Top Five bread baking strategies that helped elevate my baking from flavorless bricks to beautiful delicious loaves.

Top Five bread baking strategies that helped elevate my baking from flavorless bricks to beautiful delicious loaves.

Author: House of Bread January 7, 2025 Duration: 21:17

Happy New Year!

1. Embrace the fact you will have failures, and it is all part of the journey.  

 2. While embracing the learning curves you still want to set yourself up for success by using the right type of flour.    

3.  Recognize the correct moisture content needed to produce a loaf of bread.   

4. Understand it is not an exact science and embrace the fact that there is no set rising time as it all depends. 

5.  Just as all environments are different producing different fermentation times, same with ovens.  They produce variations in the product while baking at the same temperture setting. Focus effort on getting the product properly baked.   

Have fun and relax you’ll get it right and above all else make sure you are Happy Baking!     Sheila

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If you’d like more information about House of Bread, please visit www.houseofbread.com.   For our Utube channel, please go here https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCXH5NgT8vpnAuSuZN5AxEQQ.    




Sheila McCann, the founder of Baking with House of Bread, has spent a lifetime with her hands in flour. This podcast is an extension of that journey, a shared space where the quiet science and profound satisfaction of bread-making come to life. Each episode feels like a conversation in a sunlit kitchen, moving far beyond simple recipes. Sheila delves into the why behind the techniques, discussing the personality of different grains, the magic of a wild sourdough starter, and the small adjustments that turn a good loaf into a great one. You’ll hear the practical sounds of baking-the scrape of a dough scraper, the rustle of parchment, the crackle of a perfectly crusted bake-alongside stories from her own trials and errors at the helm of House of Bread. It’s for anyone who finds rhythm in kneading dough or curiosity in fermentation. The focus is on creating nourishing, flavorful breads that anchor a home, exploring everything from sturdy whole-grain sandwich loaves to intricate festive pastries. Tune in for a thoughtful, hands-on dialogue that celebrates bread not just as food, but as craft, tradition, and a simple, daily joy. This podcast naturally finds its home in the intersection of art and sustenance, inviting you to listen, learn, and bake along.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Baking with House of Bread
Podcast Episodes
Chocolate chip cookies-moist, fluffy and bursting with chocolate flavor! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:09
· 3⁄4cup white sugar · 1cup brown sugar · 1cup butter, slightly softened at room temperature 10-15 minutes · 1tablespoon vanilla · 2 eggs, · 3cups all-purpose or pastry flour · 3⁄4teaspoon baking soda · 3⁄4teaspoon salt…
Strawberry Cream Cheese Braided Loaf [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:49
Delicious combination of fresh strawberries, cream cheese with a white based yeasted bread as the base. I suggest the Grandma’s white recipe for the dough that is below and discussed with more detail in episode five. Aft…
Modifying the baking process to fit time constraints. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:43
Bread made properly takes time, but sometimes we just don't have the four hours needed. In this episode, Sheila explains some options that may work for people trying to break up the process to better fit into their busy…
Taking care of your sourdough starter. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:02
When in doubt don't throw it out. Refresh, by discarding half of it, and especially any of the smelly, colorful chunks-then just add about the same amount of volume of flour and water. Your starter is stronger than you t…
Sourdough English Muffins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:21
Show Notes. Sourdough English Muffins ¾ cup of sourdough starter 1 cup of warm water (approximately 100 degrees). 1 packages or one tablespoons of active dry yeast. 2 tablespoons of honey 3 cups of unbleached bread flour…
Lemon bars, a tart yet sweet lemony treat. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:38
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crust: combine together the flour butter, lemon zest and powdered sugar. 3 ¾ cups of white pastry or all-purpose flour 1 ¾ cups plus 2 Tablespoons of butter softened (not melted but softened)…
Traditional French Baguettes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
Thanks for listening. 400 g of warm water or 1 ¾ cup 730 g of bread flour or 5.2 cups 4g of instant yeast or 2 tsp 10 g of salt or 1 2/3 tsp Flour for dusting. For traditional baguettes about 450G (14oz) baguettes, 150g…
Sprouted Grain, not to be baked like Ezekiel did in the Bible. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:45
To sprout or not to sprout? Why not, as it is pretty consistent that adding some sprouts to your diet is good for you and you don't need to bake over any dung. The soaking and sprouting process enriches the wheat, which…