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Many home cooks and bakers are intimidated by the prospect of baking bread. Sean Maloney, chief executive at Primland Lodge, Auberge Collectionblames influencers for the way they romanticize the process — tending to cook money for years, experimenting with exotic fruit toppings, demonstrating intricate folding techniques and arguing over punctuation angles. “For starters,” he says, “it can feel like bread is more of a science project than food.”
For a long time – even as a professional chef – bread also represented one of Chef Maloney’s biggest challenges, but for a different reason. “Part of that comes from my own nature,” he explains. “I don’t like waiting.”
Eventually, the chef learned a lesson that, he says, changed his relationship with bread. It’s a lesson every home baker should learn. “Bakemaking is a meditative process,” says Maloney. “Slow down. Let the yeast work its magic. Learn to spot the signs before moving on to the next step.”
What are those signs, you ask? When a dough has been proofed for the proper amount of time, it should be twice as large as it was at first. “Watch your dough,” Maloney instructs. “Don’t just set the time; be an active observer.”
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This is true for every time you bake it. After all, bread dough is – in a way – a living, breathing thing, which means it won’t always react the same way. “Every day, every season, every kitchen environment will affect the strength of your dough,” says the chef. So once your dough has risen properly, you’ll need to make sure it passes the touch test as well. As Maloney admits, when you lightly press the dough with your finger, the properly insulated dough should slowly roll back, leaving a slight indentation.
Once proofed, the bread dough must be degassed – this prevents large bubbles from forming inside the bread when it bakes. Fortunately, Chef Maloney assures that the process is simple. “Just gently press your fist down into the center of the ball until you feel the dough pull back a bit,” he instructs. “Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to fold the ends back over the middle by about a third until you’ve formed a nice ball.”
And when it comes to starter breads worth trying at home, Parker House Rolls are at the top of the list. These soft, buttery rolls originated at Boston’s Parker House Hotel in the 1870s and quickly gained national attention—even finding their way into the White House kitchen. By the late 1800s, they had become a staple recipe in American cookbooks, and they’ve held their place at the table ever since.
“If you’ve been curious about bread but hesitant to take the plunge, this is the perfect place to start,” says Chef Maloney. “This recipe is designed as an accessible introduction to the world of baking.” That said, there IS Another thing to keep in mind: “Your first roll may not be perfect,” he admits, “but it’s always better than no roll at all.”
