We all have been in that mind set where we’re looking for a new recipe to surprise our family with. Search no further because we have a few tips and small recipe secrets to make your incredible tasting bread have more texture and longer lasting.
Ingredient Tips & Common Cooking Secrets
The most salient ingredient for your bread is yeast. Yeast works by absorbing the sugars and starches in the bread dough and helps it rise. Carbon dioxide gas also creates an avenue for your dough to rise as well. You will want to keep your yeast in the refrigerator because it is very perishable and can go bad (yes, bad yeast). Salt is the main reason that your bread will hold on to that flavor you love so much, so use it appropriately. Salt adds to the development of the bread structure as well. Sea salt actually mixes into bread well, so we suggest using that. In the same way salt is important, water comes next because it helps the salt and sweeteners dissolve. It helps moisten the flour and helps release the starches.
One way to speed up your yeast activity is to use slightly warm water during preparation. An option for if you have treated tap water is to use bottled spring water for your bread. If you’re looking for a soft/smooth texture, butter, nut butters, and olive oil provide that and also attribute to a softer crust. (Here’s some olive oil dispensers you may like)
Fats also attribute to the flavor of your bread and all of them have seemingly a different flavor that becomes of it, so choose wisely! Even more so, you can test out multiple butters and oils to find your own desired taste. Remember though, the more fats that you use, the more yeast the recipe will call for in order produce a successful loaf on all fronts.
Now, when you think of sweeteners, you probably flash back to what you put in your coffee this morning. What we are speaking on when we are talking about sweeteners is honey, maple syrup, and sugars. These create a deeper, darker, and more browned crust. They also attribute to the rising of your bread by feeding the yeast and ensuring that it rises more rapidly. Just like we stated above about the more fats you use, the more yeast that will be needed – the exact same concept goes for sweeteners as well. More sweetener equals more yeast. Couple with the increased amount of yeast, you should bake any recipe with an increased amount of sweetener at a lower temperature so that your dough doesn’t brown too quickly.
Once you get your mixture down and the best bread cloche preheated, you can start by inserting your bread. The first rise is normally around 25-40 minutes afterward. The second rise is shortly after that and then your full cook should be completed. Make sure that you don’t immediately try and eat the bread or anything like that for about 10 minutes after you remove it from the bread cloche. Alternatively, you can use a bread machine!
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