One of my mad skills I”m going after is how to bake the dank bread. By this I mean anything that I would like to eat rather than the hard lumps of dough I’ve made before. To that end I’ve found two big clues worthy to share.

First, it’s all about the yeast. Those little guys have to get active and produce the gas to make your bread fluffy and delicious.

Second, bake a lot of bread. I haven’t yet gotten the right mix, but I’m getting closer every time. Don’t be discouraged if you get crappy tasting dense bread, just try again and focus on one aspect.

Ziggle’s French

For yeast, patience is key. The recipes I’ve used have all underestimated that time it takes for yeast to activate and for the dough to rise. To activate yeast, mix equal parts flour and water and throw in a teaspoon-ish amount of yeast to a two-cup mixture. Let sit in a warm spot until it bubbles and froths up a little. You’ll immediately realize what active yeast looks like when you see it. This mixture is your engine for the bread.

Following yeast I’ve been adding flour, milk, butter and a little water. Basically, mix flour and water/milk to the right proportions to get good looking dough, and then add some fat like melted butter or olive oil. Milk also has fat in it, but I don’t think it could hurt to add more. Then let this rise once or twice (again, keep warm and it will be obvious when it’s risen) and shape into loaves, baguettes, whatever, and bake. I baked at 350 until it looked like bread. I also painted the top with melted butter and threw on some salt on one loaf and special Lebanese spices from Melissa on the other. This is what my best batch looked like.

The Dank Bread!

Basically, with bread, it’s active yeast, flour, water and fat. People have been baking bread forever, it’s not rocket science. Getting it delicious takes time and practice, but luckily it’s fun and easy to bake all the time. Future experiments could include a solar oven, mixing in nuts, raisins, garlic, gummy bears…