| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
Secrets of Great Breads
Often we field questions about making great bread. Great bread is a matter of using the right ingredients and the right techniques-there's no single secret that will make perfect bread. But really great bread is readily attainable. We've compiled our list of what goes into great bread. 1. The right flour. 2. An understanding of yeast. 3. A good dough conditioner. 4. A baker's thermometer. Now this isn't everything that goes into great bread but the baker that is armed with these four tools are likely to be baking great bread. Recently we stated that if there is a secret ingredient that bakers use it's the flour. So we put the right flour on the top of our list. To understand how important flour is, you need to understand just a little about gluten. Gluten strands are formed from the proteins naturally occurring in wheat flour. It's what gives bread its chewy texture. If you use a flour with a higher percentage of protein, you will have more gluten. Most commercial bread bakers are going to use flours with 10 to 14% protein--bread flour. Commercial bakers have access to dozens of different flours. If you want really good bread, buy a good quality bread flour--even if you have to make a deal with a local baker. If you buy your flour at the grocery store be aware that all flours are not equal. For bread you want a bread flour. Name brands are likely to do a better job of holding to a specification and will provide more consistent results. You can get an idea of the protein content from the nutrition label. Divide the grams of protein by the grams in the serving size to get the approximate percentage of protein in the flour (subject to rounding error). For home baking, you want at least ten percent and preferably higher. Yeast is a living organism. The gases expelled by the growing yeast are what leavens the bread. The skilled baker recognizes that with the dough, he or she is culturing a living organism and that the yeast must be growing in the right culture to create the gases to make light airy bread. The right culture is primarily a function of moisture, temperature, and pH or the acidity level. This brings us to dough conditioner. Dough conditioner alters the pH of the dough (among other things) so that it enhances the growth of the yeast and it makes the dough more extensible. All else being equal, dough conditioner can make a good bread great. You can buy dough conditioner (or dough enhancer as it is sometimes called) in some grocery stores or you can get our dough conditioner. Ours is a commercial dough conditioner that we have found to be very good and that we use in all our breads. And finally, a thermometer has been called the baker's secret weapon. We would not think of making bread without one. We use it to measure water temperature. (When we use our bread machines, we measure the water temperature to exactly 80 degrees--not one degree off. When we make bread in our stand-type mixer or by hand, we use water between 100 degrees and 110 degrees.) We nearly always measure the temperature of the bread when it comes from the oven. And you can use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the dough to make sure that you have the right temperature for your yeast to thrive in. You can buy an insta-read thermometer at most department stores but as a convenience, we offer a baker's thermometer on our site. If you don't have a free copy of Baking Ingredients and How They Work, we recommend that you get one. There is no obligation--you can download it and print it for free. Dennis Weaver is the general manager at The Prepared Pantry (http://www.preparedpantry.com) with recipes, ideas, and the best selection of mixes and ingredients. Visit the free Bakers' Library for more articles like this, free baking guides, and tested recipes.
MORE RESOURCES:
Cooking-Tips - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
10 Smart Shopping Tips To Protect Your Family From Getting Sick Prevention of food poisoning starts with your trip to the supermarket. Here's how to start off safely. Compact Refrigerators Are Great When Small Is Needed The small refrigerator can be used in many places that a regular size fridge would not be practical. Many places including offices, apartments, student dorms, hotels, motels, and military housing can benefit from using compact refrigerators. Better Baking Technique: Is it Done Yet? Are my breads, cookies, or cakes baked and ready to come out of the oven yet?The ability to tell when products are baked seems to cause more consternation than almost any other phase of baking. And of course, it is important. How to cut a cake Have you ever wondered how to cut a cake? I have had a lot of practice. When I turned 16 and requested a Spider Man sheet cake I busily honed my cake cutting skills by making concentric rectangles and then served up the master piece. Understanding Baking: How Yeast Works Did you ever wonder why flour tastes like sawdust but a French or Italian bread made with that same flour and little else has a pleasant, sweet taste?Bread wouldn't be bread without yeast and yeast can't work without sugars. Yeast is alive-living organisms-and living organisms need food for fuel, in this case, simple sugars. Barbecue Success With The Rule Of Thirds Ever been to a barbecue party where the 'chef' placed as much food as he could possibly fit onto the barbecue grill, every so often stabbing the food with a fork and juggling it around so that it cooks evenly? Ever noticed how, within a few minutes, the flames start gently flickering under the food, the chef proudly standing back admiring the char grill effect that he's creating? Ever notice the panic that sets in when the flames suddenly leap up and around the food burning it black on the outside and leaving it raw on the inside?The difference between great char grilled barbecue food and burnt offerings lies in a few small precautions. The chef that we've just described made a few fatal errors that could easily have been avoided. Do a Dry Rub First The debate on ribs has ended in my home. After years of toil I have finally capitulated and agreed to make ribs the fool proof way every time. Flax Seed Will Add A Little Extra Flavor To Your Recipes Flax seed will add a pleasant nutty taste to any recipe. The attractive, round reddish-brown seeds of flax add flavor, extra texture and good nutrition to your breads, cakes, muffins, and other baked goods. Perfect Picnics - Frugal Food Safety Tips Summer is finally here and for a lot of us that means heading out to the lake or to the park for a picnic with friends or family.Unfortunately, if we're not careful when we plan, transport and serve that picnic, our outing might not end up happily. Christmas Cookie Decorating 101 Many bakers ask for tips and instructions on decorating cookies. Well that's a tall order because there are as many ways to decorate cookies as there are cookies! Here are a few guidelines for novices and experienced bakers alike to help you generate your own ideas for cooking decorating. Fruit Cake Are you the fruit cake in your family? Before you raise your eyebrow, I would suggest you read on to know what I mean.The fruit cake has tantalized the world for centuries. Do you own an AGA or RAYBURN cooker ? The Cooker-rail.. About Baking: Eight Tips for Perfect Pancakes Pancakes are easy and almost foolproof. But there are some tricks to making them perfect. Chinese Cooking Technique: Thicken "Thicken", or "Thickening" is a very common technique used in both Chinese restaurants and household kitchens. It is very easy to prepare, but if not used properly, can really mess up the presentation. Keeping and Wasps and Flies Away from your Barbecue It is one of life's oddities that we take a lot of trouble refrigerating meat, keeping food sealed and washing our hands before touching it, only to throw out the rule book when we have a barbecue. The meat is left out in the sun waiting it's turn to be cooked, exposed to the elements and there is no washbasin to be seen. Troubleshooting Machine Bread Bread machines-wonderful inventions that they are-don't think very well. You and I, when we have a loaf of bread percolating on the counter, can look and say, "My bread is rising a little slowly today. 6 Steps to Grill the Perfect Steak There's nothing better than a nicely grilled juicy steak.But how come I can't duplicate that restaurant, expensive, juicy, melt-in-your mouth, perfectly grilled steak?Well, I found out how to grill steak perfectly - and here's how you can too. How to Grill Most Any Vegetable You Can Think Of! Grilling vegetables is easy. The fact that more people don't do it is the strange thing. Kid Birthday Cake Idea Collection - Cake Decorating Without Fear Our kid birthday cake idea collection makes cake decorating fun and fearless. You don't have to be a pastry chef to create a professional quality cake for your child's birthday or other special event. The Joys of Refrigerator Cookies Baking cookies seem to fill the house with a sense of well being and peace. Perhaps it is the smell of butter, vanilla, and spices emanating from the hot oven.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |