Baking Bread at Home: Start Here

Bread intimidates people far more than it should. At its heart it is four ingredients, flour, water, salt, and yeast, and a little patience. Your first loaf will not be perfect, and that is completely fine; even a flawed homemade loaf beats most of what you can buy.

Time does most of the work. A long, slow rise in the fridge develops flavor and structure while you sleep or go about your day, which means a great loaf asks for very little active effort on your part. The dough is patient, so you can be too.

Steam is the secret to a crackling crust. Baking inside a covered pot traps the moisture the dough releases and gives you that bakery shine and shatter at home. Once you taste a loaf fresh from your own oven, there is no going back.