How To Make Bread (without a bread machine)

Step 2 Make the sponge

This recipe uses what I call a "sponge." The sponge will activate the yeast and get things started; getting the yeast warm, happy, and ready to go

Start by mixing the hot water and the flour. Then, add 2 Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. oil, 2 Tbsp. yeast, and 2 tsp. salt.

Let this sit for about 8 or 10 minutes. Assuming your water was hot enough, it should be nice and bubbly.

Comments

[BUBBA RAY]

just got done fixin er up cant wait to try it

[nfarrow]

So how hot should the water be?

[skandi]

Luke warm water - which should feel like barely warm.
The optimum temperature for yeast to grow is 37 degrees Celsius (body temperature). If you are unable to touch the water for a prolonged period of time, the water temperature is ~ 55 deg. C (too hot!!!!!!!!).

[skyshiro]

 If you're having problem with the water temperature, what I did was put the faucet on the hottest it can go. By the time you add all the ingredients and add the yeast the water will have cooled down to the right temperature. 

Also the bread is delicious.

[merchison]

If the hot water from your tap comes by way of copper pipes, there could be dissolved copper in it. Not healthy. When I make bread, I am usually having a hot drink anyway so I use hot water from the kettle. If it is too hot, I add cold water from the refrigerator.

[Volgrrr]

Copper pipe is used in most residential buildings to convey water but, judging by your comment, I can only assume your house does not have copper pipes installed. So what do you recommend the rest of us 'copper piper's' do - put our kettles outside, cross our fingers and hope it will rain soon?

[moebuspcgold]

Don't be afraid of copper. Filtered water is a joke, I hate it when people blame their poor quality of life on their environment around them, yet fail to realise that they live a unhealthy lifestyle.

[drinkmorecoffee]

It's my understanding that the issue with hot water coming through the tap is lead contamination, not copper. In fact, odds are if the hot water comes through copper pipe so does the cold water. But yeah, if you live in an old house it wouldn't hurt to heat the water in a kettle.

[drinkmorecoffee]

This only works if your hot water isn't coming out of the faucet at 180 F (like mine, 9 months out of the year!). But yes, good rule of thumb.

[asdterror]

If you're having trouble with your yeast try the baguette yeast sponge. Mix however much yeast your recipe calls for with about 1/3 the amount of total flour. Add enough water to make a thick batter and let it rise overnight. Then follow the recipe normally. This adds a lot of flavor to the bread. Sometimes I do I quasi-sourdough by adding a half cup of flour and a bit of water to the sponge every twelve hours until I have about 2/3 the amount of flour the recipe calls for. This is kinda in line with abhix1's "It just takes longer to rise", but at least now you have an excuse. Just put it in an off oven and try not to think about it. :)

[cantxcape]

I have never made bread before, am worried about this tempature thing. Now what happens if my water wasn't quite warm enough and the yeast doesn't activate as quickly. It's been 10 minutes and not quite as bubbly as it should be. Can I still go on with the next steps or wait longer? I might not even get a response in time to figure this one out. :) I guess I'll see what happens.

[abhix1]

cantxcape, If your yeast is good, the tempature is not that critical. It just takes longer to rise. you can even put your bread in the fridg to rise. Good luck

[yeasterday]

Whoa. You need to be far more specific that "hot-ish" to describe the yeast water temperature. Too cold, and the yeast won't activate quickly enough; too hot and you'll kill the yeast and end up with flour and water bricks. Use an instant-read thermometer and make sure the water is between 110 and 115 degrees ( or check the package). If the yeast doesn't bubble, expand and smell yeasty after a few minutes, you could be using old, tired yeast. Better to throw it out at this stage and start over with fresh yeast. And you should add all the other stuff later - all you need at this step is water, yeast, and sugar. Salt will actually inhbit the growth of the yeast. Add the salt with the first cup of flour. When you do add the other liquids and then dry ingredients to the yeast (in that order), make sure they're room temperature.

[metrometro]

Seconded. Even with breadmakers, the wrong (or dead) yeast will screw it up. The good news is, if you can keep the yeast happy, the rest is pretty forgiving.