezed to extract the starchy liquid. This cassava starch is a dietary staple in various countries in Africa, Asia and South America.Tapioca starch is an essential ingredient in gluten free baking and a favorite amongst those following a paleo diet. Naturally gluten free, tapioca flour can serve as a wheat substitute in a variety of gluten free recipes.Because this cassava starch is both odorless and tasteless, it makes it easy to add to any recipe (savory or sweet) without changing the flavor of the recipe itself. When added to baked goods, tapioca starch helps the ingredients properly bind together.A function that gluten is often used for. Tapioca starch’s binding abilities help bakers achieve baked goods that are fluffy, light and spongy in texture. Like many other starches, tapioca flour can also be used as a thickening agent in soups, stews and puddings.How to Cook with Tapioca Flour Have some tapioca flour in your cupboard that you’re not sure how to use? We’ve got you covered. Like other starches, tapioca flour works as a great thickening agent when added to liquid-based foods. However, there are a few differences between tapioca flour and other starches. One of the most notable differences is that tapioca flour retains its texture even after it’s been frozen. This means that when using tapioca starch, you no longer have to worry about freezing the leftover soup you’ve made. Simply place it in the freezer, let it thaw once you’re ready to eat, and enjoy! It will still have the same thick and creamy texture that it had before.If you already use starches in your baked goods and want to change things up, then try using small tapioca pearls to make this Easy Tapioca Pudding. Simple to make, this creamy dessert is the perfect comfort food!Where to Purchase Tapioca FlourNow that you know a little more about tapioca flour, it’s time to start using it in your recipes. Our Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour is one of our most versatile gluten free flours. Certified gluten free, paleo, kosher, vegan and non-GMO, this flour comes straight from the cassava plant itself. No extra processing or ingredients necessary! Use it as a thickening agent or to make delicious desserts like bubble tea.Tapioca Flour UsesNow that you know what tapioca flour is, it’s time to start using it! When baking or cooking with tapioca flour, we recommend using it alongside other gluten free flours such as almond flour. This will help ensure that your recipe achieves the desired consistency. It’s also important to note how much liquid is in the recipe.When combined with liquid, tapioca flour will turn into a paste-like substance that can then be stirred into the rest of the recipe. Tapioca flour’s water-absorbing capabilities make it perfect when adding moisture to baked recipes or used to thicken sauces. Because it is tasteless and odorless, it can be added to a recipe without changing the flavor.Use It as a Thickening AgentWant to thicken your favorite soup recipe without using traditional flour? Use tapioca flour! Despite its name, tapioca flour is a starch that makes a great gluten free thickener. Instead of using wheat flour to thicken a soup or dressing, you can use tapioca flour to achieve the same effect. Commonly substituted at a 1:1 1/2 ratio, we recommend first creating a slurry of tapioca flour and then adding it to your recipe. Doing so will ensure that the tapioca flour is evenly distributed and help prevent clumping.Another thing we love about tapioca flour is the ability to enhance the appearance of a dish. When combined with liquid, tapioca flour will give a meal a glossy finish, unlike cornstarch, which is known for producing more of a matte finish. While a glossy finish works well with pies and salad dressings, it might not be the perfect match for a gravy dish. Knowing how and when to use tapioca flour is key to perfecting your favorite recipe.Use It to Add Structure to Baked GoodsTapioca flour is excellent for baking! Especially when it comes to gluten free goods. Adding just the right amount of tapioca flour to your baked treats will create a light, airy, crispy and chewy texture. Perfect for adding to bread, cookies, brownies and pie crusts, tapioca flour is a great way to ensure that your ingredients bind together without using gluten! When measuring out tapioca flour, it’s crucial to get it just right. While adding the right amount will help you achieve the perfect texture, adding too much could turn your treats into a gummy mess.Use it to Make Bubble TeaLastly, step out of your kitchen comfort zone and use tapioca flour to make bubble tea! To make a perfect tapioca pearl dough or boba pearl, simply add hot water and food coloring to tapioca flour. Then follow along with your favorite bubble tea recipe to create the perfect boba pearl. A fun and unique treat, be sure to buy extra-wide straws to drink your milk tea with tapioca balls. It’s half the fun!The Difference Between Tapioca Flour and Cassava FlourYou may be wondering what the difference between tapioca flour and cassava flour is, especially since they both come from the same plant. While the terms tapioca flour and cassava flour may sometimes be used interchangeably, these two flours are incredibly different. As we discussed earlier, tapioca flour is made by extracting the starch from the cassava root through a method of washing and pulping.Cassava flour, on the other hand, uses a significantly different method. When making cassava flour, the whole root of the cassava plant is used. To make this flour, the root is peeled, dried, and ground. Because the entire root is used, cassava has much more dietary fiber than tapioca flour, which creates a different result when adding to recipes. Ready to start adding tapioca flour to your recipes? Try it out in the Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie. The perfect comfort food to any season, adding tapioca flour to your pie, has several benefits. Adding this flour to the pie filling will help thicken it to the desired consistency. Whereas mixing tapioca flour into the gluten free crust will work to unite the ingredients together and create a light, airy and flaky treat. This creamy dinner can be made the night beforehand, or cooked and enjoyed the same day. Make it as one big pie to slice out, or turn it into six individual pies for the entire family to enjoy!Now that we’ve answered the question “What is tapioca flour,” we hope that you have a better understanding of this incredible starch! From gluten free recipes to boba tea, we’re confident that this guide will inspire you to create something great with tapioca flour. Because each dish is different, it’s important to remember that tapioca flour won’t work in every recipe. Follow these guidelines and get to know this excellent ingredient and some of the tapioca flour substitutes. We know you’ll come up with something delicious! From everyone at Bob’s Red Mill, Happy Baking!

From homemade breads to braised meat, the Dutch oven is a piece of cookware that finds itself on the wishlists of home chefs everywhere. It’s typically made from seasoned or enameled cast iron or ceramic and is able to withstand high heat. A versatile kitchen essential, the Dutch oven comes ready to handle most cooking tasks, keeps your food warm and waiting for extended periods of time, and tends to produce richly flavored end results that dinner guests swoon over. If you are a home chef that wants to take their cooking skills to the next level, then a classic enameled Dutch oven just might be a worthy investment.This article is going to answer the questions “What is a dutch oven and what is it used for?” Keep reading to learn about the many benefits and uses of this cast iron cookware.BreadOne of the easiest (and more surprising) ways to use a Dutch oven is actually for breaking bread. About a decade ago, professional baker Jim Lahey found that perfectly golden bread could be made without the need for kneading, instead shaping it in his Dutch oven. Since then, bread enthusiasts everywhere have purchased the classic Dutch oven with only one desire: to bake incredible loaves of homemade bread with little effort right in the comfort of their own kitchens. If you’re looking to try it out yourself, here’s the recipe for No-Knead Artisan Bread that can be found on our bags of Artisan Bread Flour.Casseroles and LasagnasDevout followers of the Dutch oven swear by its incredible ability to make one-pot casseroles and lasagnas. Spread a layer of sauce, a layer of pasta or tortillas, a layer of cheese, then bake it all in the Dutch oven until it’s cooked through and ready to be devoured. For a simple and taste-filled weeknight meal, try assembling this hot and bubbly Easy Enchilada Casserole in your Dutch oven.Skillet CookiesIf you’ve ever sat around a restaurant table with friends going bite for bite into an ice cream-topped skillet cookie, you’ve more than likely dreamt of making your own at home. With a Dutch oven, the good news is you can! Simply add your homemade cookie dough in an even layer to your Dutch oven and bake until golden. As an after-dinner sweet treat, experiment with a mix of chocolate and marshmallow with this recipe for A Chocolate Marshmallow Skillet Cookie.Chicken StockDutch ovens are notorious for roasting chickens, so when it comes to homemade chicken stock, they’re your easiest bet. Once you’re done roasting the chicken, save the juices and use them as a base for your homemade chicken stock. It saves you the extra time spent cleaning and also makes for a rich and wonderful homemade stock that you can cook right on the stovetop. With your chicken stock prepared, try this recipe for Lemony Chicken Barley Soup, a hearty dish made with pearl barley and lemon.FryingFrying can often prove to be messy and full of oil splatters, but it’s a method of cooking that can come in handy for