Learning Through Mistakes in Bread Baking

I didn't intend to make a post, but this happened, so excuse me if there are not many photos...

Some of the best things I discover and learn come from making mistakes. It has helped me become less afraid of errors, and because of that, I never hesitate to try new things or explore different methods. There is always something to learn in the process.

One example happened today while baking bread. When I first started learning, I followed recipes very closely but rarely got the results I wanted. I was aiming for soft, fluffy bread similar to shop-bought loaves that stay fresh longer. Over time after my experimentations and trial and error, I eventually achieved that result. I thought I had finally perfected it until I only realised one thing today that will make my bread-making even better.

I used my regular strong bread flour but I nearly forgot to add the yeast. I only realised after I had already kneaded the dough by hand for at least 20 minutes. I felt disappointed and thought I had wasted the flour.

To save it, I decided to dissolve the yeast in a small amount of water and worked it into the dough. I stretched and folded the dough many times. It was difficult at first, and I doubted it would spread evenly. I expected the batch to fail and had already started accepting that outcome.

However, after the first rise, the dough had more than doubled in just a short time.

When I began shaping it, it became so active that the surface started to puff up like a balloon within minutes.

Look at that! I’ve never seen a dough balloon so smooth!

I could see it popping as I shaped the dough balls.

They were fun to watch as they got bigger and bigger but wouldn't pop!

I unknowingly used a stretch-and-fold technique to fully incorporate the yeast and make the gluten stronger.

The surface of this dough springs back when you press on it.

Not only did it distribute the yeast properly, but it also strengthened the gluten structure. I usually only use stretch and fold for sourdough, but now I realise it also works very well for regular bread dough rather than just kneading.