BREAD

PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEAASE!!! Im getting so frustrated reading terrible bread making advice. Please to 'those' people STOP writing about bread when you haven't a clue!! 


This is a excerpt from one of my customer newsletters I write, so if you're interested in breadmaking please read this or find a good bread making book that explains the fundamentals. Ignore all the bad advice and it will make your bread making experience far more enjoyable and a far bigger success!





COMMON QUESTIONS


The most common questions I’ve had from my customers are about bread. Once you understand a few fundamental rules about bread making, the process becomes much easier.
Rule number 1: Bread kneads time. (pardon the pun!) Seriously though, bread needs time, make your bread with
one of the lovely recipes from the EDC or recipe community, then pop it in a bowl covered with Gladwrap, or if you have
a “Thermomat” which is a silicone bread mat, wrap it up. Leave to prove for around 30 mins-1 hour depending on the temperature of the day.The ideal temperature is 37degC so if it’s a cold day find a warm spot on a window sill or car seat. This will allow the yeast to thrive, which creates carbon dioxide bubbles and this is what makes the bread stretch and grow.
Rule number 2: Punch it down!
Once your bread dough has had its first proving, punch it down so that it returns to its original size.This serves two purposes, you are releasing the stale carbon dioxide produced by the newly awakened yeast, and making the dough more elastic as it will now rise and prove a second time. So either shape into a loaf (freeform or tin), or made little individual rolls, and place onto a baking paper lined tray.
Rule number 3: Don’t kill the yeast.
Yeast is killed at temperatures over 50 degrees. So use nice tepid water or milk (37C) when making bread but don’t use hot water. And remember if your bread hasn’t risen yet before it goes into a hot oven, once that dough reaches 50C you wont be getting any more rise. So have patience and let it grow.
Rule number 4: Don’t time it, watch it!
Now preheat your oven to 190C and wait for your bread to almost double in size on the tray while the oven is preheating then place it straight into the hot oven. Bread rolls are ready when golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped
on the underside, usually about 15-20 mins depending on the efficiency of your oven. And a loaf takes about 45mins. Because everyone’s ovens are different, its handy to have an oven thermometer to check the temperature, but if you’re really unsure, just remove a bread roll and cut it open. 




As a final note, I recently read a recipe for baguette dough that requires 12 hours resting in the fridge. This is utilising an age old fermentation process using the natural bacterias contained in flour. You use cold water to make the dough which will stop the yeast rising straight away, allowing time for the natural good bacterias to awaken, this produces a small amount of lactic acid will give the bread a slightly sour flavour.  This is a quick variation on making a traditional sourdough culture which is an 11 day process.


There are fewer things more satisfying than successfully baking a fresh loaf of bread from scratch, but failures can be frustrating, knowledge is power, I hope this helps!!