6
C Breadmaking basics
Breadmakingisbothascienceandanart.It’sasciencebecauseitrequiresprecisemeasurement
andcontrolofquantities,temperaturesandtimesinordertowork.It’sanartbecausethereisan
almostunlimitednumberofvariationsofsweetorsavouryingredientsthatcanbeaddedtoa
basicbreadmix.Thismeans,onceyouhavemasteredthebasics,youhaveunlimitedfreedom
toexplorethecreativepossibilitiesofproducingbreadjustthewaythatyoulikeit.
YourBreadmakerwillhelpyoubecauseittakescareoftheprecisemeasurementsof
temperatureandtime.Allyouhavetodoisensurethatyoumeasuretheingredientsaccurately
anditwillallowyoutobakeaperfectloafeverytime.
Preparation
Beforeyoubeginmakesureyougatheralloftheequipmentandingredientsyouneed.This
includescontainersforingredients,acoolingtray,ovengloves,andifyouhaveoneavailable,a
digitalkitchenscale.
Thislastitemisnotessential,butitwillhelpyoumeasurebothliquidanddryingredients
accuratelyand,aswehavealreadyexplained,thatisalargepartofthesecretofsuccess.
Theroomtemperaturecanaecttheoutcomeofyourbaking.TheBreadmakerworksbestina
temperaturebetween15°Cand34°C(59°Fand93°F).
Measuring
It’simportantthatingredientsaremeasuredaccurately.
• Usethesamemeasuringspoonsforalltheingredients.
• Usethebackofaknifetolevelallspoonsformeasurementsgiveninspoons.
• Electronicscalesaremuchmoreaccuratethanmeasuringjugswhenmeasuringwater.If
you’reusingarecipefromelsewhere,1millilitreofwater=1gram(g).
Choosing ingredients
Flour. Ordinaryplainorselfraisingourisnotsuitableformakingbread.Itisimportantto
chooseaourwith“Strong”or“Bread”initsname.Strongorbreadourscontainmoregluten
thanordinarybakingour.Glutenistheproteinthatgivesthebreaditsstructureandtexture.It
retainsthecarbondioxideproducedbytheyeast,puttingtheelasticity,thebounce,intothe
dough.
Youcanchoosefromstrongwhite,strongbrownor“Farmhouse”our,strongwholemeal,and
wholewheatbreadmakingours.Wholemealoursprovideanexcellentsourceofdietarybre,
butcontainlowerlevelsofglutenthanstrongwhiteour.Thismeansthatbrownloavestendto
besmalleranddenserthanwhiteloaves.Trysubstitutingstrongwhiteourforhalfofthe
brownourintherecipetomakebreadwitha“brownbread”avouranda“whitebread”
texture.
Forthoseonaglutenfreedietitispossibletosubstituteamixtureofriceandpotatostarchour
tomakeglutenfreebread.SeethedetailsfortheGlutenFreeBreadmakerprogramlaterinthis
manual.
Yeast. Yeastisalivingorganism.Givenmoisture,food,andwarmth,theyeastwillgrowand
releasecarbondioxidegas.Thisformsbubbleswhicharetrappedinthedough,makingitrise.
Chooseadriedyeast,marked“suitableforbreadmakers”.Theseareusuallysoldinsachetsand
don’thavetobedissolvedinwaterrst.Onlyusefresh,recentlyopenedyeast(Checkthe“best
before”dateonthesachet)–yeastthatisstoredcanquicklyloseitsabilitytorise.
Liquid. Theliquidingredientisnormallywaterormilk,oramixtureofthetwo.Watermakesa
crispiercrust.Milkgivesasoftercrustwithavelvetytexture.Watershouldbeslightlywarm,in