A few bread making tips

[homesteadmamma]

Here is a few more bread baking tips:

- Flour - make sure your flour has been stored properly. You can store flour in your freezer and when your ready to bake bread take it out the night before or a few hours before. Any flour brought home should be froze to begin with anyways because that way you won't have unwanted bugs.

- Yeast - also should be fresh. Watch for the expiry date on the pkgs./jars/cans. You can purchase yeast in 2 lb. cans at a health food store which really cuts down on the cost of yeast.

Yeast grows best at temperatures of 80 - 85 degress. This is the ideal temperature for the dough during the rising time.

- Liquids - water, milk and potato water are the most common liquids. You can also use powdered milk. Water produces a bread with a crisp crust and wheaty flour. Bread made with milk has a more velvety grain, creamy white crumb. Potato water again adds a different flavour and moisture to bread.

- Sugar - gives flavour to bread. You can also use honey to replace the sugar.

- Salt - contributes flavour and helps control the action of the yeast. Always measure it accurately.

- Fat - you can use lard, butter, margarine, oil or flax seed that is ground up. (flax seed that is ground up must be stored in the freezer and it can be purchased at health food stores. Never grind it in a wheat mill but use a blender instead. It gums up the wheat mills.) Fat helps make the bread tender, improves the keeping time of bread and helps the browning process.

- How much flour to add - add enough flour at mixing or kneading time to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Keep it as soft as you can handle though.

- Kneading - turn your dough out on lightly floured surface. I use my table because its just the right size. Flatten it with the palm of your hands. Continue on, curving your hands over the dough and push gently, but firmly, 3 - 4 times with your hands. Turn the dough a quarter of the way around, fold it over and push. The dough, when it is kneaded enough, not only looks very smooth, but it also is no longer sticky to your hands. You can also use a KA or Bosch machine to mix your dough. I use my 6 qt. KA and for the last couple of minutes, I knead by hand.

- Rising - Make sure you have no draughts and your room is nice and cozy for the rising process. Place dough in a slightly greased large bowl and then cover your bowl. This is very important because it prevents a dried crust from forming. Let rise until double. Punch down until it has collapsed, turning dough over in bowl. Let rise again until doubled (3x if it is with freshly ground grain).

- shaping loaves - turn dough onto table. Flatten dough with hands. Divide as recipe instructs. Roll dough like you would a jelly roll, sealing the ends when finished by pressing firmly on both sides and then turning under just a bit. Place shaped dough in pans with the seam at the bottom. Cover and let rise until double in bulk or until dent with finger does not disappear. Do not let dough rise too much or it will crumble (I can attest to this).

- baking tips. Place loaves on center shelf in a preheated oven at the temperature the recipe says. Don't over fill your oven. Make sure when you make the recipe you will be able to bake twice if your making a large recipe. If this happens, make a batch of buns/hamburger buns and bake them first while the bread is still rising.

- baking time finished - remove one loaf from pan and tap the bottom with forefinger to see if you hear a hollow sound. If so, bread is done. If no hollow sound, return the loaf to the oven and bake another 5 minutes or so.

- cooling bread - remove bread from pan and place on wire rack.

- storing bread - place in plastic bags and freeze if you've made a large batch. If you've made from freshly ground wheat, store immediately in freezer and don't take out until bread is ready to use. (use bread within a couple of days if its made with freshly ground wheat).

Enjoy baking bread. Its fun and actually quite easy to do. Once you've made your own (without bread machine) you won't go back. Remember though, bread baking is a fine art. The more you bake it by hand, the better it gets. Experiment also. It can be fun.

The best time to bake bread is if your frustrated or upset with someone. Kneading that bread takes all the frustration away.

[Sara Noel]

Thank you thank you thank you. I feel so much more confident with you here guiding me. It takes all the apprehension away for me. Most learning projects I just jump right in, but with food I truly hate to be wasteful, so I try to get all of my questions and concerns answered before attempting.
Your tips and replies have been so helpful. I can't wait to start.
I am sure I'll have a couple more before I am through. LOL

Thank you again. I will always be grateful and I know I will think of you whenever I make my bread. I know maybe to you they are just tips, but to me it's a special gift from a friend.

Sara

[QuilterMom]

[dz_blonde_girl]

Thanks for bumping this up QM!

I have a question. I have trouble getting the bread to raise properly. I think because the room is too cool. 80 - 85 degrees?! It's never that warm in here. Where's a good place to put it? The only thing I can think of is on top of the stove while I'm baking something else.

[DaisyLady]

Karen,

I let my bread rise in my oven with just the oven light on. It is draft free and just the right temperature which I can monitor on my oven thermometer. Also a useful place to incubate yogurt although not on the same day as the bread.

[homesteadmamma]

Your room can be cooler than 80 degrees actually. Make sure its a draft proof room and that your bread dough is covered when rising. By draft proof I mean your not coming and going outside and opening the door all the time or there isn't a breeze from your windows (that type of thing).

One of the main reasons why bread dough doesn't rise though is because the yeast is old!!!! Always keep your yeast in the fridge and take it out a couple hours before you bake the bread. Always check the date on the yeast before buying it or using it!!!

I seldom bake bread in the summer but when I do during the rest of the year, I put my dough beside my stove and turn the stove on 150 degrees. Its just enough warmth to keep my bread warm. You can also do some baking during the time your bread is rising. Again, this warms up your kitchen during the rising period.

DaisyLady has another great suggestion.