Claire Saffitz Answers Your Bread Questions | Claire-ified 

Love talking about baking bread. Please let me know any additional questions you have and maybe we can do a Bread Part 2 down the road!

Will I ever make bread? No. Will I watch this entire video cause I love Claire? Yes absolutely.

The brioche in the oven - what a way to start the video. Already a classic moment.

Harris answering the phone with automatic "Hello my love" was adorable, also the episode was great - I learned a lot!

When Harris answered “Hello my love” that was so cute!!

My suggestion for staling homemade bread: freeze it! I cut mine into slices and freeze, then I can later throw a frozen slice into the toaster, then spread butter and jam on it. I also cut my stale bread into small cubes and freeze it to later use for thanksgiving stuffing. A mix of wheat, rye, and spelt bread makes an amazing stuffing!

claire saying “thanks!” to someone saying they love her videos is free therapy

The french call french toast "pain perdu" as in lost bread. It's a perfect dish for stale bread since it involves soaking. :) I see a lot of other good ideas in these comments too. Thanks for another great video Claire and crew!

I am surprise she didn’t say bread pudding, as a use of stale bread. Love your videos.

I literally don’t bake at all but I love how Claire passionately talks about cooking/baking.

dear claire, i have followed your recipes for this entire year (so far) and have literally had a 100% success rate, no joke. you are such a great teacher, your book is so wonderful and beautifully written. thank you so much for making videos it makes my heart happy to see you continue to succeed. thank you thank you ♥

Am I the only one that loves to knead by hand? I like to start with the dough hook in my KitchenAid. Claire’s recipes are a staple in this house! For keeping my work surfaces clean and sanitized, I love using Next Generation sanitizing spray to clean my granite and marble countertops. Then I wipe it down with a damp rag. I never EVER miss an episode of Dessert Person! Claire is the best and always puts me in a good mood, even on the worst of days ❤️

Stale bread is great for bread pudding! So many different methods to make it with different fruits and things added. Amazing way to use up stale or old bread.

Claire-ified-Fail!? What have I done!? Just kidding - that was actually really good info when it comes to whole-grain and other types of flours/breads. My bread/dough experience has been almost exclusively with white flours thus far, but I've been toying with getting more into whole grain and rye. This is good to know for when I get there!

Adding different flavors to the bread: I've been mixing herbs into the dough rather than using them as toppings. So far, the winner is onion poppy sourdough, which tastes like if a bialy actually wanted to be toast instead of a bialy. We also eat a lot of savory French toast in my house and it's great for that.

I love you Claire!! Your cookbook is the first I’ve ever bought, I’ve always considered myself a cook than a baker but now I’m a 100% convert! Even though English is not my first language, your verbal and written explanations are so clear ❤️

I give Claire credit for attempting this given how many factors could be behind people’s roadblocks. I read and watched everything I could get my hands on and I STILL had to eliminate each problem completely alone. No resource actually helped me troubleshoot specific issues. Now, I have a business based around it. So it is possible but you have to figure it all out yourself.

I am sorry, but the moment Claire realised she had forgotten the brioche in the oven literally took me out! 😂😂😂😂😂😂 She is so adorable omggggg

Always love to see a post from Claire, best part of the day!

Sourdough scones are super easy, super tasty, and a great way to use up sourdough discard.

I didn't know a single thing about Harris before this but the minute he picked up the phone I knew I already liked him. The sass! You both won when you found each other.

Its great that Claire tries to answer everything and still makes it understandable.

Thank you for this Clarified episode, Claire! ❤️

You are so generous to share your knowledge with us. Thank you. I hope there is a bread book in the near future.

Great advice. I always get discouraged but now I feel that I just must keep at it with sourdough. It is medatative!! Thank you for being so empathetic with us newbies.

I bought your book for a gift...she Loves it..made me feel good as excited she was reading thru the recipes!💯

Thank you so much for a great vid with humor and education. Helping me keep optimistic and cozy while recovering from surgery! ❤️

so many good tips here, all in one place. you're the best claire

Another awesome video!! Thank you!!

