steps to bread making
Source of Recipe
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Recipe Introduction
Making bread requires a bit of precision
Making bread requires following some simple, but important, steps.
List of Ingredients
YEAST: Living microorganisms that feed on the natural sugar in the dough. As the yeast feeds and multiplies, it produces carbon dioxide, which, when trapped, causes the bread to rise. You'll find several types. Two of the most common are active dry yeast and quick-rising yeast, sold in 1/4-ounce packages (equal to a scant tablespoon). This yeast should be stored in a refrigerator or freezer and used by the expiration date. Fresh yeast is sold in 5/8-ounce cakes equal to 1 package of active dry yeast. It also should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
PROOFING: When making a yeast-based bread, the yeast must be active to work. Adding warm -- not hot -- liquid to the yeast with a pinch of flour or sugar should cause it to froth and turn opaque. If the yeast does not show signs of activity, it needs to be discarded and replaced with a new batch.
TEMPERATURE: Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the water used to proof the yeast is warm, about 100 degrees. If the water is too hot -- more than 130 degrees -- it can kill the yeast.
You also can use an instant-read thermometer to test doneness in breads. Insert it in the center of the bread. It will register 190-200 degrees when the bread is done.
KNEADING: By pushing and turning the dough with your hands or a mixer equipped with a bread hook, kneading activates one of the wheat's proteins called gluten. The gluten gives elasticity to the dough and also helps trap the gas bubbles produced by leavening agents, eventually causing the bread to rise. Sturdy yeast breads require more gluten and more kneading than do delicate biscuits.
To hand-knead dough, place it on a lightly floured surface. Gently press into the middle of the dough with the heels of your hands, pushing down and away from you and fold the top toward the center with your fingers. Give the dough a quarter-turn and repeat.
RISING: This necessary step for yeast breads gives the yeast time to work, allowing it to double or even triple the size of the ball of dough. The dough should be oiled first by being rolled in a lightly oiled bowl; oiling seals the surface of the dough to prevent cracks while rising. Warm temperatures help speed up the rising time.
Flour types
Always use the type of flour called for in a recipe. Take a look at the following wheat flour types to see how different they can be. This list was adapted from "The Bread Book," by Betsy Oppenneer.
ALL-PURPOSE: A blend of several kinds of hard and soft wheat flours -- with varying protein levels -- that usually can be used for everything from pastry to bread. High protein levels allow bread to rise higher. Some all-purpose flours with less protein, such as 9 grams per 1/4 cup, may not be as well suited for yeast breads as would one with 12 to 13 grams. Check the information on the bag. Some all-purpose flour is labeled "unbleached," which means it didn't undergo chemical whitening. The two can be used interchangeably.
BREAD: This is made from hard wheat with a high protein content that produces loftier loaves. Bread flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose and requires more kneading. Not all bread recipes require bread flour.
CAKE: This finely milled, soft wheat flour has little protein. It produces light, tender baked goods. Do not substitute for all-purpose flour.
SELF-RISING: Low-protein, soft wheat flour with added baking soda and salt. This is fine for many light baked goods, but use it only when self-rising flour is called for. Otherwise you will have to calculate how to reduce the leavening that would normally be added to all-purpose flour.
WHOLE WHEAT: Flour made from the ground whole-wheat berry, including the germ and the bran. It makes denser loaves with a nutty taste and higher fiber content.
Recipe
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