Bread Tips

Posted by Bee & John on July 21, 2013 at 5:50 AM

"But my bread didn't rise!" - "My Bread is hard", "my bread is too sticky.....

Sounds familiar? Here are some tips you might find useful

Getting Bread To Rise

It's winter, and in a fair portion of Australia it's cold... Not just outside, but our water is cold, our baking tins are cold.....

Use slightly warmer water - it's ok to have warm, not tepid, water. NOT HOT - but 50oC water is fine, it will counteract the colder oil, flour etc.
If you don't have a bread mat....

Let the dough rise in the Thermomix Bowl (if you can spare it for 30-60 minutes) then knead for another 20-30 seconds and take out to tin or shape; or
Let the bread dough rise in your Thermoserver (warm it first); or
Put it into a warmed bowl - put some plastic wrap over the top and set it in the microwave with the light on; or
Switch on the oven for a few minutes... then switch it off - it will keep the warmth.

If you are using a tin or a tray - WARM it first. I don't know about you, but although we're warm in front of our heater, it is COLD in the cupboards and my tins are freezing. The bread WILL rise in a cold environment but VERY slowly
Once you have tinned and/or shaped your bread let it rise again in a warm spot - make sure there are no drafts and it is either covered with something or coated with oil so it doesn't dry out

My bread is dry

Add some more liquid, a slightly sticky dough is a softer bread
knead for an extra 30 seconds over what you do now
roll out the dough, or handle the dough, with oil rather than flour so you don't dry out the dough
did you cut the bread when it was hot? All that steam escaping is the moisture coming out of the bread - if you have to cut it while it is warm, cover with a tea towel to help keep it moist
when the bread is cold put into a plastic bag

My Bread is sticky

good. A sticky bread is a softer bread
if there is heaps of sticky dough left of the blades, "flick" them off by using turbo for a second once or twice
you can always add a little flour while it is kneading

Any other questions? Send me an email [email protected] and I'll add some more tips

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