I adore Claire Saffitz. She reminds me a little of Julia in that she's a great teacher, but totally unpretentious. She leaves her goofs in the videos sometimes, occasionally doubts herself out loud, and has even been known to make an on-the-fly change to a recipe that's printed in her own book. For me, this is a great demonstration of the flexibility of the baking métier. Let the authors of the Tartine cookbook speak in absolutes; they're all about producing a consistent product day in and day out, for customers who expect the same loaf today they bought last year. As home bakers, we innovate. We remember that last time we made this it didn't rise as much as we'd have liked, or was too sweet, or a little rose water might be nice, and we change it. This video is a perfect example. She's very well prepared, and she speaks authoratatively, but she talks the way you'd talk to a friend. Her answers to audience questions are thoughtful and clear, but full of the wisdom of a committed, experienced baker. "Well, here's this problem you're having, and the answer could be any one of these six factors, but most likely this one. Change one thing at a time, and see what works." People who don't bake think it's a very exact science. "Oh, you have to be very precise to bake," they say. But it's alchemy, and what you have to be is flexible. Claire demonstrates that baking is based on a collection of techniques that regulate various tasks. More than anything I've ever seen, this was demonstrated magnificently in her recent recipe and video for Paris Brest. It's a long, complicated recipe, but Claire broke it down into a few well-practiced techniques over several days. What you end up with is a spectacular dessert, worthy of the most special of occasions. I've been baking for almost sixty years. and I learn from every Claire Saffitz video I watch. She's a joy and a treasure, and she speaks my language.

My favorite way of using up sourdough discard is by making sourdough crackers. Mix 1 cup starter and 2 tablespoons olive oil, add a teaspoon of kosher salt. Adjust texture by adding flour or water, if you’d like, but any consistency from batter to dough is fine. Roll it out or spread on a parchment lined sheet pan. Add seasoning and seeds, etc. and a sprinkle of salt. Bake at 375°until lightly browned and crisp. Try 15 mins and then watch it. When cool, you can break it into shards. Great with cheese or charcuterie. Everything in the recipe is adjustable, depending on what you have and what you like.

Thanks I love your videos I'm really learning from you

Loving this experience

Aww, I didn't know you answered questions?! I've been making bread that incorporated the tangzhong method that you explained in the nyt video. It really opened my eyes that I can have soft bread for days! I would've loved to know how long can one refrigerate dough before freshness becomes an issue. I've experimented and got up to three days and the texture changed to a tighter appearnce. Anyways, I've enjoyed learning so much from ya! You're not only an exceptional talent at baking, but you're great at answering and addressing concerns/issues that curious bakers might have. Anyways, thanks for sharing your expertise with us!!

Very excited at the idea of a panettone video, it is my all-time favourite treat, and there are so many varieties and flavours, it never gets old.

Brioche is my absolute favorite bread to make 😊 it's a great challenge and I love when it comes together, it's this brilliantly gold dough that looks almost like soft-serve in the bowl.

16:58 Jamie Manville Beside things Claire said, you can also use stale bread for pain perdu (or french toast), bread pudding, all variations of avocado toast, croque monsieur, croque madame...

Thank you (and Harris!) for answering my question! Can’t believe I haven’t thought of crostini!

Great video!

Love you Claire, love watching your educational fun and love of food. Clever, funny, talented and super cool!!

For the stale bread. I use it for when I make my French onion soup. I have the proper bowls to make individual soups and put the bread on top. This way the cheese rest o the bread. Put it under the broiler. Turns out amazing. I also use it for my stuffing. I add to the pork and veggies to stuff my turkey.

Bread pudding! Don't forget bread pudding, savory or sweet. Great way to use stale bread. Yum.

I got a cold house and I use the same method of proofing (low oven, get it warm, turn it off.) Lemme tell you it works wonders. I'd also add that a damp cloth on top of the bowl also helps.

