The Simple Tip From Paul Hollywood To Help You Avoid Flat Bread Dough

People have been baking bread for time immemorial, with the oldest bread ever discovered being nearly 9,000 years old. So, you'd think by now we wouldn't keep running into the same issues. Alas, flat bread dough plagues bakers every now and again. The fix, however, is simple — make sure you aren't mixing your salt and yeast together when preparing your quintessential sourdough farm loaf.

Salt inhibits yeast growth, but this isn't always bad. Both salt and yeast draw on moisture: to dissolve salt and grow yeast. When they are mixed in the dough, they have to vie for the water, and salt usually ends up winning. The positive side of this is that the yeast doesn't bloom like crazy, and you don't end up with a bubbly, gelatinous mess. The downside, though, is that sometimes the yeast doesn't get enough water, and this will ultimately slow down the proofing dramatically. This results in under-proofed dough, no matter how long it sits, and the bread will end up with multiple 'tears' and a harder, tighter crumb.

Luckily, Paul Hollywood is here to help. The simple fix is to include the yeast and salt in different sections of the bowl, stir those into their own small wells, and after this, mix everything together (via YouTube). This will distribute them more equally among the flour, and when you add the fat and water, they won't need to compete for the moisture as much. Note that you can use oil or butter, as you see in the famous South Korean salt bread, but this will create a much sweeter bread — just food for thought.

Paul Hollywood is an advocate for getting your hands involved, so don't let the idea of mixing bread dough without a utensil scare you. In fact, by hand is a great way to get a good feel for the stretch and airiness of the dough before you knead it. This makes it less likely for you to overwork the dough, which will result in a tougher consistency. Not to mention, the earthy process of making bread dough with your hands can be quite relaxing and meditative.

Once the dough is mixed and kneaded, proofing begins. Remember, patience is key to successful bread baking, and both time and temperature matter. Ideally, you want to proof dough (for any type of bread) in a warm environment between 75 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. This is obviously pretty specific, so a ballpark of 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit is also perfectly acceptable. If your home isn't warm enough, give it more time. You can proof dough in an oven — though this is tricky, and the oven should not be turned on, else you will end up just baking under-fermented dough.

As you shape your risen dough, there should only be one line, or seam, visible, and you can turn this over, so it's out of sight. This stage needs only a small amount of flour and quick, firm hands to deflate the dough and shape it before it sticks to anything — including your skin. Practice makes perfect, and boy is the result worth it.