breads and rolls

lean dough breads

Lean doughs contain only relatively small amounts of sugar and fat, if any. Breads made from lean dough tend to have a chewier texture, more bite, and a crisp crust. Hard rolls, French and Italian-style breads, and whole wheat, rye, and pumpernickel are considered lean.

hard rolls

These rolls have a delicious crackly/crunchy crust, partly the result of allowing them to proof in the refrigerator, partly from an egg white wash applied just prior to baking.

Their texture is light and airy, rather than substantial, which makes them a wonderful mini-sandwich roll. Make them slightly larger, and they're perfect for hamburgers or grilled sausage. Or serve them at breakfast, with butter and preserves, as they do in Europe.

baguettes

These crunchy baguettes feature a chewy interior riddled with holes, and a crisp, deep-golden crust. While it's a challenge to make "real" baguettes at home, this version is probably as close to an artisan bakery version as you're going to find.

The ingredients in baguettes are pure simplicity: flour, water, salt, and yeast. It's the baker's technique that turns an average baguette into an all-star. Don't expect perfection the first time out, but the more you practice your baguette-baking techniques, the better the baguette you'll make.

classic sandwich rye bread

Here's the bread you know and love if you grew up enjoying deli-style sandwiches on rye. The familiar caraway and onion flavors shine through in this loaf made with our medium rye flour, highlighting the flour's tangy flavor notes. If they're not the reason you've come to appreciate rye bread, the caraway and onion can easily be omitted.

Either way, this is one loaf to keep in your repertoire for homemade sandwiches piled high with whatever fillings your heart desires.

pumpernickel bread

Molasses and a tiny bit of cocoa powder give this bread its rich, dark color. This moist, dense-grained bread, with the texture of the popular imported pumpernickel you can buy in the gourmet food section of some stores, is perfect for slicing thinly and using as a base for canapes (chopped liver and onions or pickled herring come to mind). Spread with sweet butter, it's also a tasty accompaniment to cheese and fruit, and makes a superior sandwich. Just remember to slice it thinly; it's heavy, and a little goes a long way. Once you try this homemade pumpernickel, you'll never have to buy it at the supermarket again!

rustic italian ciabatta

This rustic Italian loaf is filled with irregular holes, all the better to trap a drizzle of olive oil. Cut lengthwise, ciabatta makes a wonderful Italian-style sandwich.

water bagels

The bagel is a breakfast classic, and great ones are hard to find. If you don't live near a bakery, or if you just like the challenge of making your own, the following recipe should get you started.

rich dough breads

A flour-based dough is considered enriched if fat, eggs, dairy and/or sugar have been added. Doughs with a good deal of butter (like brioches or croissants) are called rich doughs. Egg doughs (like challahs or brioches) are also considered rich doughs. These additional ingredients change the bread's overall texture, as well as the way the dough is handled. Rich doughs have a cake-like texture after baking. Parker House rolls, cloverleaf rolls, soft rolls, and Danish are examples of rich doughs.

brioche buns

Brioche buns are among the wide variety of rolls and buns King Arthur bakers produce at our bakery daily. These particular buns are rich, tender, and pillow-like, similar to our bakery's, and are the perfect vessel for a big, juicy burger.

classic challah bread

This deep-gold, light-textured bread is traditionally served on the Jewish Sabbath and other holidays. The dough is wonderfully smooth and supple, making it an ideal candidate for braiding. The simplest way to go is a three-strand braid; but feel free to try the slightly more complex four-strand braid, or even a six-strand braid, which makes a striking presentation.

herb and onion rolls

Dried onion adds a pleasantly mild hit of flavor to these soft, buttery herb rolls. Shape them as stand-alone rounds; as soft-sided pull-apart rolls; as cloverleaf rolls, or bake them in a muffin pan for extra height. The dough is extremely versatile and easy to work with.

cinnamon rolls

Whether you enjoy these pillowy cinnamon rolls hot from the oven or up to a week later (if they last that long!), they retain their wonderful soft texture. Paired with classic bold cinnamon flavor and rich vanilla icing, the result is truly the ultimate cinnamon roll.

sourdough breads

rustic sourdough

This chewy loaf has rich, deep, flavor with mild sourdough tang. Since it includes commercial yeast as well as starter, you're guaranteed a good, strong rise — even if your starter isn't quite up to snuff.

One of the biggest deterrents to making sourdough bread is nailing the timing. First, there’s the question of your starter. Has it been fed recently enough? Will it be ripe in time for baking? And then there’s the dough itself. Will you be available to divide, shape, and bake it when the recipe indicates? Do you need to quit your job in order to tend to your sourdough?

Here’s what makes it great: It can be made with unfed sourdough discard directly from your fridge. No need to prep eight hours before to have an active, ripe starter for mixing. It’s mostly hands-off — the dough is developed with folds, rather than kneading, then goes straight into a long bulk fermentation that’s flexible enough to fit your schedule. (Those folds also make this higher hydration dough easy to handle.) Once shaped, it undergoes another long rise, anywhere from 8 to 12 hours — whatever fits your schedule, not the bread’s. The final loaf (which gets baked in a Dutch oven for bakery-worthy crust) has an open crumb, glossy interior, and gorgeous height.

This lesson is brought to you by King Arthur Baking Co.

www.kingarthurbaking.com/

The King Arthur Baking Company, formerly the King Arthur Flour Company, is an American supplier of flour, ingredients, baking mixes, cookbooks, and baked goods. It also runs two baking schools, one at its Norwich, Vermont bakery and the other in Burlington, Washington.

The company was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1790 and is now based in Norwich, Vermont. It is employee-owned and a B Lab-certified benefit corporation.

in conclusion

If you have a passion for the culinary arts and a true vocation – learn and experiment! This will definitely lead you to take the right path with excellent results. Don’t forget that constant practice and training will help you achieve your ultimate goals. It is a matter of trial and error. Experiment with textures, flavors, and colors. Be passionate about what you do – “Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.” If you love to bake, GO FOR IT!

Baking for other people – your family, close friends, paying customers, and even strangers helps reduce stress and increases the feeling of well-being. Baking achieves the act of “mindfulness”. This is not simply a good technique to ease stress but also helps keep negative thoughts away. How? By concentrating on your task and discovering new smells and flavors generated by the wide variety of ingredients used in baking. Plus baked items taste great and everyone loves to get baked goods!

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