Hello...I thought bread making would be easy! :)
Hello, new to the forum and actively reading up on things. I make my first "real" bread yesterday and followed a recipe, thinking it wouldn't be that hard. I mean, I had a Kitchenaid, directions and an oven.
The bread came out ok. It was supposed to be for light soft crusted hotdog/brat bun. For my first time I think it was ok. The crust was a bit crustier and the inside pretty dense and chewy, as opposed to light and fluffy like I was looking for. Its a process and I look forward to version 2! I even started my bread diary to remember what worked and what didn't.
I am still researching, but I think I might not have kneaded the bread long enough, which made it denser. I also might have "punched" it down too much. Next time I think I will hand knead it and not overwork it during the punching phase.
Anyway, "Hello" and I look forward to my bread journey.
DAVE
largely by what you set out to do. At one end of the spectrum, if you only want to make an edible basic loaf, all you need to do is find and follow a recipe that's appropriate for the equipment and ingredients available to you. At the other end, if you want to duplicate award-winning loaves made by master bakers, that's will require considerable effort to acquire sufficient knowledge and skill.
If you want to improve the chances of getting tips and advice that's appropriate to you and what you want, it will help A LOT if you provide full info on the recipes and methods you use.
Good point on the the recipe. Here is what I used.
2 cups water, lukewarm (about 110 degrees F) 4 tsp Bread Machine Yeast (fast rising)
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4 cup Cake Flour
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon salt
Place the warm water and yeast in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer and allow the yeast to bloom
for about 5 minutes (optional for some types of yeast). Using a dough hook attachment, add the flours and sugar to the water and mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Drizzle the oil and salt into the dough and beat on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes (or knead the dough by hand), or until a smooth, firm, elastic dough is formed.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and spray the dough with a thin coating of cooking spray (cooking spray not necessary if you roll the dough around the oil-lined bowl). Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to proof in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Remove the plastic wrap, punch down and flatten the rounded dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the dough up tightly, sealing the seam well after each roll. Place the rolls with the sides touching slightly on a greased cookie sheet to rise again.
Allow the dough to proof, loosely covered with a damp towel for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Lightly spritz the dough with water from a water bottle and then place the rolls in the oven. Immediately close the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the dough again with the water bottle. Bake for about 30-35 minutes
I would avoid cake flour; in the US, it's bleached, and it's better to use unbleached flour for bread.
and will not develop gluten as well as either All Purpose or bread flour. This is a weird recipe in that by combining bread flour and cake flour you are pretty much mimicking AP flour. Also, this is relatively low temperature for bread baking. If you are using a Kitchen Aide you don't need to mix for that long a period of time. I generally only do 2-4 minutes depending on the bread that I'm baking and then use the stretch and fold technique after the first rise and again prior to shaping. This way you cannot over work the dough.
THanks. Im doing another batch as we speak. This time I hand kneaded the bread for about 10 mins and think it came out better. I read up some on what to look for and feel it was better. I have not baked it yet, the rolls are sitting on the pan for a final rise. I am trying to basically make the classic Maine Italian Sandwich roll if anyone is familiar with that. I will post up what how this batch turns out.
No, no, no, no, no.... ;-)
There's nothing easy about sourdough. It's all practice and experience and feel for what you are producing. But that's what makes it so interesting!
This batch came our better. Still quite pale, which now that I know I chalk up to the cake flour. I am also working on making the inside lighter. My house was pretty cold and I think maybe that had something to do with it too. It is a fun adventure and the best part is that the ingredients are inexpensive and simple. Lots to do with technique here.!
one simple way is to brush the top with something like milk or beaten egg just before baking. Another is to bake at a higher temperature; just be aware that depending how much higher, the baking time can / should be shortened.
You can't make a decent loaf of bread using it. It also doesn't say how much yeast to use just to bloom it. It is 70% hydration with ll the cake flour Use AP flour for the cake flour, use dough hook for 8 minutes and up the baking temperature 100 F and it will be a lot better.