Important Information about Yeast Breads
I've posted several bread recipes on my cookbook and I realized that it may help some readers to give a bit more information. Bread making isn't difficult and can be really rewarding. I especially like to bake bread when I'm slightly upset about something and take my aggression out on the dough as I knead it. I've made some of my best bread this way.
I give a specific amount of flour in the yeast bread and roll recipes but you may need more or even less. Weather conditions and altitude will affect how your dough comes together. I start out with what the recipe lists but always slowly add more in until I get the desired bread dough consistency if necessary. In general, bread made entirely by hand usually requires a firmer, more elastic dough. Bread made in the bread machine is a little moister as is bread dough made with a mixer. If it's too moist your dough won't rise well and will tend to cave in at the top during baking. Over time you'll develop a sense of what the best dough for that particular recipe should look and feel like.
To get a better rise and a fluffier bread, I sometimes add gluten flour. Gluten is what binds the bread together. It is also something many people are very sensitive too and can't digest properly. If you're one of those you may want to check into gluten-free cooking. There are books on the subject and many web sites with recipes and information about celiac disease and gluten intolerance.
I can find gluten flour in the bulk bins at our local Winco and only add a Tablespoon or two to the flour when making yeast breads or rolls if I'm in a gluten mood.
When you allow the bread to rise keep the dough in a warm place free from draft and covered with a clean dish towel. Yeast is alive and one activated by the right temperature water or milk, it needs a warm place to grow. Make sure that you don't have the liquid the yeast is activated in too warm or too cool. If it's too hot you'll kill the yeast and you'll end up with bricks instead of loaves. Too cool and you won't wake up the yeast and trigger it's growth.
I don't make bread nearly as often as I'd like. My grandmother made bread every Monday and I often spent some happy hours in her kitchen as we talked and she taught me about life in general and cooking in particular. She always said that making bread on a windy day helped the bread to rise. Even now on a windy day when I'm in the kitchen, I think of her and I can almost smell her bread baking in the oven.
I give a specific amount of flour in the yeast bread and roll recipes but you may need more or even less. Weather conditions and altitude will affect how your dough comes together. I start out with what the recipe lists but always slowly add more in until I get the desired bread dough consistency if necessary. In general, bread made entirely by hand usually requires a firmer, more elastic dough. Bread made in the bread machine is a little moister as is bread dough made with a mixer. If it's too moist your dough won't rise well and will tend to cave in at the top during baking. Over time you'll develop a sense of what the best dough for that particular recipe should look and feel like.
To get a better rise and a fluffier bread, I sometimes add gluten flour. Gluten is what binds the bread together. It is also something many people are very sensitive too and can't digest properly. If you're one of those you may want to check into gluten-free cooking. There are books on the subject and many web sites with recipes and information about celiac disease and gluten intolerance.
I can find gluten flour in the bulk bins at our local Winco and only add a Tablespoon or two to the flour when making yeast breads or rolls if I'm in a gluten mood.
When you allow the bread to rise keep the dough in a warm place free from draft and covered with a clean dish towel. Yeast is alive and one activated by the right temperature water or milk, it needs a warm place to grow. Make sure that you don't have the liquid the yeast is activated in too warm or too cool. If it's too hot you'll kill the yeast and you'll end up with bricks instead of loaves. Too cool and you won't wake up the yeast and trigger it's growth.
I don't make bread nearly as often as I'd like. My grandmother made bread every Monday and I often spent some happy hours in her kitchen as we talked and she taught me about life in general and cooking in particular. She always said that making bread on a windy day helped the bread to rise. Even now on a windy day when I'm in the kitchen, I think of her and I can almost smell her bread baking in the oven.
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