everything from homemade donuts to latkes. Because the sides of the Dutch oven are tall and the fact that it can handle extremely high heat, this makes it a perfect candidate for all your once-in-a-while frying needs. If you’re looking to fry something unique and tasty in your own Dutch oven, give this Gluten Free Fried Chicken recipe a try, it’s made with almond milk, apple cider vinegar, and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.Braised MeatsWe promise you’ll love this easy fall dinner recipe. The technique of braising meats is surprisingly simple (especially when considering the end result it yields). After seasoning and searing your meat in the Dutch oven, take it out and add a simple mixture of onions, celery, and carrots. Next, deglaze the pot, return the meat, let your liquid simmer, then move it all into the oven at 325°F. In this process, the magical workings of the Dutch oven are truly given their time to shine. Pair the richness of a braised meat dish with something like this Market Greens with Millet salad, and you’re all set for dinner.RoastingOkay, here comes one of the primary reasons why household cooks everywhere opt for purchasing a Dutch oven: its incredible roasting capabilities. In a large Dutch oven, you can actually prep an entire chicken with a simple mixture (like lemon, garlic, onion, butter, salt, pepper and fresh herbs) then slide it into the oven and let it do its thing. In approximately an hour and a half, you’ll have a crispy, juicy, beautiful chicken that’s bursting with flavor. After your chicken is finished, pair it with any one of these 6 Stunning Grain Bowls for a delicious and nutritious meal.Poaching ChickenIf you’re looking for a moisture-filled and tender chicken, you may lean towards the idea of poaching to prevent dryness. Because the Dutch oven is deep and also good at retaining heat, it can hold your chicken and your water while still allowing room for it to simmer to perfection. Poached chicken works well for shredding and including in recipes like this Chicken Taco Casserole (which you can conveniently make in your Dutch oven).Soups, Stews, and ChilisWhen it comes to soups, stews, and chilis, there’s nothing quite like the intensity of the layered flavors that a cast iron Dutch oven brings forth. You’re able to start with ingredients like veggies, add your meats, beans, or whatever you’d like, then top it all with cheese or additional fresh herbs. Whether you’re going for a beef stew or a hearty vegan chili, you’ll be able to cook a variety of different recipes with this piece of cast iron cookware. Bob’s Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix is made from a hearty combination of yellow and green split peas, barley, lentils, and pasta, and makes for a great base for soups, stews, and chilis that can be cooked right on the stove.RisottoRisotto is famous for requiring an immense amount of constant stirring when it’s done the traditional way on the stovetop. Enter the Dutch oven and your weeknight dinner just became a whole lot easier! Bake your rice and chicken stock in the oven, covered, until the liquid has been absorbed. When you pull it out, give it a hearty stir, and you’ll be left with creamy and wonderful risotto (made with a lot less effort). Experiment with the selection of unprocessed rice for an appealing risotto texture, or try this recipe for Vegan Quinoa Mushroom Risotto.ApplesauceWith the slow cooking style of the Dutch oven and its ability to be popped straight into the oven, it’s the perfect vessel for creating sweet and beautiful baked applesauce. Simply peel, quarter and core your apples, toss them in with some brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and lemon juice, and bake until the apples are soft. Serve warm (perhaps over a bowl of ice cream sprinkled with some Rolled Oats).PastaMany of us are used to boiling a big pot of water when we’re creating a pasta dinner. However, when the Dutch oven enters the kitchen scene, pasta can become way more fun and full of flavor. If you use a combination of liquids (broth or wine) that double as sauce ingredients while also cooking your pasta through, you can save water, time, eliminate dishes, and also end up with a flavor-filled result. For a fresh and tender homemade pasta, give Pasta Recipe a try, made with olive oil, eggs, semolina pasta flour, and water.Other Creative UsesAlthough the Dutch oven is clearly an ideal choice for a variety of yummy, easy recipes, it has a couple other creative uses, too. It can be used as a way to keep food cold. Just fill it with ice water, let it sit, pour it out, dry it, then add your food to keep it chill and fresh. In addition, the enameled lid of a cast iron Dutch oven can be turned upside down, covered with foil, set upright in its knob, and used to hold food that needs to be browned. And finally, for the campers out there, the Dutch oven (depending on the brand) is known as a trusty companion to meals done over the campfire.Types of Dutch OvensLodge: The Lodge Dutch oven is porcelain-enameled, oven-safe up to 500°F, and can be used on any cooktop, aside from over the campfire. They do, however, make a cast iron deep camp Dutch oven perfect for outdoor adventures.Le Creuset: A pricier Dutch oven than some of the others, you can cook anything in this enamel-coated beauty. You can find a Le Creuset Dutch oven in a variety of sizes to suit your needs.Tramontina: With an enamel coating and an ability to withstand oven temps up to 450°F, this is a great choice for large families or those who love hosting gatherings.Anolon: The Anolon has a matte black enamel interior, large size handles that make it easy to hold, and is oven safe up to 500°F.Staub: Known for its ability to brown evenly, the Staub Dutch oven lid can withstand 500°F, and the pot can deal with 900°F!Whether you’re using your cast iron Dutch ovens for a dessert dish of skillet cookies, a big batch of applesauce, or to roast a whole roasted chicken, the possibilities for this versatile kitchen essential are endless.Happy cooking!

White flour is white flour — but not all white flour is created equal. Differences in milling, as well as how the flour is treated after it’s milled, can have big impacts on flour. And one of the primary ways flour is treated is through bleaching. Refined wheat flours (i.e., not whole wheat), such as all-purpose flour, cake flour, and self-rising flour, are either bleached or unbleached during production. But what exactly does that mean? In brief: Unbleached flour is naturally aged after milling, during which time it slowly oxidizes and whitens. Bleached flour, on the other hand, uses chemical treatments to manually speed up this process. Both can be used interchangeably in baking; so why should you choose one over the other? Let’s break it down a little more.Understanding the difference between bleached and unbleached flourDuring the 1940s (the heyday of Wonder Bread, the first sliced bread on the market), white flour became a popular fixture in commercial bread. And while Wonder Bread is no longer the only, nor the most popular, bread on the market, contemporary millers are still primarily in the business of making white flour. The first step in accomplishing this is to separate the bran and germ of the wheat berry through the milling process itself. That’s what distinguishes whole wheat flour, which is made from the entire wheat kernel, from white flour, which is only the milled endosperm.The next step in this process is to “whiten” the remaining flour. Given time and exposure to air, flour will slowly oxidize and whiten on its own. This rest period, around two weeks in the summer and up to a month in the winter, also changes flour’s chemistry so that it will create a dough that is more elastic. This is unbleached flour, and it’s how King Arthur Baking Company makes all of our refined flours. But rather than using time as an agent, as we do, many millers use chemicals to whiten flour almost instantly. As the flour comes off the line at the mill, bleaching and oxidizing chemicals are added in order to quicken or entirely replace the aging process. This is how bleached flour is made. Wait, what exactly does “bleached” mean?The chemicals used to whiten and/or oxidize flour include chlorine dioxide, benzoyl peroxide, and chlorine gas, all of which are currently permissible additives (though King Arthur Baking Company flours do not contain any of them). Benzoyl peroxide leaves behind some benzoic acid; some people with an acute sense of taste recognize benzoyl peroxide in baked goods because it has a bitter aftertaste, but its addition does not appreciably change its baking qualities. Chlorine gas reacts with the flour to change its absorbency, flavor, pH, and, in the case of some cake flours, its performance. In baked goods where other ingredients do not mask it, it imparts a detectable flavor to people with sensitive palates.The most controversial additive used today is potassium bromate, which is still in use both as an oxidizer and an “improver,” strengthening dough and allowing for greater oven spring and higher rising in the oven. It has come under scrutiny, however, as tests with it have indicated that it is carcinogenic in animals and probably in humans. Since 1991, flour sold in California containing potassium bromate has had to carry a warning label, and it was recently banned in the state as well. It is also banned in Canada, Europe, and Japan, and will likely someday be banned in other parts of the United States. (This is why King Arthur bags proclaim that our flour is “Never Bromated.”)Choosing the right flourUltimately, the flour you choose to bake with is entirely up to you. Bleached and unbleached flours can both be used interchangeably in any recipe without a major discernable difference. But understanding what sets them apart can help you make your decision.

