Basic bread dough - Eat Well Recipe - NZ Herald (2024)

FAQs

What is the best flour to make bread? ›

Second to bread flour, all-purpose flour does have the next highest amount of protein available, however. While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour.

The more sugar in yeast dough, the more slowly it will rise. Remember, sugar is hygroscopic.

Creating a smooth, pliable dough

Excess water makes a batter, while too little water renders a dough rough, dry and unpliable. Generally speaking, a flour to water ratio of 2:1 achieves a dough of reasonable consistency. So if you have 500g of flour, use about 250 mL of water.

While bread flour is more than adequate for everyday breads, some professional bakers use high-gluten flour with a 14% protein content to provide extra strength to dense, chewy doughs like bagels and pizza dough. High-gluten bread flour gives milk bread it's taut structure and compact (but tender) crumb.

The healthiest bread flour is 100% whole grain flour. Whole grain flour could be rye, barley, spelt, oat, or wheat flour - the key is that the flour is made from 100% whole grains. Whole grain breads provide essential nutrients that are lacking in bread made from white flour.

Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough.

Not only does it add flavor and richness to the final product, it also serves a number of important functions in the baking process. One of the main roles of milk in baking is to provide moisture. It can help to keep baked goods from becoming too dry and crumbly, and can also add tenderness to the texture.

Baking Soda

It helps breads rise and gives them their light and airy texture. Unlike yeast, baking soda needs an acid to activate it. By adding an acid to baking soda (such as lemon juice or cream of tartar) a chemical reaction occurs that produces carbon dioxide and fills your bread with air — much like yeast does.

Tip #1: Don't add too much extra flour. The amount of flour you need to bring the dough together into a smooth, elastic, and cohesive ball will depend on your kitchen environment. If the dough is tacky, or even a little sticky, don't worry. It will absorb moisture as it rests and rises.

What are the ingredient that add richness to a dough? ›

FATS. Fats include butter, margarine, oil and shortening. They add richness, moisture and make the bread tender.

Sweat It Out

When the hot air hits the cold air, the water vapor condenses, or “sweats.” If you cover your bread with a towel or bowl, you can trap that water in your bread, resulting in a softer crust. I've turned otherwise rock-hard loaves into soft, tasty treats this way.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

If you let the bread cool in room temperature, that moisture will set on the surface turning the bread "less crusty".

There are 4 types of wheat flour that are most used in bread recipes. : all-purpose flour, bread flour, whole wheat flour and white whole wheat flour.

No. Self-raising flour is effectively plain (all-purpose) flour that comes pre-mixed with baking powder. Strong (bread) flour is flour that contains more gluten than plain (all-purpose) flour. This makes it particularly suitable for making bread, which depends on developing gluten chains within the dough.

Edmonds High Grade Flour is a high protein flour suitable for use in yeast-raised baking or baking that needs stability and strength. It is important in bread making to ensure that the dough, when kneaded has sufficient strength to give bread good volume and texture.

You can use all-purpose flour as a 1:1 substitute for bread flour and vice-versa. For example, for 1 cup of bread flour, you can use 1 cup of all-purpose flour.