Bread making seems like a tedious task with all the mixing, rolling, and baking involved. However, in these times when even the basic commodities are sold at higher rates in the market, it may be a worthy task to learn how to bake bread at home and minimize your daily food costs.
The Important Ingredients
Ingredients are essential in learning how to bake bread. One of the things you would need is, of course, flour to make the dough. A good choice would be bread flour which is a type of flour that has higher protein content that can actually help give your bread a better texture.
Another ingredient that is so important in making bread is yeast. Be sure that it is fresh and new. You can scout around in the grocery stores for active dry yeast. Choose the individual packets for easy storage.
Instead of active dry yeast, you can also choose cake yeast, but be sure to keep it stored in your fridge to help keep it fresh.
You also should choose the liquid that you need to use. You can use milk, orange juice, or plain water. Milk can be a good addition to those cream-based bread recipes. Orange juice would add a sweet taste for whole wheat bread recipes. And plain water can enhance the wheat flavor in the bread and help give it as crispy crust.
Don’t forget the eggs, too, in making bread. These things give your bread color and flavor.
Varieties of oil like butter, shortening, or oils are also important in bread making. They help keep your bread moist and tender.
Whatever type of bread you would like to make, you should not forget to add salt. This helps control the development of yeast and also add flavor.
For your choice of toppings, you may use egg glazes for a crisp, shiny, and golden bread crust. They are also helpful in making nuts or sesame seeds securely stick to the bread. Milk can also be a good topping. Or, you can also choose butter to help make a softer, more delicious crust.
The Procedures
Heat the liquids you like to add to your bread and sprinkle yeast. When it boils, remove, and set aside.
In a large bowl, add some flour. Then, place the yeast mixture at the center. Add eggs. Beat all these ingredients well.
Add more flour until you notice that the flour mixture would become a bit hard to stir.
On a flat surface, sprinkle some flour and put your dough. Make a ball out of the dough. You can add more flour to the flat surface you work on or to your fingers to keep them from getting stuck on the dough. Knead well for about five to ten minutes. Set aside covered with a clean cloth, and allow it to rise.
Heat your oven or grill.
After awhile you will see that your dough has risen and is doubly larger than before. Punch it down and work on the flat floured surface again to shape it according to your preferences or as according to what kind of bread recipe you are actually following.
Bake for about thirty five to forty minutes at a heat of 350 degrees F. Remove and let it cool.
Once you learn how to bake bread, you would understand all these essential things that you have to keep in mind, and, perhaps, have lesser visits to those bakeries or grocery stores.
