Baked my first bread today
Hi everyone
I'm 26 from UK. I don't remember ever learning to bake bread, but thought I would give it a try in my new halogen oven.
I read I a halogen oven recipe book that halogen are great for small loafs, bread sticks etc as it heats up in seconds and compared to a gas oven uses less energy.
I followed a simple recipe of 675g white or mixed with wholemeal, I opted for 50/50 of each, 2 teaspoons quick yeast and salt mixed all together then added 425ml water and kneaded until elastic and smooth, left covered to rise 2 hours then I kneaded again and left to rise again before baking half the batch as a round loaf on 225 for 20 mins turning over near the end to brown the bottom.
It looked lovely and tastes ok/good with butter but it is really heavy and a bit stodgey in the middle almost like it was to wet.
I'm happy with the result being my first try buy any tips to get it lighter and airy?
Thanks to all.
Depending on factors like room temperature, the time a dough takes to be ready to bake can vary a fair bit. So, following the rise times in a recipe can lead to baking dough that is under- or over-proofed. Before you try again, check out how to do a poke test. It's not completely infallible, but it will help you to know when the dough is ready.
Well done on the first loaf - anything edible counts :-)
But bake longer & hotter If you can get it hotter that is.
Also reduce the amount of wholemeal - start 80/20, so 560 white, 140 wholemeal for a 700g loaf. (490g water - maybe a little less) same yeast & salt.
But get the oven hotter to start with - 250C or more if possible, then turn it down to 220C after the first 10 minutes. You are aiming to bake for about 30-35 minutes in total too. Don't turn it over if doing it on a metal tray.
And do the "finger poke test" during the 2nd rise - see google/youtube for demos.
You might also want to try to get some steam into the oven - some people use a tray at the bottom (put it in when the oven is cold so it warms up with the oven) and throw a cup of hot water into it before closing the door.
But once you've cracked that, you've got basic bread 101 under your belt :-)
(And toast the first batch if its still a bit heavy)
-Gordon
(In Devon)