In this second in our series about bread baking basics, we’ll move on to more advanced techniques by exploring how enriched doughs and pre-fermentation techniques can improve and expand your bread baking repertoire.
Enriched dough is typically characterized by the addition of ingredients such as butter, oil, eggs or cream to the mix. Enriched bread will be softer, often cake-like and golden in color.
Pre-fermented dough is a mixture of flour, water and yeast that is prepared in advance of making the main dough. Allowing the mixture to sit for an extended time provides greater complexity of flavor and is widely used in artisanal bread recipes.