A Brief History of Bread Making.

Bread’s Impact on Basic Survival.

A Cornerstone of Civilization.

How Bread Began.

Bread: An Accidental Creation.

Mechanized Bread Making.

Electric Mixers Finally Appear: The Short Mix Method.

Direct Mixing Method.

World War II and Its Aftermath.

The Intensive Mix Method.

Rescue Arrives - The Improved Mix Method.

Renewed Interest in Great Bread.

Chapter 2: Ingredients and Their Effects.

Ingredients for Baking Bread.

The Most Important Ingredient - Flour.

Wheat Dough Can Inflate.

The Wheat Berry.

Wheat Classification.

Other Grains.

Water.

Salt.

Yeast.

Sweeteners.

Fats and Oils.

Milk Products.

Eggs.

Nuts, Seeds, Grains, and Dried Fruits.

Using Whole Grains.

Herbs and Spices.

Chapter 3: Basic Baker’s Percentage (Baker’s Math).

An International Language for Bakers.

It’s All in the Percentages.

Changing Batch Sizes.

Find the Total Flour Weight: Using the Percentage Sum.

Discrepancies in Batch Size.

When You Have Two or More Flours.

Chapter 4: Mixing Methods.

The First 10,000 Years: Hand Mixing.

Two Stages in the Dough Mixing Process.

Dough Transformation During Mixing.

Precursors to Mechanized Mixing.

Mechanization Arrives: The Short Mix Method.

Intensive Mix Method.

The Improved Mix Method.

Is There a Best Mixing Method?

Special Circumstances or Exceptions.

Chapter 5: Fermentation.

Fermentation: A Process of Transformation.

Does Fermentation Create or Destroy?

Fermentation of Bread Dough.

Yeast Fermentation: Produces Carbon Dioxide and Alcohol.

Bacterial Fermentation: Produces Organic Acids.

Non-living Organic Substances: Esters and Enzymes.

Manipulating Fermentation: Time, Temperature, and Hydration.

Pre-ferments: How to Shorten Fermentation Time While Increasing Strength and Flavor.

Natural Pre-ferments.

Chapter 6: Division and Shaping of Loaves and Rolls.

Giving Form to Dough.

The First Step - Division.

Shaping Loaves and Rolls.

Chapter 7: Proofing & Retarding.

Proofing Defined.

Judging the Readiness of Proofed Loaves.

Proofing Versus Bulk Fermentation.

Collapse of Over-proofed Dough.

Gas Production in Successful Proofing.

Changing the Temperature of Dough.

Yeast Quantity in Dough.

The Degradation of Dough Structure.

Retarding Loaves of Bread.

Dough Degradation in Retarding.

Specialized Equipment for Proofing and Retarding Loaves of Bread.

Chapter 8: Baking.

Baking Transforms Raw Dough.

Recognizing When Loaves are Ready to be Baked.

Scoring Loaves.

Baking Temperature.

Using Steam.

How to Judge the Doneness of Bread.

The Importance of Cooling Bread after Baking.

Chapter 9: Rich and Laminated Doughs.

The Effects Ingredients Have on Dough.

Strategies for Turning Lean Dough Into Rich Dough.

Why Not Just Add the Fat to the Dough?

Lamination Defined.

The Lamination Process.

Differences Between Croissant Dough and Danish Dough.

Some Caveats in Working with Laminated Dough Products.

Shaping Croissants and Danish.

Chapter 10: Creating Dough Formulas.

Formulation: How Can We Design Our Own Reliable Bread Dough?

Choose Your Ingredients.

Create a Formula - Not Just a Recipe.

Advanced Topic #1 Flour Composition and Milling Technology.

Elements of the Wheat Endosperm.

The Milling Process.

Advanced Topic # 2 Advanced Baker’s Percentage.

Using Pre-Ferments in Formula Creation.

Which Pre-Ferment Should you Use?

Advanced Topic #3 Controlling Fermentation: Living and Non-living Players.

Controlling Yeast Activity.

Controlling Bacterial Activity.

Enzymes: Amylase and Protease.

Advanced Topic #4 Decorative Dough Pieces.

Types of Decorative Dough.

Appendix: Formulas.

Glossary.

Index.