Love eating fresh bread. Thanks for the video

Love this!! For the question about what to do with stale bread, I also thought of these dumplings I had in Austria that are made from stale bread. I had to look it up ("austrian bread dumplings"), but I think they're called semmelknodel. They're super tasty!

Claire’s laugh is everything.

Really nice thing to do with stale bread is romesco sauce, with peppers, garlic and olive oil

For cold houses: Same friend 🙃 what I find that works decently well is running a shallow sink of hot water and setting the covered bowl in it. I do have to drain and re-fill the water a couple of times when it gets cold, but it does work if your bowls aren’t oven-safe but are waterproof!

Great information

I have been making homemade bread for almost 3 years now and I can say with great conviction, that I will be making my own bread until I die, lol....which I hope isn't soon...eek! I make ciabatta loaves every other day, bagels once a week and many others like focaccia, naan, bread rolls etc. I have noticed a vast improvement in mine and my Hubby's health, just with this one change. I don't think I could ever eat store bought bread ever again. It's so sweet and gummy to me now. Even with the amount of bread I make practically every day, I have yet to try my own sourdough starter....I've always felt a little intimidated by it. But, I think with watching this video and your recent bread recipes, I am going to give it a go. The worst that can happen is I make croutons, teehee. Great video, as always Claire. Lee :)

Love it 🤤

Stale bread -> French Toast! I’ve also made French toast casserole when I have company over

Harris’ sass! 🤣 thanks for all the tips! 💜

Cold houses are a struggle! I’m in Quebec, and I don’t like to heat my apartment too much (because money). My sourdough starter and bread just never seemed to work UNTIL I started putting them in the oven. I just turn in the over light and put my sourdough starter/loaf as close to it as possible. They get nice and warm and work just fine!!! Also, when I made my starter and bread, I always add quite warm water (but not too hot!) to jump start activity.

Now we need a video of all the leftover sourdough ideas and Claire ranking them. Also would she demonstrate mix-ins and folding in extra ingredients? (seeds/herbs/cheese) please!

I only feed my starter the night before I make my bread, the leftover starter is put back in the refrigerator, usually around 50 grams leftover. I make bread once a week. The way I do it I don’t have very little left over.

Amazing

With old bread you can do bread pudding!!! That’s the best😍😍😍

SOO EXCITED! 💛💛💙💙💛💙💙💙💙

"my wisdom is needed elsewhere, bye" hands down the best exit line of the year. XD

trying sour dough again soon so this helps a lot. Thanks Claire :D

My starter loves some rye flour to get active for baking and leaving it in my proofing box at 80 degrees F overnight always works.

New here. Not [yet] a home baker, just beggining my bread making journey by gathering info. I have the perfect answer for leftover stale bread, though : Bread Pudding 🤤🤤

I love your recipes, I would love to see a ciabatta bread recipe one day

I sometimes will used stale bread to make bread pudding or a French toast casserole type thing. The eggs seem to soak better in old bread rather than new bread because it’s stiffer. The family likes it too.

Great video! Sour dough bread has proven to be a challenge for me. I made 2 loaves from the same batch of dough earlier this week. One had decent oven spring and an ear, the other had about 1/2 of the oven spring of it's brother... sister? eh whatever... and no ear. My starter took a good three weeks to develop. It'll triple in size in 5 hours. I think I am using it too close to the peak? It's a tasty challenge so I keep trying.

Cocoa powder to add flavored depth to your bread and french toast bake for leftover bread!

we always make pain perdu (french toast), bread pudding or croque monsieurs (like a grilled cheese) with stale bread!

2 things to do with stale bread: french toast and bread pudding! So good 😋

Another idea for stale bread: freeze it until you roast a turkey. Then, thaw it out and break it up and use it in your dressing (stuffing) mix. And there is always bread pudding. Delish.

Bread pudding for stale bread 🍞 😋 ❤

Sourdough bread making is fantastic. Started since the pandemic. I've been making half of your recipe because 2 loaves is too much, sometimes I would share the other loaf with family.

