Mixing Bread Doughs

Mixing a batch of bread dough can be almost as simple as stirring a spoonful of sugar into a cup of coffee, but a scientific explanation of what happens when you combine flour, water, yeast and salt has filled many a thick book. Fortunately, as long as the dough is mixed according to simple and easy-to-follow instructions, your dough and resulting bread will be excellent. Here’s a short and clear explanation of what’s happening as you’re getting a batch of dough ready for shaping and baking, with all the steps expanded further below.