Sharon, I am a "newbie" since I've only been doing this a month or so, but I increased the water to make a softer dough in the beginning and keep it a little moister in general. We've been very happy with the results!

Alexa

Chase, I'm sure you know about their website. They recently added a FAQ section that may be of help. They address this question. Be sure to read all the comments after. I'll link it below.

I have only made breads with whole grains from ABin5. I never made the master recipe. The first time they were a little dense for me too. But, I learned to let the bread "rise"/rest until it is no longer really cool to the touch before putting in the oven. This takes several hours in my kitchen for a full size loaf. Once it is no longer cool, I slash and then slide it into the oven onto the hot stone. The loaves never rise much on the counter but they have a lot of 'oven spring'.

You might want to try a different recipe from the book. We love the European Potato Rye - without the caraway seeds. Beautiful custard crumb with varying sized holes. Nice moisture content. It's not light a fluffy like a baguette, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ - Rising

Don't forget to check the Errors tab on their website. They made corrections their for many recipes in the book.

Sharon, I just made bread bowls using the Master recipe. A double batch of the dough yields enough dough for me to make a giant mufalletta, med pizza and 8 small bread bowls.

I just love having the dough in the refrigerator...ready to go!

My tip... I thought about this as I was making the bread bowls.... my dough was pretty soft so I dusted the top with flour, and set the bottom of the dough in a little flour. This made it easier to shape. Now, I don't know how to say this in scientific terms, but keep pulling the sides of the dough to the bottom. Do all the way around several times. dust with more flour as necessary. As you do this you are lengthening the dough strands, giving the bread more structure. I'm not sure, but I think that some who are ending up with flat bread are not doing the shaping enough. The shaping replaces the kneading in this recipe...

Nancy

I like better after it's been in the fridge for a several days. A week if I can wait that long. I think it has better flavor. Mine takes several hours to rise coming out of the fridge. Two more like three before it's up to room temp trsinc mentioned. If I've goy cloths in the dryer I'll set my peel on top that to help things along.

I agree with Nancy on the shaping too. I do the same as she does.

Here is a pic of one of mine cooling if that helps to show you how mine come out most of the time.

Happy bread making!

David

That would be two or three hours! LOL

So Sharon...did you make a batch of dough?

Nancy, I did. I added a bit more water based on Alexa's advice and I also found it in the FAQ trisinc linked to. Thanks for the link I didn't know about it.

Taking David's advice I'm letting it sit in the fridge a few days. I'll make sure it is close to room temp when I shape it tomorrow and I'll follow your shaping advice.

I'll report back with results.

I'm only saying this because of how I'm reading what you just said... But, be sure to shape the loaf straight out of the fridge, then place on the peel or whatever you are letting it rise/rest on. I cover it with a dry dish towel. Then after however long it takes to come to room temp, slash the loaf and slide it into the oven.

Does that make any sense? Or is that what you already meant and I just read it wrong? lol

Happy V Day.

trsinc, I know this has been discussed before but I never let a little thing like that stop me from asking a question LOL. How do you store any leftover bread after you've had a meal? I covered some with a linen cloth one night last week and it was hard as a rock the next day. Supposedly, putting it in a ziplock bag is not a good idea. I've never been happy keeping any that wasn't eaten the day I made it.
I still have a good bit of the mix left in a container in the fridge and I'm reluctant to make it again. There's only 2 of us so a little goes a long way.

Thanks.
jude

Jude, one solution is to make rolls or much smaller loaves, I made these, just two for a dinner in my toaster oven on a small stone. It worked well, it also limited the amount we could eat at one time. I haven't made the ABin5 bread in a while but I've been thinking about it. In our dry climate, I don't have much luck storing bread either.

Lee

Well, Jude, I'm probably not much help. Our oven is HUGE (I can fit 4 full size cookie sheets in it and I feel like it uses a ton of electricity) so when I have the dough in the fridge I do not bake every day. I just bake two days in a row to get it all cooked up and freeze it. We have a deep freezer so space is not an issue for us. It's just 2 here as well.

Like Lee, I always make rolls or small round loaves that we can eat at one sitting. But, I still bake up several at once and then freeze them. One plus for this is that it doesn't take as long for them to come to room temp.

Occasionally I will let a couple sit until the next day in a tupperware type container. With either the frozen (thawed completely on the counter) or the day old, I rub the outside with olive oil, wrap in foil, and reheat in a 300 degree oven... usually our toaster oven. I've always had fresh tasting bread this way with a nice crunchy - not rock hard- crust.