Great tip on proof time from The Bread Code (sourdough genius): at the start of your bulk ferment, take a small sample in a shot glass and keep with the main dough in its warm spot. This will allow you to more effectively measure by how much your dough is growing. That way, you can aim for a certain percentage growth, since it could take more or less time depending on the temp to achieve a certain volume.

Good one

For those wondering what to do with stale bread apart from croutons/toasts: french toasts ("pain perdu") or bread pudding! Stale bread absorbs moisture really well so it's great for french toast, and bread pudding is a tasty and nourishing dish, ideal for breakfast or before any kind of intense physical activity.

I just started making bread and I haven't gotten very far beyond a super basic white bread but this definitely inspires me to do more in the future

Stale bread is also excellent for French Toast

My mom would use stale 🍞 to make bread pudding or 'gewonnen/verloren brood' (translates to gained/lost bread) aka French toast 🥰

a good savory recipe for leftover bread is what we in the Balkans called “prženice” or “little fried ones.” It is basically a savory french toast where slices of bread are dipped in an egg mixture/batter, then fried. great with breakfast, with spreads, dairy products, etc. a lot of bread based desserts are good with old bread too - bread pudding, french toast, etc.

6 attempts at sourdough and 2 successful ones - I needed this video 😩

In Spain we use stale baguette bread to make torrijas! They're like delicious little french toast circles, they're great cause you can make a big batch and eat at room temperature, and they keep for a couple days.

I will never get over how cute the animated intro is ❤❤❤

If you're going to use a vinegar solution to clean your countertops, check to make sure your countertops won't be damaged by vinegar! I'm thinking specifically that vinegar can harm granite (and maybe other natural stone counters as well).

Bread pudding with stale bread. The best!

17:33 I love how Claire's dude alternates between affectionate, blunt, and sassy. The range!

Great

For those of you with cold houses, boil some water and put it in the oven (turned off) in a bottom rack and the dough above it. The hot water will create steam and keep the oven warm for the dough to rise!

A recipe where you want bread to absorb a custard of some kind (French toast, bread pudding, etc.) is also a great way to use bread that is going stale.

I just baked my first sourdough bread following Claire's instructions and it turned out so delicious, all the waiting was completely worth it, I made two loaves and shared one with friends - it made me so happy, thank you! :) I've got a question regarding the oven settings. I'm not sure if it's the same in the US but where I live (Poland) we usually have a convection oven, so basically an oven with a fan. I can turn it off though, and use the upper and lower heat mode, or only lower heat mode. Which oven mode should work best? I'm using a dutch oven, first 15-20 minutes (with the lid one) at 500 F, and then another 30 min at 450 F.

Stale bread is also ideal for making bread pudding

I LOVE U CLAIRE

For people who live in the cold north east who do not have a proofing drawer. My oven with the light on (oven off, just the light on) and door cracked open is about 22.5 degrees. My mom's is 21 degrees. The best is that it stays quite consistent.

Claire, have you ever thought about doing a masterclass? I’ve never baked anything in my life, but learned so much about baking from you and now I have done a couple of bread and pastries, so if you ever do decide to hold a masterclass one day, I’d be happy to enroll even via online.

In my country we make a bread cake thats pretty good! We make it with leftover bread. Look for Torta de Pan :)

A couple more stale bread ideas: all kinds of stuffing, I love onion and sage stuffing. Also, I wonder about experimenting with making french toast with stale bread 🤔

Hahaha love the footage of her repeating oh no and giggling

Claire 😊

We make French toast with our stale bread!

Best proofing box I've found is the microwave. Put a 2 cup pyrex of water in there, heat it for 2 minutes on high, then put the dough in there with the water to keep the inside warm and moist. Works great!

Non-bread question: Have you tried to replicate the Chocolate donuts made by Entenmans? I just love their vanilla donuts coated with a Magic Shell type chocolate coating.