If you’ve spent some time in the vegetarian and vegan sections of a health food store, you’ve probably come across various plant-based meat substitutes, with tofu, tempeh and gluten-free soy protein being the most popular. Whether you’ve dared to try these alternatives or not, there’s another meat-like protein taking the spotlight—seitan. If you’re like many and are left wondering what exactly is seitan and how you make it, you’re not alone. Continue reading for a complete guide covering all there is to know about this plant-based cooking product and how you can make it from scratch.Where Does Seitan Come From?While seitan has recently gained popularity, it’s not a new product. Instead, it’s a vegan meat substitute that has been around for years and more recently emerged with a new name. Enjoyed in China as early as the 6th century, the seitan was initially known as “mian jin” and served for centuries.However, in the 1960s, mian jin received a “makeover” by George Ohsawa, who founded the macrobiotic diet and introduced seitan as a new term combining the two Japanese words:1. “sei”: made of2. “tanpaku”: meaning proteinWhat Is Seitan? What is seitan, exactly?A popular meat substitute used primarily in vegetarian and vegan meals, seitan is often referred to by many different names, including wheat meat, gluten meat, vital wheat gluten, and gluten. It’s made by combining two ingredients—wheat gluten and water—and is a soy-free alternative to many of the meat-free products available for individuals following a plant-based diet.But what is the difference between seitan vs tempeh? When cooked, seitan takes on a meaty texture that is both dense and chewy. Because its texture is similar to that of meat, most people prefer it to tofu or tempeh when making a genuinely meaty dish. Additionally, seitan absorbs flavor exceptionally well, making it easy to include in various cuisines ranging from sweet and savory to spicy.Luckily, making this versatile ingredient at home is easy. Creating seitan requires you to knead vital wheat gluten and water until it forms into a firm ball or loaf. Wheat flour or additional ingredients can be added to improve the texture; however, they’re not always needed.After the dough has been formed into a ball, it is rinsed and boiled to wash away the starches. Seitan can be used to create everything from vegan chicken strips to plant-based taco meat and is a favorite amongst vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.Can Everyone Enjoy Seitan?Ideal for those following a plant-based diet and people who have a soy allergy, seitan is entirely soy free and high in protein, making it an excellent choice. That being said, while seitan is a delicious meat alternative, it’s not for everyone. If you’re gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, seitan is unfortunately not the meat substitute for you.Made entirely of wheat gluten, seitan is not a gluten-free food and shouldn’t be treated as such. Additionally, while seitan contains high amounts of protein, it is not a complete protein source. Because of this, it must be combined with other sources of protein when you eat it. Ingredients like chickpea flour, soy flour, and soy sauce can be added to your seitan dough to complete the string of essential amino acids.Seitan Ingredients While seitan can be made in several different ways, here’s an overview of how to make seitan and the ingredients commonly used in this dish.Vital Wheat GlutenVital wheat gluten, also known as gluten, is a protein naturally found in wheat. Commonly used in bread baking, when a small amount is added, it improves the texture and elasticity of the dough. Additionally, it’s the main ingredient used to make seitan and helps create a chewy, meaty texture.Nutritional YeastNutritional yeast is a top-rated vegetarian dietary supplement. Known for its pleasantly cheesy flavor, it’s loaded with good-for-you nutrients like vitamin B-12 and protein. Mix it into your favorite sauces, or add it to plant-based alternatives to recreate traditional flavors.Spices and FlavoringsSeitan soaks up whatever is around it as dehydrated food, making it an easy ingredient to flavor. To make a delicious lunch or dinner seitan recipe that tastes similar to meat, we recommend using herbs and spices like garlic, onion, fennel, turmeric, soy sauce, molasses, tahini, and olive oil.Broth or LiquidSeitan is a dehydrated food, which means that it needs to be rehydrated before enjoying it. While seitan can be rehydrated using water, the result will often be a bit bland, especially if other flavorings are not added to the recipe. To rehydrate your seitan and flavor it simultaneously, choose a pre-flavored liquid like soup or vegetable broth.How to Make Homemade Seitan from Scratch Making basic seitan in the comfort of your kitchen is easy. Keep scrolling for a step-by-step guide to make seitan from scratch.What you’ll need:1. Medium bowl (2)2. Whisk3. Basic seitan ingredients4. 18-inch-long sheet of aluminum foil5. Measuring cup6. Medium pot and lid7. Steamer basketIngredients1. 1 ¾ cups Wheat Gluten2. ⅓ cup Nutritional Yeast3. 2 tsp Garlic Granules or Garlic Powder4. 1 tsp Onion Powder5. 2 tsp Crushed Fennel6. ½ tsp Turmeric7. 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce8. 1 tsp Molasses9. 1 tsp Tahini10. 1 ½ Tbsp Oil11. 1 ½ cups Mushroom or Vegetable BrothStep 1:Start with wheat gluten. In a medium bowl, combine the wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, and dry spices—whisk them together. Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and stir until they’re smooth.Step 2:Form a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture in slowly. Use a fork to bring the dough together until you notice that it’s lumpy and springy.Step 3:Pour the mixed dough onto a sheet of aluminum foil (or parchment paper) and wrap it, forming it into a log-like shape.Step 4:Bring 4-6 cups of water to a rolling boil in a medium pot and place a steamer basket inside. Next, add the seitan that’s been wrapped in foil and cover the pot with a lid allowing 80 minutes of cook time without removing the lid.Step 5:Once the seitan is done steaming, allow it to cool for 30 minutes before cutting it into slices or chunks. Enjoy your cooked seitan as is, sear it on the stovetop, or combine it with another recipe to create a truly satisfying meal.Ways to Cook Seitan Now that you know how to make homemade seitan, it’s time to decide how you’d like to cook it. Seitan can be baked, steamed, or boiled, which will all result in different textures. Whether you are looking to make vegan seitan patties, a steak, sausage, or a stir fry, there are many dishes you can make once you’ve created the seitan dough. Before determining how you’d like to cook this vegan meat substitute, we recommend finding a recipe to add it to first. Knowing what you’ll be combining the seitan with will help you decide what method to use.Simmering SeitanTo simmer seitan, you’ll want to begin with a pot and a large portion of it. Instead of cooking your seitan in boiling water, ensure that you have simmering broth (vegetable broth or vegan chicken broth) or water and cook it until it’s fully done. Though proper simmering can be achieved with water alone, for a boost of flavor and nutrients, season the seitan with vegetable stock, soy sauce, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and other spices.Because the seitan will be set directly into the liquid, it will soak up its flavors and develop a soft and spongy texture. Though delicious, this smooth texture won’t hold up well in firm dishes and is best when added to soups, pasta, and stews.Steaming SeitanTo get properly steamed seitan, you will need a steamer or a steaming basket that can be easily set up in a pot. Making steamed seitan is easy, first, bring the water in the pot to a simmer and then add the seitan to the steaming basket.This process will allow the seitan to develop a pleasant texture that is neither too soft nor too firm. Instead of creating a crust, the outer layers of the seitan will remain smooth, ideal for combining with other steamed foods like vegetables.Baking SeitanIf you want to create a portion of seitan with a firmer consistency, we recommend baking it in the oven. Because the baking process will slightly dehydrate the seitan, it will create a firm texture and crusting outside. To bake it to perfection, simply place the seitan on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 180°C – 200°C/360°F – 390°F. Be sure to marinate the seitan beforehand to add flavor and prevent it from drying out.Making seitan is an excellent way to ensure that you know what’s in your food. While cooking it for the first time might seem a bit intimidating, it’s actually quite simple. Follow the step-by-step guide above to ensure that your cooked seitan turns out perfectly. If you’re a pro at making seitan and are having trouble figuring out what meals to make with it, check out these five quick and easy seitan dinner recipes. From everyone at Bob’s Red Mill, have a filling and flavorful day!