HOWEVER, I have not made the plain white bread so I don't know how that particular one reacts.

I also have not sliced any up and frozen as we prefer a nice 'hunk' of bread at dinner rather than a slice. It just seems to taste better that way, no matter what recipe or technique was used, lol.

And I agree with everyone else about the shaping and letting the dough age for a few days.

Thanks, y'all. Maybe freezing it is the way to go. When I made it a few days ago we had my SIL for dinner so I made an extra roll...didn't want her to think I was being stingy. LOL Had it just been the 2 of us I would not have made the extra. I love bread so-o-o much and I hate to see it go to waste. And ... I wouldn't slice it up either.

I'm trying it again tomorrow and I'll see how it turns out.

Thanks again, jude

Reporting back....

The bread was so much better this time. I loved both the texture and the flavour and will always let it sit a few days before using.

Still didn't get the rise I would have liked. The bread stays rather flatish. Not sure how to correct that. I did cloak it as Nancy describes but I just don;t get much of a rise ( 2 hours!) out of the fridge and the oven bounce is not that significant.

Matters not the bread is delicious, easy and convenient so I'll stick at it. I have another loaf resting right now and then of Friday I'm going to use the rest for pizza.

Thanks for all your help gang!

Glad to hear things went okay for you Sharon. I've been hit or miss with higher loaves. If I quarter the dough and make smaller ones I get more of rise most of the time but not always..LOL! Anyway, I like to have it on hand and sometimes just do a couple of rolls like Lee pictured. I need to try it for pizza crust one of these days.

David

Sharon, I think you'll be very pleased with the dough for pizza dough. I really love it for that. I have the same difficulties with the bread as you...in all the times I've made it , I've never heard the crackle when it comes out of the oven...

Stacy, I don't hear as much crackle if I just throw in ice cubes, which is what I do when in a hurry. Pouring hot water into a shallow, pre-heated pan produces more crackle. Sometimes I don't even use any water, if I want a softer crust.

Sharon, glad you liked the bread! You could try a longer rise...or... start the rise in a barely warm oven. I like to preheat for 1 min, turn it off then stick my bread in to rise.
Yes....I have forgotten to turn off the oven. :(

Lee-I love your idea of baking a small loaf or a couple rolls on a stone in the toaster oven. I was getting a bit frustrated because I couldn't really measure the wet dough to make 3, 1 1/2 pound loaves and I'd end up with dough left for only a small 3rd loaf. I didn't want to heat my wall oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes to heat the stone and then 45 minutes to cook the bread. Where could I find a small stone?
Thanks,
Robin

Robin, try Bed, Bath and Beyond or maybe Walmart for the small stone.

jude

You can get unglazed quarry tiles at Lowe's or Home Depot type stores that should fit in your toaster oven. Make sure they are unglazed!

I've had good luck getting the crackle most of the time....love it just as much as hearing the ping on canning jars.

David

Robin, I got my stone at Kitchen Collection at an outlet mall. I checked but they are not showing it online. I know I paid $3.99 for it. Amazon has a toaster oven stone but it is much more expensive - if you have a Kitchen Collection near you, call them and see if they have it, if not, I'd go with an unglazed quarry tile. The quarry tile will work fine, you just won't have as much area to work with but it will be large enough for a couple of rolls or a small loaf. I hate heating my large oven for just a small bit of any food.

Sharon, I have combined the techniques of the ABin5 and the NY Times no knead recipe. When I bake an ABin5 loaf, I preheat a covered 2 or 2 1/2 quart cast iron oval roaster for at least half an hour. Let the dough do it's rise after shaping on a piece of parchment (or not, it's just easier to get in the pan with the paper) and lift it with the paper into the heated pan and cover. The dough does not stick if you bake it in a preheated pan without parchment, it's just easier to handle on the paper. No water or ice is needed in the oven, the hot covered pan keeps in the steam that is released from the dough. When the loaf is half baked, take the cover off. The pan contains the sideways spread of the dough and you get a much higher loaf. You get a nice crackled crisp crust this way too. Don't put a preheated cast iron pan on a stone or you will probably be cleaning up pieces of your baking stone - I know!

Lee

I was going to say the same thing as Lee...I don't preheat as long...just 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees, but I like the results. I also use a cast iron pot and get very good oven spring and the crackling awesome crust. I love the idea of doing rolls.

Thanks ladies. I'll try that next time!