Interesting Bread making facts

[dede]

The 3 rules of breadmaking are:

1. Coolness retards the working of the yeast.

2. Warmth speeds up the rising.

3. Heat kills the yeast.

When applying those rules to the temperature of the water you can see that if you use cold water the rising will be extremely slow. If you use lukewarm water the rising will be a little faster but if you follow the rule of 300ml cold to 200ml of boiling you will speed up the rising of the bread perfectly. If you use hot water alone you will kill the yeast.

YEAST TEST

If you are unsure of your yeast's freshness, here is a simple test to make sure it is still active.

Dry Ingredients
4 tablespoons untreated flour
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons No Knead Yeast

Liquid Ingredients
Enough warm water to make a pourable paste

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together, pour in enough warm water
    to make a pourable paste.
2. Leave the mixture for 30 to 40 minutes.
3. If it is ACTIVE the mixture will froth.
4. If it is NOT ACTIVE the mixture will not change

Bread Improver

The Vitamin C it contains is a natural yeast food that agitates the yeast to produce carbon dioxide to fill the cells of gluten in the dough, making your bread light and quick to rise. The Soy flour contained in the improver not only adds goodness but helps keep the bread soft and fresh.
Also read Here for more info on bread improver's.

[obbie]

  Thankyou for this info.

I actually threw my yeast out last week, and bought a another fresher packet.
i was wondering if there was a test to check yeast.

I'll make bread tomorow.

Robyn

[judydawn]

If you don't use much yeast Robyn, keep it in the freezer.  I bought a large packet and do this now, much cheaper.

Thanks Mandi, good info for newbies.

[dede]

I was wondering this my self about testing Yeast freshness. Now I know If I have doubts on freshness at least I can check.
Its amazing what we learn from this forum. (and Google)

[Katya]

Following all the talk on here about bread improver, I bought some last week.   I'm not sure if it was that or whether it was for some other reason, but the bread I baked using it was a complete disaster.... all spongey inside and totally inedible.   I was most upset as I'd been a loving wife and cooked a loaf for OH as I was going to be away.   It ended up in the bin and I had to buy bread from the supermarket for the first time in ages   

So I think I'll stick to my tried and tested bread recipes   

[dede]

Oh no Katya,
I have never used bread improver before either and thought I would give it a go. I have the dough rising now. Hope its not a flop as well. I would stick to what works best for you as well 

[Katya]

Hope you have more success than me Dede - the bread rose well but just seemed to go "phhhttttt" when I put it in the oven.

[dede]

I Had a loaf do that to me a couple of days ago, It just collapsed but still tasted great, I made a loaf today and I was happy with the result although a little uneven but nice a light with a crusty outside. We had it with the family chowder from this forum.

[bluesed]

Surely they are facts but they dont really make you a better bread.

1. Coolness retards the working of the yeast.

Its true, but in fact you get a much better bread if you let the dough rest at low temperatures(fridge) and for longer time(min 6h). Also use less yeast(1/3) and add some sourdough. Yeast dosnt taste very good and is not either very healthy. The process of letting the dough rest has two purposes, to let the yeast work and to let the flour absorb the liquid. If you rush up the process your bread will become dry and less tasty.

2. Warmth speeds up the rising.
Unless youre in a hurry to make your bread i suggest as said before to avoid warmth until 1-2 hours before you bake your bread.
Also make sure that your dough dosnt dry out on the surface.  Cover your dough with a humid linen cloth or spray it with water.

3. Heat kills the yeast.
Yeast dosnt stand temperatures above 50 Celsius.

When applying those rules to the temperature of the water you can see that if you use cold water the rising will be extremely slow. If you use lukewarm water the rising will be a little faster but if you follow the rule of 300ml cold to 200ml of boiling you will speed up the rising of the bread perfectly. If you use hot water alone you will kill the yeast.

I always use cold water and i never have problems having my bread rise perfectly. Also consider when you kneed your dough it will get warmer from the friction and heat from your hands.

Most bread recipes posted on the net are not very good. They are usually posted by people who dosnt really understand the details of making a good bread and tries to make something as easy as possible. Fact are it takes time and practice to make a good bread. Surely a home-baked bread is always better then the ones you can buy in the supermarket. But why not, when you have the time make something that really makes a difference.

Here is my tips to a better bread.

Always use cold ingredients
Finish the kneading with your hands so you can feel if the texture is right or if it needs more flour/water/kneading.
The kneading time depends on which flours you use but in general most dough takes at least 15 minutes to knead
Let the dough rest in fridge for at least 6 hours.
Use as little Yeast as possible
Use a bit of sourdough if you have
Use ecological flours
Never use milk/yogurt in your bread it only makes your bread more dry and compact and makes a grey crust.
Dont add sugar to your dough as it only speeds up the resting process and dries out your bread
Use about 20g salt/kg flour
If you want to add oil or other fat add them in the end when you have kneaded your dough(adding fat before kneading makes it more difficult to produce long gluten strings)
Bake your bread at high temperatures from 190-225 Celsius
Use a heated baking stone and your bread will rise even nicer when you bake your bread
Best way to store bread is in paper bags

If making buns avoid adding extra flour when shaping the buns as your dough will get dry if so. A much better way is to wet your hands and shape them. I bake between 50-100 buns everyday and the fastest way is:
Wet your right hand and stick it into the dough and squeeze out buns between the thumb and the index finger and then grab them with left hand and place on the plate. Takes about 10 minutes to make 100 buns.

If your bread didnt get a nice crust its most likely because you have added to much fat to your dough. When baking you can throw in a cup of water in the oven just before you put in your bread as it will help getting a nice crust.

When your bread is baked let it chill on a rack which allows air to circulate the bread. Dont cover your bread with linen after taking it out only if you want a soft crust.

These tips are for plain bread and buns. They dont apply to soft bread/tea breads etc...





 

[Cuilidh]

Thanks for all that info.  I have one question as a follow on - and I think I know the answer, but I'll ask it anyway.  Does the amount of kneading you give the dough detract from the finished loaf, i.e. if you over-knead does it make the loaf worse - or better?

[bluesed]

You can over knead your bread and it makes it worst. The result will be more or less same as if you knead to little. The bread will not hold its shape and will fall flat.
If you knead by hand it is pretty difficult to over knead but using only machine it can occur. To see if you bread has been kneaded well you can take a loaf of dough in your hand and stretch it out and if its kneaded well it will not break.

[dede]

Wow This all makes for interesting reading. There is so much to learn about bread making. Thanks for the info. I'm going to print this out and study it all and put some of it into practice.

[KerrynN]

YEAST TEST

Can you use the resulting paste for anything (assuming that the yeast is active that is)? I am testing mine now and wonder if I can use it later or if I have to throw it out?

Thanks.
Kerryn

[Bedlam]

Thanks guys, I am very new at baking bread so enjoy all the info I can get.

[dede]

YEAST TEST

Can you use the resulting paste for anything (assuming that the yeast is active that is)? I am testing mine now and wonder if I can use it later or if I have to throw it out?

Thanks.
Kerryn

Im not sure Kerryn, Probably would need to throw it away once tested to be fresh