Sourdough baking seems like it should be easy, right?After all, people have been baking naturally fermented bread for thousands of years, and it only requires three ingredients: flour, water, and salt. Well, it’s simple, but creating a starter and baking sourdough bread’s not easy — at least not until you develop your own personal process, something that works for both you and your starter.Everything from the flour you use to the season of the year to whether you’re urban or rural plays into your sourdough bread success — or less-than-success. Talk about variables!If you’re a new sourdough baker, you may be struggling just trying to get your starter going. The confusion, angst, and even despair that we hear among first-time sourdough bakers out there is truly distressing.Are you having a rough time with your starter? Let us help. Here are 10 tips directed specifically at brand-new sourdough bakers that should clear up the confusion you’re feeling around not just the starter itself, but the various tools and recipes associated with sourdough baking.1) My starter recipe says to begin with [X] flour. Can I use a different flour instead?Sourdough starter is a combination of water and flour which, when mixed together, grows wild yeast, produces organic acids, and attracts friendly bacteria. All flours, from whole grain rye to all-purpose white, harbor wild yeast and will cultivate bacteria. But not all flours work the same: some are better right at the beginning of your starter’s life, while others have more to contribute farther along in the process.Maybe you have a good supply of bread flour but your starter recipe calls for all-purpose (or vice versa). Perhaps the formula lists organic rye flour or golden whole wheat, and you simply don’t have them and can’t get them. No worries; just use what you have.If your starter calls for all-purpose flour and all you have is bread flour, increase the water a bit; if it calls for bread flour and all you have is all-purpose, decrease the water a bit. And if it calls for whole wheat or rye and you have neither? Your starter may be a bit slower coming to life without the initial “kick” of a whole grain, but eventually it’ll work just fine. (Learn more about how whole grain flours affect starter in our post: Sluggish starter? Add a little whole grain flour.)One caveat: Bleached flour may eventually yield a decent starter, but due to its natural flora having been killed by bleaching it’ll probably take a heck of a lot longer for a starter made with bleached flour to become fully active. 2) I read that you should never use a plastic bowl or metal spoon around sourdough starter. Is that true?No, not at all. Our Baking School keeps its starter in food-safe plastic buckets and uses metal spoons or acrylic spatulas to mix it up after feeding. We wouldn’t recommend using a bowl that’ll react with sourdough’s acidity — for instance, don’t mix or store your starter in cast iron or uncoated aluminum — but other than that, glass, plastic, stoneware, acrylic, stainless steel — take your pick, all are acceptable.3) Do I have to feed my starter with pure spring water or bottled water?No. While chlorine and other chemicals in your treated tap water don’t create the friendliest environment for your starter, there’s no need to make a trip to the store for bottled water.I’ve successfully used tap water in my starter for years. If your tap water is so heavily treated you can smell the chemicals, try filling an open container and leaving it at room temperature overnight. The next day your water should be good to go. 4) My new starter was very bubbly and doubling in size within 6 to 8 hours, but now it’s seemed to go dormant. Is it dead?It’s certainly discouraging to see a starter that’s seemed perfectly happy suddenly turn into a lifeless blob. But it’s OK. As your new starter evolves, one set of bacteria gradually gives way to another; and during that transition, when neither is dominant, your starter will take a rest. Just keep feeding it; within a few days, it should show renewed signs of life. 5) Do I really have to throw away so much starter when I’m feeding it? It seems wasteful.If you don’t remove some of your starter before feeding it, you’ll soon have gallons of the stuff filling your fridge. So yes, you do have to remove some starter; but you don’t necessarily have to throw it away. Here are your options:1. Give your excess starter to a friend to start his or her own starter.2. Turn it into something yummy. Within the first 4 or 5 days of your starter’s life, it won’t taste very good and probably shouldn’t be used for baking; but after that, there are many, many delicious ways to use it. See our collection of sourdough discard recipes for inspiration.3. Substitute it for some of the flour and water in your non-sourdough recipe. For details, see adding sourdough to a recipe.4. You also have the option of building and maintaining a much smaller starter, one that’s fed and discarded in tablespoons rather than cups. See our recipe for a smaller sourdough starter.6) What’s the best container for storing my starter?Something with a lid! Seriously, you can go two ways here. If you want to feed and store your starter in the same container, you want one that’s large enough to hold triple your volume of starter. If you’ll be feeding your starter in a bowl and then transferring it to a lidded container to store, the container only needs to be a bit larger than the starter itself. It’s handy to use a clear glass or translucent plastic container if you’ll be letting your starter rise in it, so you can track its progress. (Our glass sourdough crock is a preferred option.) Stoneware, plastic, stainless steel, and enameled metal are also suitable materials.Whatever vessel you choose, the lid should fit securely, simply to prevent potential spillage if you knock the container over. But you don’t want anything airtight: it’s not necessary and could potentially result in a messy blowout. 7) My starter develops lots of small bubbles when I feed it, but it’s not really rising very well. Is that OK?Not if you’re going to use it to leaven bread! A fed starter should double in size within 6 to 8 hours, or it probably won’t be strong enough to raise your dough.Sometimes starter is so thin and liquid-y that there’s not enough structure for it to expand; bubbles simply rise and escape. If your starter seems thin (easily pourable rather than gloppy), try feeding it a bit more flour until it thickens up; alternatively, you can feed it with higher-protein (higher-absorption) bread flour. This might be just what it needs to start growing up, rather than fizzling out.8) “I think I killed my starter!”No, you almost certainly didn’t. While sourdough starter can die under extreme circumstances (e.g., having been fed with boiling water), it’s actually really hard to kill. It may be poky and slow; it may not look like you think it should. But it’s not dead. Keep feeding it on a regular schedule and eventually, it’ll start bubbling again.Now, sourdough starter can very rarely become “infected” with mold or an evil bacteria, in which case you won’t want to bake with it. If your starter shows evident signs of mold or if it develops a pink/orange tinge, it’s time to discard it and start again.When it comes to how your starter smells, it’s fairly common for a fledgling starter to go through a stinky period (think teenagers’ sneakers), but an established starter should never smell awful. That being said, if you’ve neglected your starter in the refrigerator longer than usual and it smells a little off, a few days of room-temperature feedings will likely restore it to its usual pleasant aroma.For more on how to assess your starter’s health see our post, Sourdough starter troubleshooting.9) I’m ready to bake bread. But do I really need to buy a banneton, rice flour, and a Dutch oven?No. These all come under the heading of nice to have, but not necessary.A banneton (a.k.a. brotform) is simply a round or oval basket that holds dough as it rises. The risen loaf is then turned out onto a baking stone, a baking sheet, or into a Dutch oven to bake. It’s useful for doughs that are quite soft and need support, keeping them from flattening out as they expand.You can actually fashion your own rising vessel from a bowl and smooth dish towel, for soft dough. For a stiffer dough, simply allow the loaf to rise on a piece of parchment (which makes it easy to transfer to a hot baking stone); on the baking sheet on which you’ll bake it, or even in your Dutch oven if you decide not to preheat it first.Rice flour is used to flour your banneton; it’s “slipperier” than regular all-purpose or bread flour and offers better release of the potentially sticky dough but again, not necessary.A Dutch oven or other closed container is a real boon if you enjoy bread with excellent loft and supremely crusty crust. The container’s lid catches steam from the baking loaf, keeping its top crust soft and allowing it to expand fully. That same steam makes the crust crackly-crisp once the loaf has finished rising and the bread starts to brown.Yes, a Dutch oven is great to have; see the details here: Bread baking in a Dutch oven. But you can certainly bake a lovely loaf without one.10) Can you point me to a really simple recipe to get started?Our Rustic Sourdough Bread is perfect for beginners. Since it includes a bit of commercial yeast as well as sourdough starter, you don’t have to worry about your starter being totally up to snuff: Call it the belt and suspenders approach. While sourdough purists will argue that using commercial yeast disqualifies your bread as “true” sourdough, hey, what’s in a name? If you enjoy a light-textured, crusty loaf with lovely tang, this one’s for you.Our Naturally Leavened Sourdough Bread includes no commercial yeast, and relies entirely on a strong starter for its rise. So if you choose this recipe make sure your fed starter is very healthy and active, doubling in size within 6 to 8 hours of feeding. If your starter is ready to go, expect to make a loaf with great crust and chew, and deep, rich sourdough flavor.The last word on sourdough bakingThe wild yeast and friendly bacteria that bring sourdough starter to life are fickle, just like all living organisms. Sometimes they’re full of energy and ready to rise and shine; other times they need coddling and cajoling. It’s up to you to figure out what your starter needs — and when — in order to keep it happy and working for you.It sounds daunting, but don’t be discouraged. Gradually, as you learn what works in your kitchen (rather than what works for that guy on YouTube or your best friend in Seattle) you’ll relax and realize that hey, sourdough bread’s not that complicated after all. It’s flour, water, salt, and time — both the hours it takes your loaves to rise, and the days you spend learning about this ancient craft through practice, practice, and more practice.Now, take a deep breath and relax. Your ego should never be tied to how many Instagram likes your bread photo gets, nor should you be discouraged by bread bullies on Facebook dissing that loaf you were so proud of. Always remember: there are no baking police. Plain and simple, if you’re happy with the sourdough bread you bake, it’s a success.

