Friday, March 27, 2015

3 Typical Missteps When Baking Bread

By Jennifer Marie Anderson


If you're looking to bake bread, it's safe to assume that you have good taste. There's nothing quite like a fresh loaf that had just come out of the oven, especially when you know how to store it for long-term freshness. However, there are quite a few mistakes that can be made by even the most experienced of bakers. Keep in mind, though, that mistakes like these should not deter anyone's efforts when it comes to being the best chef imaginable.

More than anything else, I feel like it's important to focus on the mistakes that chefs can make in the long term. As you can very well imagine, no one is going to be skilled at preparing foods when they start, especially if they simply dive headfirst into more intricate recipes. The same can be said for bread, and the process needed for it to be made. If you're going to look at the most common mistakes that bread bakers can make, look at these 3 talking points.

Temperature can lead to some of the biggest oversights, when it comes to baking bread. You have to keep in mind that warm water is needed in order to mix ingredients together, though it must not exceed a certain temperature. If you decide to use water which is too hot, for example, the yeast will be negatively impacted. As a result, if you're going to make bread in the oven, you must be able to use the right water beforehand.

If you're going to make bread, you should also know how to knead the dough effectively. Keep in mind that elasticity is one of the most crucial components of dough, as this will help to give bread the right texture and taste. Without it, you can be certain that the loaf you create will not be a satisfying one. With that said, if you're going to make better loaves of bread, it's important to look into how much kneading should be dough. After all, it's better over-knead than under-knead.

There's also the matter of density, as it relates to flour, that can create issues during the bread-baking process. Different types of flour have varied densities, meaning that you're not going to add the same amount of whole wheat flour to a recipe than you would, say, rye flour. Simply put, it's all a matter of finding the perfect balance. The sooner that you find this, as you can very well imagine, the better your bread will turn out being.




About the Author: