Yeast Bread Basics

• Good bread depends on the interaction of yeasts with the proteins in the flour. Yeast makes bread rise by digesting the sugars in the dough and turning them into carbon dioxide gas. The proteins in the flour form long, elastic strands called gluten when they're moistened and kneaded. Gluten traps the carbon dioxide from the yeast, forming many thousands of tiny bubbles in the bread. When the bread is baked, those bubbles expand in the oven's heat and make the loaf rise. Whether it rises evenly and attractively depends in large part on the crust.

It's Important to Be Crusty

• The outside of your loaf will always form a crust when you bake the dough, but it won't necessarily be a good one. When you knead and shape your loaves, you're pulling and stretching its gluten strands into a tight, symmetrical structure. As the bread rises, those stretched strands give it its neatly domed shape. You can dust the crust with flour, seeds or flakes of grain for a rustic appearance, or glaze it for a smooth sheen. Eggs are one of the most useful ingredients for glazing your loaves.

Rise and Shine

• Ordinarily, the crust of your loaf will bake up to a matte, lightly golden finish. You can vary that finish by brushing on a glaze before it goes into the oven. One simple glaze consists of an egg white beaten with a pinch of salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of cold water. If you brush this onto your bread before it's baked, the finished loaves won't be any darker, but they will have a smooth, appealing sheen. Bread glazed with egg whites comes out of the oven with a softer crust, as well, making it more suitable for sandwich bread. It's also a useful technique for dinner rolls, which are best when soft.

All That Glistens Isn't Gold

• The sheen and softness of bread glazed with egg whites is appealing, but it doesn't add any color to the loaves. For that, whole eggs are a better option. A whole egg whisked with a spoonful of water will glaze several loaves, giving them a golden-brown tint, soft crust and slightly richer flavor. For especially golden loaves, especially on sweet or rich holiday breads, brush the loaves with beaten egg yolks. Loaves glazed with milk or cream are less golden but have a pleasant flavor and brown slightly more than bread glazed with egg whites.