“Did I kill my starter?” This is a surprisingly common sourdough question on our we receive. Novice and experienced bakers alike worry about the viability of their starters and call us for sourdough starter troubleshooting advice.For many sourdough bakers, the underlying biochemistry at work in their starter remains a bit of a mystery. Thankfully, it’s quite possible to bake great sourdough bread while still being a little fuzzy when it comes to what’s actually happening in that little jar of starter.The 6 to 10 days it takes to create a healthy and mature sourdough starter from scratch requires slightly more attention to “death threats,” because a fledgling starter hasn’t yet developed the defenses that characterize a mature starter. But once your starter is fully developed, it’s really pretty darn hard to kill.And if you’ve purchased a sourdough starter from us, rest assured that it’s a mature specimen that will stand up well against unwanted bacteria or mold. Things that WON’T kill your sourdough starterMETAL: Stirring your starter with a metal spoon or placing it in a metal bowl won’t kill your starter. While we don’t recommend making or keeping your starter in contact with reactive metals like copper or aluminum, stainless steel is harmless.MILD NEGLECT: Missing a feeding or not timing the feedings exactly 12 hours apart won’t even come close to killing your starter. Please don’t ever set your alarm to get up in the middle of the night to feed your starter!INCORRECT FEEDINGS: Feeding your starter the wrong amount of flour or water won’t kill it. While your starter may seem too dry or too wet, and may not rise the way you expect, no permanent damage has been done. You can correct its consistency by adding a little more flour or water, and then being more careful the next time you feed it.BRIEFLY FREEZING YOUR STARTER: While there’s some dispute among sourdough enthusiasts about the benefits and/or dangers of freezing sourdough starter, a brief period in the freezer isn’t likely to kill a fully developed starter.I recently froze a portion of my well-maintained starter a few hours after it was fed. Three days later I thawed it out at room temperature and let it continue to ferment. It was definitely sluggish at first, but after a second feeding it rose well and had a good aroma.That being said, too much time in the freezer will definitely damage some of the wild yeast in your starter, and is also likely to kill off some of the friendly bacteria that contribute flavor. If you need to put your starter on hold for an extended time, we recommend drying your starter.Things that WILL kill your sourdough starterHEAT: If you allow your sourdough starter to ferment in the oven with the light on to keep it warm, and then forget it’s in there and turn on the oven, it’s unlikely your starter will make it out alive. Yeast dies at 140°F, and it’s likely that your sourdough starter will suffer at temperatures even lower than that. It’s best to maintain your starter at comfortable room temperature (around 70°F), though a little higher or lower won’t hurt anything.SEVERE NEGLECT: If you neglect your starter long enough, it will develop mold or signs of being overtaken by bad bacteria. Mold can appear in various colors and is typically fuzzy in appearance. Bad bacteria is generally indicated by an orange or pink tinge or streak. Once your starter has lost its natural ability to ward off intruders, it’s time to start over.How to tell if your starter has gone bad“Hooch” is the liquid that collects on the top of your starter when it hasn’t been fed in awhile. This liquid is the alcohol given off as wild yeast ferments. The presence of hooch isn’t a sign that your starter is in danger. However, it does indicate that your starter is hungry and needs to be fed.When your starter is neglected for an extended period, the hooch tends to turn from clear to dark-colored. We get lots of calls from sourdough bakers worried about the safety or danger of various hooch hues. Is gray bad? What about brown or black? Surprisingly, none of these colors indicate that your starter has spoiled.See the orange streak? This starter shouldn’t be saved.However, if you see a pink or orange tint or streak, this is a sure sign that your sourdough starter has gone bad and should be discarded. The stiff starter above was left out at room temperature for two weeks. It’s definitely time to throw it out and start over.Sourdough starter troubleshooting: points to remember1. Well-maintained mature sourdough starters are extremely hardy and resistant to invaders. It’s pretty darn hard to kill them.2. Throw out your starter and start over if it shows visible signs of mold, or an orange or pink tint/streak.I hope you’ll share your own sourdough starter questions and discoveries below. There’s always more to learn when it comes to sourdough!

Starting your journey as a bread baker? It can be daunting — so many confusing terms! — but once you understand what everything means, the process becomes much clearer. Here, we’re diving into one of the most crucial steps to making homemade bread: proofing.What is bread proofing?Everyone knows that bread dough rises, right? Well, that’s basically what proofing means! It’s when bread dough is left to ferment — the yeast (commercial yeast or sourdough culture) consumes the sugars and starches in the dough and expels carbon dioxide — which causes the dough to expand as it traps the carbon dioxide within its strong and stretchy gluten network. As bread proofs, it typically doubles (or nearly doubles) in size, becoming puffy and pillowy.Professional bakers often use terms that are different from the ones used by home bakers. In this case, there are several different terms that are used interchangeably to describe this step. Other words and terms that refer to proofing include rise and fermentation.Which leads to the next point: Bread dough is usually left to rise two different times in the baking process, and proofing technically refers to just the second of these rises but is often used to describe both.Why do you proof bread dough multiple times? And what is bulk fermentation?In a standard bread recipe — take Classic Sandwich Bread for instance — the bread dough is mixed and kneaded, then left in a covered bowl to rise (usually, but not always, doubling in size). This step is often called first rise, first proof, bulk fermentation, or bulk proof. It typically takes around 1 to 2 hours, depending on the dough and the environment in which it’s left to rise.Once the dough has undergone bulk fermentation, it is shaped. In this example, it’s shaped into a sandwich loaf and placed in a bread pan, but this also applies if you’re shaping a boule, a bâtard, or even rolls. Once shaped, the dough is left to proof a second time — this is the step that “proofing” technically refers to. Much of the air was knocked out of the dough while shaping, so this is a chance for the dough to expand again before baking. This step is sometimes called second rise or second proof. What is the best bread proofing temperature?One of the biggest keys to successfully proofing bread dough is temperature. Yeast thrives best in a warm environment, and the warmer the conditions, the quicker your dough will proof. “Breads do well in the low to mid-70s, between 72°F to 78°F,” says Baking Ambassador Martin Philip. “That’s just the right range to encourage yeast activity without having your dough move so fast that it overproofs or fails to develop flavor.”Martin prefers an electric folding bread proofer, which allows him to control the temperature and environment in which his bread proofs. But you can also be intentional about where in your kitchen or home you place your bread to proof to ensure you have the best environment — and temperature — for yeast to thrive.Where should I proof bread dough?Ideally, you want to find the warmest spot in your house, where cozy temperatures will encourage yeast activity. Options include:1. Near a radiator or wood stove2. The top of your fridge3. The inside of your (turned off) oven with the oven light on4. Your empty dryer: Spin it for a couple of minutes to warm it up, then turn it off and pop your container of dough inside5. On top of a heating pad (on low) or dough riser6. In a temperature-controlled proofing box7. In your microwave, with a cup of boiling water tucked in beside itIf you’re baking bread in the summer or your house is naturally warm, you may not need to go with any of these options — your kitchen counter may be warm enough. A digital thermometer is a helpful way to gauge the temperature of your bread throughout proofing: If it stays around 72°F, it’s fine where it is. If it drops in temperature, consider moving to a warmer spot.How should I cover my proofing bread dough?While many cookbooks recommend using a tea towel to cover rising dough, we don’t agree. “Draping your dough with a kitchen towel is not a sufficient cover — your dough will dry out, forming a skin,” says Martin. “Use an airtight lid, bowl cover, or plastic wrap instead.” If you’re doing a lot of bread baking, consider a lidded dough-rising bucket. A dough-rising bucket provides an airtight cover and markings to gauge when your dough actually doubles in size.How long does it take to proof bread?It depends! (Not a very satisfying answer, we know.) Recipes typically include time ranges (“Let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours”), but these should be considered guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Instead, use visual clues to determine if your dough is well-proofed — more on that next.How can I tell if my bread dough is done proofing?If the dough is supposed to double in size during bulk fermentation, place it in a straight-sided container with markings on the side so you can easily and accurately tell when it has doubled in volume.If you’re proofing shaped sandwich bread dough in a loaf pan, look for the dough to rise 1″ over the lip of the pan. (Don’t guess, use a ruler to measure!)For freeform loaves, use the poke test to determine proofing: Lightly flour your finger and poke the dough down about 1″. If the indent stays, it’s ready to bake. If it pops back out, give it a bit more time. See more guidelines here: How do I know if my bread dough has risen enough?And remember: As a general rule, if your dough is proofing in a cool environment, it will take longer. If it’s proofing in a warm environment, it will be quicker. When sandwich bread dough rises 1″ over the rim of the pan, it’s time to bake!For better bread, nail your proof“Proofing is every bit as important as the other foundational aspects of bread making, from mixing to baking,” says Martin. “It’s key to bread’s structure, oven spring, and the beauty of the final loaf.”While proofing may be the most passive step in bread baking — you literally sit back and wait — it’s also one of the most crucial. Being mindful of how you cover your dough, where you place it, and when you bake it will set you up for baking success and better bread.

After all the work it takes to make bread, not to mention time (sometimes multiple days!), the last thing you want to do is stumble at the final hurdle. But that’s exactly what can happen if you underbake your bread — resulting in a gummy, dense crumb — or overbake it, causing it to harden and dry out.Should I use temperature to test my bread for doneness?You can. Many of our recipes call for loaves to be baked to a specific internal temperature, as measured on an instant-read thermometer. (For specifics, check out this blog post: Using a thermometer with yeast bread.) But as a seasoned bread baker, Barb recommends methods that pros, home bakers, and grandmas alike have been using for centuries.“I learned to bake bread at an artisan bakery, and we never took the temperature of our breads,” Barb says. “Professional bakers simply don’t tend to use this method. Instead, I encourage bakers to learn to use their senses to guide them: the aroma, color, feel, and sound of the loaf can provide all the confirmation you need that your bread is fully baked.” An instant-read thermometer can measure the internal temperature of your loaf.Use your senses to gauge doneness (more on that below!), and then turn to a thermometer as a way to confirm your instincts and ensure the bread is fully baked. It’s a secondary tool, rather than the only one. This is especially important because the center of a loaf can reach its “finished” baking temperature several minutes before the end of baking time, so only using temperature can sometimes be misleading.Use your senses: Smell“Just like other baked goods, when the delectable aroma of homemade bread starts wafting through your kitchen, that’s a good sign that your bread is close to being done,” advises Barb. Don’t stray too far from your oven at this point!Use your senses: Sound“For crusty artisan bread, one way to determine doneness is by thumping the bottom of the loaf,” says Barb. “Give it a few quick knocks on the bottom of the loaf with your knuckles; if it sounds hollow, that tells you it’s fully baked.”Use your senses: TouchNo matter what type of bread you’re baking, the finished loaf should feel noticeably lighter in weight than the dough did. “Bread loses quite a bit of water weight as it bakes,” Barb explains. “Moisture loss can vary from one type of bread to the next, but expect at least 15% weight reduction for most breads.”If you ever take an artisan bread class at Baking School, you’ll learn that when crusty loaves of bread (think baguettes or boules) are pulled out of the oven, they should have extremely firm crusts that only yield when squeezed very hard. Use your senses: SightCrust color is a clear visual indicator of bread doneness, but Barb says different types of bread have varying levels of color to look for.Sandwich bread and pan loaves: “The color should be a rich golden brown and the top crust should feel firm. Don’t be afraid to tilt the loaf out of the pan to be sure the sides and bottom are also nicely golden brown and sturdy.”Challah or other free-form enriched loaves : “Look for the lightest part of the loaf (between the braids or an area that isn’t egg-washed) to have taken on some color. It won’t be as dark as the egg-washed surface, but it shouldn’t look too pale or doughy either. Look for a lighter golden brown in these areas. Check the bottom of the loaf for color and firmness as well.”Brioche : “This one can be tricky because you really need to bake to a rich brown color for the interior to be fully baked, since the butter and sugar causes brioche to brown more quickly. Take your bread out when the crust is a deep mahogany and don’t be afraid! Color means flavor.”Crusty artisan loaves and sourdough : “Dark color translates to more flavor, so I go a bit darker with these types of breads. Our Baking Ambassador Martin Philip shares helpful intel in a great article on this subject,” Barb recommends. One takeaway: Look for a little strip of char on the loaf’s ear, like it’s wearing eyeliner. And just because your bread is finished baking, that doesn’t mean it’s doneIt’s important to remove your bread from the oven at the correct time, and it’s handy to have your thermometer to check the internal temperature, but that’s not all it takes to nail the perfect bake.“Remember that bread isn’t fully done when it comes out of the oven,” advises Barb. “Moisture continues to be released as bread cools, and the internal structure of the loaf needs that time to set completely. Unless you want to end up with a gummy interior, let your bread cool completely before slicing into it.” (Moist, dense rye breads with a high percentage of rye flour often benefit from up to 24 hours of cooling time!)In the end, the best way to develop your baking sixth sense is to keep practicing, paying attention to these cues each time. “I know trusting your senses can seem difficult at first,” says Barb, “but this is one of those baking skills that will improve with every loaf you bake!”

1) Weigh, don’t scoop, your flourA little too much flour can be the difference between a dry, cakey cookie and a fudgy, chewy one. And if you’re weighing your flour by volume (i.e., with measuring cups), then it’s very likely you’re adding too much flour.That’s because measuring flour by volume is wildly inconsistent: It all depends on how densely the flour is packed into the cup. If the flour is more condensed, a cup can hold up to 160g of flour. If you fluff and scoop, as we recommend, a cup will hold around 120g.Don’t have a scale? Buy one now! In the meantime, here’s how to measure flour correctly by volume.But if you weigh your flour with a scale? You’ll always get exactly 120g of flour per cup, precisely as our Test Kitchen (or whoever developed your recipe) intends. Which translates to cookies with the perfect texture, whether that’s chewy chocolate chip cookies or crumbly, buttery shortbread.2) Ensure your butter is the right temperatureHere’s a common ingredient line in cookie recipes: 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.Don’t ignore those last three words! Butter needs to be the correct temperature to cream with sugar (more on that below), which means it should be right in the Goldilocks zone — not too hot and soft, and not too cold and hard.But what exactly does room temperature mean? You should be able to press an indent into the butter with one finger, as if you were pressing it into clay. The butter should not be so warm that it’s greasy; it should still be slightly cool, with a bit of resistance when you press it. The best way to get your butter to room temperature is to leave it out on the counter for a few hours. But if you need to get butter to room temperature quickly? We tested tons of different methods to determine the best one. This is what creamed butter and sugar should look like.3) Cream correctlyTypically, one of the first steps when making cookie dough is to cream butter and sugar together. This process aerates the mixture — the hard sugar crystals cut through the room-temperature butter, creating tiny pockets of air that help leaven the cookie when it bakes. If you don’t cream butter and sugar long enough, it will still be gritty and dense, which may result in grainy cookies that don’t puff or spread. Meanwhile, if you cream butter and sugar for too long, it will introduce too much air, causing your cookies to potentially puff excessively and become cakey while baking. Properly creaming should take about four minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.4) Don’t substitute granulated sugar for brown sugarSugar is sugar, right? Nope! Brown sugar is white granulated sugar with molasses added back in — up to 10% molasses, by weight. This translates to several key differences in your cookie baking. Besides adding caramelized flavor and golden color to cookies, brown sugar is acidic and lowers pH — which is important to activate baking soda, a leavener typically called for in recipes that use brown sugar. (Low pH brown sugar + high pH baking soda = the reaction of leavening.) Using granulated sugar instead would require tinkering with acid levels and leaveners to achieve the same reaction. What’s more, if you use white sugar in place of brown, your cookies may spread less (or more, depending on the other ingredients in the recipe).5) Don’t skip (or shorten!) the chillChilling cookie dough can be annoying — do you really want to wait longer for freshly baked cookies? But as tempted as you may be to skip this step, don’t. It’s crucial for many reasons: Chilling cookie dough controls spread, concentrates flavor, and creates cookies with chewy/crisp (rather than soft/doughy) texture. Skipping or shortening that chill may result in thin cookies with less browning and blander flavor. So wait the extra 30 minutes — it’s worth it.Use a cookie scoop to portion dough with ease (and bake on a nonstick cookie mat to control spreading).6) Make scooping seamlessFor a uniform appearance and an even, circular shape in all your cookies, use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough. You can choose your preferred size — small, medium, or large — then scoop and drop in half the time it takes to do so with a spoon.And a bonus tip: If your cookies still turn out a little wonky, you can use a drinking glass to transform them into perfect circles. When the baked cookies are just out of the oven and still hot, take a wide-mouthed drinking glass and turn it over to cover the cookie. Move the glass in a circle, rounding the cookie’s edges as you do so to smooth it into an even shape.7) Line your pan the right wayIt matters how you line your pan, and we’ve done the baking to prove it. In an experiment testing five different pan lining methods against each other, cookbook author Jesse Szewczyk found that cookie spread varied wildly depending on how the pan was lined. A greased baking sheet caused unsightly dark bottoms and burned edges, while an ungreased, unlined baking sheet put cookies at the risk of sticking. Baking on aluminum foil caused the cookies to spread extensively and become thin and crispy.When lining your pan to bake cookies, we recommend two methods. A good, safe bet is to use parchment paper. The cookies spread just enough while maintaining a nicely domed center. For even more consistent results, baking on a nonstick mat resulted in perfectly shaped cookies that spread just the right amount. Leave at least several inches between scoops of cookie dough.8) Give your cookies spaceCookies tend to spread more than you think they will. So as much as you may want to knock out an entire batch of dough at once, resist the urge to crowd them on the baking sheet. Instead, leave several inches in between each ball of dough. Otherwise, the cookies can spread and run into each other, transforming them into messy shapes and ruining the contrast between crispy edges and chewy centers.And for extra insurance, follow the next tip, then space cookies based on what you learn there …9) Bake a batch of test cookiesBefore placing all your dough in the oven and hoping for the best, bake one or two test cookies before scooping and baking the entire batch. That way you can do a complete initial assessment of:1. How much do the cookies spread (or not spread)?2. What size are they (too big, too small, just right)?3. How do they taste (do they need a bit more salt, or cinnamon)?4. What’s their texture (crispy, crunchy, chewy, soft)?5. Does the given baking time work for your oven (were they burned, or underdone)?6. Does it matter if you cool the cookies on a pan vs. on a rack?Adjust accordingly before baking the full batch to guarantee your best bake. For a soft — not snappy — interior, make sure you pull your cookies from the oven at the correct time.10) Don’t overbakeIt’s always best to err on the side of underbaking a cookie, instead of overbaking. Typically, cookies should still look a little underdone when you pull them from the oven — that’s because they’ll continue to bake on the hot baking sheet, and they’ll settle and firm up as they cool. You want to remove your cookies from the oven once they’re just set in the middle, with golden brown edges. If you’re unsure what “set” looks like, keep an eye on their shine. If the dough is shiny as it bakes (thanks to the butter or other fat in it), that shine will significantly reduce or go away once the cookies are set. As soon as they reach that stage, remove them from the oven. Even if they don’t feel firm yet, they’ll continue to set and harden as they cool.Ready to bake your best cookies yet? Find your next recipe with our collection of Classic Cookies.

