Human SkillsBasic Bread by Weight
Four ingredients, one reliable loaf
6 minBeginnerUpdated
- Weigh a 500 g flour loaf using baker’s percentages
- Knead, prove and shape a simple dough
- Judge when bread is properly baked
Why weigh instead of measure
Bread is flour, water, salt and yeast. Cups of flour vary by 20 percent depending on how you scoop, which is enough to turn a good dough into a brick or a puddle. Digital scales cost little and make bread repeatable. Bakers describe recipes as percentages of the flour weight: 100 percent flour, around 65 percent water, 2 percent salt and 1 percent instant yeast. Once you know those numbers you can scale any loaf up or down. This lesson uses 500 g of flour, which gives one loaf about the size of a shop loaf and is easy to handle for a first attempt.
The recipe
Weigh into a large bowl: 500 g strong white bread flour, 10 g fine salt, 5 g instant dried yeast (one level teaspoon and a half), then 325 g lukewarm water, around 30 °C. Keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl before the water goes in, because salt in direct contact slows yeast. Mix with a spoon or your hand until no dry flour remains, then rest the shaggy dough for 15 minutes. This rest, called autolyse, lets the flour absorb water and makes kneading much easier. If you only have plain flour, use it; the loaf will be a little softer and less tall but still good.
Knead and first rise
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Push it away with the heel of your hand, fold it back over itself, turn a quarter and repeat for 8–10 minutes. It changes from sticky and rough to smooth and springy. Test by stretching a piece thin between your fingers: if it forms a translucent window without tearing, it is done. Shape into a ball, return to the lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth or plate and leave at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 to 1.5 hours at 22 °C, longer in a cold kitchen. Poke it: if the dent springs back slowly, it is ready.
Shape, second rise, bake
Press the risen dough flat to knock out the big bubbles, then fold the edges into the centre and roll it into a tight ball or oval with the seam underneath. Place on a baking tray lined with paper or in a greased loaf tin. Cover loosely and leave 45–60 minutes until puffy and almost doubled. Heat the oven to 230 °C with a metal tray on the bottom shelf. Slash the top once with a sharp knife, put the loaf in, pour a cup of hot water into the bottom tray for steam and close the door fast. Bake 30–35 minutes until deep golden.
Is it done, and what went wrong
Done bread sounds hollow when you tap the base and reads 95 °C or more inside on a probe. Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting; the crumb is still setting and cutting early makes it gummy. Dense and heavy usually means under-proved or too much flour added during kneading. Collapsed with a flat top means over-proved; shorten the rise next time. Pale crust means the oven was not hot enough or the loaf came out early. A loaf keeps 2–3 days in a cloth or bread bin, and slices freeze well for toast.
Check yourself
All percentages are relative to the flour weight, so 500 g flour needs about 325 g water.
Salt at 2 percent of flour weight is 10 g. It seasons the bread and controls the yeast.
Dough that stretches thin without tearing has enough gluten structure to trap gas and rise well.
Starch keeps setting as the loaf cools; cutting early gives a sticky, doughy slice.
Try it for real: Bake the 500 g loaf
- Weigh 500 g flour, 10 g salt, 5 g instant yeast and 325 g lukewarm water
- Knead 8–10 minutes until it passes the windowpane test
- Prove until doubled, shape, prove again until puffy
- Bake at 230 °C for 30–35 minutes with a tray of water for steam
- Cool 30 minutes, then note one thing to change next time
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Written and checked by the Human Skills team against the sources below. How we check our content
- King Arthur Baking Company
- FAO Traditional Fermented Food and Beverages
