How to Bake Bread in Humid Conditions

Homemade bread is a treat that is worth every minute of kneading and rising. Producing a great loaf requires careful measurement and a good sense of what the dough should look and feel like. Sometimes, even with the most careful measurements, bread does not come out the way you expect. Humidity can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of your baking. Flour tends to absorb moisture from the air, which can result in gooey, soggy bread. Luckily there are things you can do to compensate for atmospheric humidity.

Things You'll Need

• 4 to 5 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup powdered milk
• 3 1/4 tsps. sugar
• 2 tsps. instant yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 3 1/4 tbsps. butter, melted
• 13 to 14 oz. water
• Large mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Electric mixer (optional)
• Probe thermometer
• Spray oil
• Plastic wrap
• 2 1-pound loaf pans
• Wire cooling rack

Instructions

Make Bread Dough

1. Combine the flour, salt, powdered milk, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix well.

2. In a medium bowl, mix one egg, butter and 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water.

3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry mixture with a heavy wooden spoon or the paddle attachment on the electric mixer. Add up to 1 tbsp. of additional lukewarm water, depending on the humidity. The dough should come together and form a ball. On a humid day, the dough may be too sticky. Add a little more flour until it forms a soft, supple ball.

4. Dust the countertop with flour and knead the dough (or mix with the dough hook in the electric mixer) until the dough registers 80 F in the center. This will take several minutes of constant kneading or mixing. Add more flour to the countertop if the dough starts to absorb moisture from the air and get sticky.

5. Wipe out the large bowl and coat it with spray oil. Transfer the dough back to the large bowl. Roll it around once or twice to coat it with oil, and then cover with plastic wrap. Let this sit at room temperature for 90 minutes to two hours, until the dough doubles in size.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Form two loaves. Mist the loaves with spray oil and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let these sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature.

7. Lightly oil the two loaf pans. Place the loaves in the loaf pans and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let them sit at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, until they nearly double in size.

8. Preheat the oven to 350F for at least 20 minutes before baking. Mix the other egg with a little water, and brush the egg wash over the top of the risen loaves.

9. Bake the loaves for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating once halfway through the baking. The tops of the loaves should be golden brown, and the inside should register close to 190 F on the probe thermometer.

10. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks for at least one hour before slicing.

Tips & Warnings

• On humid days, pay more attention to the way the dough reacts to the moisture in the air than you do to exact measurements of flour and water. If the dough is sticky, knead in more flour.

• It is nearly impossible to overknead bread, but too little kneading can result in underdeveloped bread.

References

• Humidity's Effect on Baking Ingredients
• "The Bread Baker's Apprentice;" Peter Reinhart; 2001