What is yeast, and how is it made?Yeast is a single-cell organism, part of the fungi kingdom. The yeast we use most often today, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is one of the oldest domesticated organisms known to mankind: It’s been helping humans bake bread and brew alcohol for thousands of years. Fittingly, the Latin translation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is “sweet fungi of beer.”Saccharomyces cerevisiae is just one strain of the more than 1,500 identified species of yeast. But wait, there’s more — literally. Those 1,500 identified yeasts are just an estimated 1% of the yeast population in the world; most species remain as yet unnamed.In order to have a reliable supply of yeast on hand for all of our baking needs, it’s necessary for manufacturers to “domesticate” wild yeast — stabilizing it, and in the process making it 200 times stronger than its wild counterpart.Plant scientists working with a yeast manufacturer identify certain characteristics of wild yeast that they decide are desirable, isolate them, and then replicate them. The resulting yeast is given a “training” diet (such as molasses or corn syrup) to make it reproduce and grow. Once the cells have replicated to a critical mass — a process that generally takes about a week — they’re filtered, dried, packaged, and sent off to the market.What does yeast do?Yeast makes bread rise. Just as baking soda and baking powder make your muffins and cakes rise, yeast makes breads of all kinds rise — sandwich loaves, rolls, pizza crust, artisan hearth breads, and more. If you’re baking with yeast, here’s how to tell if your bread dough has risen enough.How does yeast work?Since yeast doesn’t reproduce without a good supply of oxygen, it stops reproducing once it’s in dough. Instead, it starts to eat: Sugar (sucrose and fructose) is its favorite food. If there is sugar in the dough, that’s what the yeast eats first; once that’s gone, enzymes convert the starch in flour into sugars for the yeast to consume; thus flour is capable of providing yeast with a continuous food source.The byproducts of feeding yeast are carbon dioxide, alcohol, and organic acids. Carbon dioxide released by yeast is trapped in bread dough’s elastic web of gluten; think of blowing up a balloon. Alcohol and organic acids disperse throughout the dough, enhancing baked bread’s flavor. As long as moisture and food are available, yeast will continue to eat and produce carbon dioxide, alcohol, and organic acids. If your bread stops rising, it’s usually not because the yeast isn’t working (or has died); it’s because the yeast has run out of food or the gluten has somehow become “leaky” and begun to deteriorate, failing to retain carbon dioxide.What factors affect how well yeast works?If you’ve ever baked bread, you’ve probably noticed that sometimes yeast seems to work more quickly than other times. Yeast, like any living organism, is happiest when it’s in a comfortable environment. For yeast, this means plenty of food and moisture; the right pH (acid balance); and the right amount of warmth. Yeast prefers temperatures between 70°F and 100°F; for convenience’s sake, and to produce the most flavorful loaf, it’s best to keep rising conditions on the cooler end of that range, rather than warmer, which can cause the dough to rise too quickly, before it’s had a chance to develop its full flavor.Salt and sugar can both slow down yeast activity. Each of them is osmotic, meaning they can pull moisture out of yeast cells, thus adversely affecting how the yeast functions. We add salt to yeast dough both for flavor, and to moderate yeast’s work; we don’t want our loaves rising too fast. (See more here: Why is salt important in yeast bread?) Sugar is optional; a little bit makes yeast happy, but too much — generally, more than 1/4 cup per 3 cups of flour — slows yeast down. Cinnamon is also a yeast inhibitor — you can’t use more than 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour in a dough without it slowing down the rise significantly.My yeast didn’t work! Now what?There are all kinds of reasons why bread fails to rise; weak or dead yeast is one of them. Though you may have just purchased your yeast, it may not have been stored or rotated correctly prior to your purchasing it so that it isn’t, in fact, as new as you think it is. A vacuum-sealed bag of yeast stored at room temperature will remain fresh indefinitely. Once the seal is broken, it should go into the freezer for optimum shelf life. (See “What’s the best way to store yeast?” below.)A vacuum-sealed bag of yeast stored at high temperatures, however — e.g., in a hot kitchen over the summer, or in a hot warehouse before delivery — will lose its effectiveness fairly quickly. After a while, if stored improperly, yeast cells will die. And if you use dead (or dying) yeast in your bread, it won’t rise.To make sure your yeast is active before you start mixing, see our blog post: How to test yeast for freshness. Another reason yeast might not work: You may have killed it by using overly hot water in your recipe; water hotter than 139°F will kill yeast. But don’t stress too much about temperature; 139°F is way hotter than is comfortable to the touch. If you stepped into a bathtub of 139°F water, you’d leap out fast. So long as the water you combine with your yeast feels comfortable to you, it’ll be comfortable for the yeast, too. How much is a “packet” of yeast?You may find older recipes calling for “1 packet active dry yeast.” A packet used to include 1 tablespoon of yeast; currently, it’s closer to 2 1/4 teaspoons, since improved manufacturing methods now produce stronger, more active yeast.Can I vary the amount of yeast in a recipe to quicken or slow down how my dough rises?The amount of yeast you use in your bread dough has a significant bearing on how quickly it’ll rise. By reducing the yeast, you ensure a long, slow rise, one more likely to produce a strong dough able to withstand the rigors of baking. The more yeast in a recipe initially, the quicker it produces carbon dioxide, alcohol, and organic acids. Alcohol, being acidic, weakens the gluten in the dough, and eventually, the dough becomes “porous” and won’t rise, or won’t rise very well.By starting with a smaller amount of yeast, you slow down the amount of carbon dioxide, alcohol, and organic acids being released into the dough, thus ensuring the gluten remains strong and the bread rises well — from its initial rise in the bowl to its final rise in the oven. Remember that this slow rise extends to the shaped loaf, as well as the dough in the bowl. Once you’ve shaped your loaf, covered it, and set it aside to rise again, it may take 2 hours or more, rather than the usual 1 to 1 1/2, to rise fully and be ready for the oven.Here are some guidelines to get you started. If you’re an occasional bread baker, cut back the usual 2 to 2 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, depending on how long you want to let the dough ferment before the final shape-rise-bake process. 1/2 teaspoon would give you lots of flexibility, such as letting the dough “rest” for 16 to 20 hours; 1 teaspoon would be a good amount for an all-day or overnight rise (10 hours or so, at cool room temperature). If you’re using active dry yeast, which isn’t as vigorous as instant yeast, we’d up the range to 3/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoons.I’ve heard that when you’re doubling a recipe, you shouldn’t double the yeast, too. Is that true?You can increase the size of most bread recipes by simply doubling, tripling, etc. all of the ingredients, including the yeast. Depending on the recipe and rising time, you may use as little as 1 teaspoon, or up to 2 1/4 teaspoons (sometimes more) of instant yeast per pound (about 4 cups) of flour.That being said, many home recipes, particularly older ones, use more yeast than this; so when you double or triple the yeast, you may find that your dough is rising too fast — faster than you can comfortably deal with it. In addition, if you’ve increased your recipe by five times or more, and also increased the yeast by five times, keep in mind the time it will take you to shape the dough. You may find the rising dough outpaces your ability to get it shaped and baked. If that’s the case, make a note to reduce the amount of yeast next time. What’s the difference between active dry yeast and instant yeast?In days gone by there was a significant difference between active dry yeast and instant yeast. Today, the difference is minimal, and the two can be used interchangeably — with slightly different results. Let’s look at active dry yeast first.Active dry yeastOriginally, the classic active dry yeast manufacturing process dried live yeast cells quickly, at a high temperature. The result? Only about 30% of the cells survived. Dead cells “cocooned” around the live ones, making it necessary to “proof” the yeast — dissolve it in warm water — before using.These days, active dry yeast is manufactured using a much gentler process, resulting in many more live cells. Thus, it’s no longer necessary to dissolve active dry yeast in warm water before using — feel free to mix it with the dry ingredients, just as you do instant yeast.Active dry yeast, compared to instant yeast, is considered more “moderate.” It gets going more slowly, but eventually catches up to instant — think of the tortoise and the hare. Many bread-bakers appreciate the longer rise times active dry yeast encourages; it’s during fermentation of its dough that bread develops flavor.Fleischmann’s and Red Star are the two brands of active dry yeasts you’re most likely to see in your supermarket.Instant yeastThis yeast is manufactured to a smaller granule size than active dry. Thus, with more surface area exposed to the liquid in a recipe, it dissolves more quickly, and gets going faster than active dry. While you can proof it if you like, it’s not necessary; like active dry yeast, simply mixing it into your bread dough along with the rest of the dry ingredients works just fine.One caveat: In dough that’s high in sugar (generally, more than 1/4 cup sugar per 3 cups of flour), the sugar evens things out, and instant yeast and active dry yeast will perform the same. (For very sweet breads, you might want to consider using SAF Gold Instant Yeast; for more on that, read below.)Can I use active dry and instant yeasts interchangeably?Yes, they can be substituted for one another 1:1. We’ve found that active dry yeast is a little bit slower off the mark than instant, as far as dough rising goes; but in a long (2- to 3-hour) rise, the active dry yeast catches up. If a recipe using instant yeast calls for the dough to “double in size, about 1 hour,” you may want to mentally add 15 to 20 minutes to this time if you’re using active dry yeast.When dough is rising, you need to judge it by how much it’s risen, not how long it takes; cold weather, low barometric pressure, and a host of other factors affect dough rising times, so use them as a guide, not an unbreakable rule.One time when you might not want to use instant and active dry yeasts interchangeably is when you’re baking bread in a bread machine. Since bread machines use a higher temperature to raise dough, substituting instant for active dry yeast 1:1 may cause bread to over-rise, then collapse. When baking in the bread machine and substituting instant yeast for active dry, reduce the amount of instant yeast by 25%.RapidRise, instant, bread machine yeast … is there truly any difference?Bread machine yeast and instant yeast are the same yeast. RapidRise, Fleischmann’s branded instant yeast, is also an instant yeast, but a different strain than SAF or Red Star.We find RapidRise is faster out of the gate than SAF or Red Star, but it gives out sooner. And since we like to give our loaves leisurely rises (a long rise brings out bread’s flavor), we like SAF or Red Star. What’s gold yeast?SAF Gold Instant Yeast, another SAF variety, is an “osmotolerant” yeast, perfect for sweet breads and any dough with a high amount of sugar. SAF Gold works best when the amount of sugar is between 10% and 30% of the amount of the flour, by weight (this is called a “baker’s percentage”). So, for a 3-cup-flour loaf (360g flour), you’d choose SAF Gold if the sugar is greater than 3 tablespoons, or up to about a heaping 1/2 cup. Understand that the greater the amount of sugar, the more slowly your dough will rise.How does SAF Gold work? Sugar likes to absorb water; and when there is sugar in bread dough, it pulls water away from yeast, leaving the yeast thirsty. The yeast cells in SAF Gold are bred to require less liquid to function, so they’re better able to withstand sugar’s greedy ways with water.SAF Gold is best used in sweet breads; for “lean” doughs (low in sugar and fat), SAF generally recommends red-label yeast.What’s fresh yeast?Originally, fresh yeast was the only yeast option, until dried yeast arrived on the market in the 1940s. It comes in a moist, firm block with the consistency of clay. Fresh yeast lends a slightly sweeter, richer flavor to baked goods compared to dry yeast. One downside, though, is its short shelf life: Unlike dry yeast, it’s highly perishable and must be stored in the refrigerator. Even then, it usually only lasts about a week or two — opened or unopened.Despite these differences, both fresh and dry yeast perform the same function in baking, and fresh yeast will make your bread rise just like dry yeast. For more info on fresh yeast and how to convert between fresh and dry yeast, see our previous post: How do I bake with fresh yeast?What’s the best way to store yeast?We recommend transferring dry yeast (not fresh) to an airtight container (glass or acrylic) and storing it in the freezer for up to a year. If you buy yeast in bulk (e.g., a 1-pound vacuum-packed brick), open it up; divide it into three or four smaller portions, and store each in a tightly closed container. A zip-top freezer bag works well.When you’re ready to use yeast, remove the bag or jar from the freezer, spoon out what you need, and quickly return it to the freezer. Yeast manufacturers say you should let frozen yeast rest at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes before using; frankly, we’re usually too impatient to do that, and have never experienced any problem using yeast straight from the freezer.

For many new bakers and a few veterans, too, cakes are some of the first baked goods we make on our own. We may start with a mix, but then when we realize how easy a cake can be, we branch out to from-scratch cakes and encounter a deceptively simple direction right off the bat: “Cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.”Why we cream butter and sugarIn creaming the butter and sugar together, you are using the sugar to aerate the butter and fill it with bubbles that can capture the gasses released by your leavener (usually baking soda and/or baking powder). The more fine bubbles you have in your network, the lighter in texture your cakes will be and the finer the crumb. This is true for your muffins as well, while it makes your cookies light and crisp instead of hard and dense.How to cream butter and sugar the right wayJust like Goldilocks, we can encounter a variety of issues when dealing with this phrase. Too hard, too soft, and just right. Just what does softened butter look like? Should it be melted? How long do you beat? Should I set my mixer to low or high? How do I know when it’s right?What your butter should look like before creaming Not too hard, not too soft — just right.Your butter should be at room temperature before creaming. But what exactly does that mean? You should be able to press an indent into the butter with one finger, as if you were pressing it into clay. The butter should not be so warm that it’s greasy; it should still be slightly cool, with a bit of resistance when you press it.The best way to get your butter to room temperature is to leave it out on the counter for a few hours. But if you need to get butter to room temperature quickly? We tested tons of different methods to determine the best one.Creaming butter and sugar: How temperature makes a differenceNext, let’s explore what will happen if you cream your sugar with butter that’s too cold, too warm, and just right. Up first, butter that’s too cold.If your butter is too cold and hardAgain, the main reason you want to cream butter and sugar is to use the sugar crystals to punch little holes in the butter and have those holes capture air. Butter that is too cold won’t expand very easily, and it’ll never capture much air. The result? Heavy and dense, the creamed butter will resemble a chunky, grainy spread that’s the consistency of natural peanut butter. There’s also little or no change in color. Properly creamed butter and sugar will be pale yellow in color, but not white (more on this later). Sugar creamed with cold butter is chunky and dense.If your butter is too warm and softIf the butter is too soft or melted, the air bubbles will be created but then will collapse again. This causes a greasy, wet mixture that will result in heavy, soggy cakes. Any air bubbles you’ve managed to create will also be knocked out as soon as the eggs and flour are added. (As a side note, this is also what happens if you try to cream oil and sugar. Leave the oil for recipes that don’t call for the creaming method.) Sugar creamed with warm or melted butter is grainy and greasy.If your butter is just rightNow that we’ve seen both extremes, let’s check out the results when the butter is at the right temperature. The mixture is lightened in color, it’s visibly fluffy, and it’s not clinging to the sides of the bowl. Sugar creamed with room temperature butter is pale and fluffy.Let’s look at the three results side by side. Starting on the left: too cold and the mixture sits in a lump. Too warm, and the mixture spreads out and has an oily layer. Finally, properly creamed, the mixture sits up tall and has visible fluffy peaks. From left to right: sugar creamed with cold butter, warm butter, and room temperature butter.Besides looks, the feel of each mixture will be different as well. Under-creamed and your mix will feel like wet sand or damp cornmeal. Over-creamed, and your mix will have the feel of oil and sugar on your fingers, rather like a facial scrub. Your well-creamed mix will be moist and light and the sugar will be nearly dissolved. You’ll barely feel any grit when you rub it between your fingers.The right mixing speed and duration for creamingOf course, having correctly softened butter is just one part of the equation, albeit a big one. Mixing at too high or too low a speed and for too short or long a time will also wreak havoc with your creaming. With the advent of the more powerful stand mixers that we use today, gone are the days of having to whip the butter and sugar mixture on high speed for several minutes to achieve good results. Instead, a moderate speed (typically speed 3 to 4 on a stand mixer) for 2 to 3 minutes is sufficient to get the aeration you’re looking for, being sure to scrape the bowl halfway through.Under-creamed butter and sugarIf you under-cream your butter and sugar mixture, it will remain dense, grainy, and dark in color: Under-creamed butter and sugarIf you under-cream your butter and sugar mixture, it will remain dense, grainy, and dark in color.Correctly creamed butter and sugarPerfectly creamed butter and sugar should be light, fluffy, and pale in color (but not white). Perfectly creamed butter and sugarPerfectly creamed butter and sugar should be light, fluffy, and pale in color (but not white).Over-creamed butter and sugarIf you beat too long and hard, the mixture will be over-creamed, becoming nearly white in color. Because it’s too aerated, it can result in dense, gummy streaks in your cake when baking. Over-creamed butter and sugar.Unfortunately, if the butter and sugar has gone this far there’s no going back. We hope you’ve found this information helpful. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, and we hope these photos and our video will help you achieve the cakes and bakes of your dreams.