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Fine Tuning Bread Machine Recipes
by
Dennis Weaver
Sometimes making
in your machine can be tricky.
We were trying to help a customer whose did not rise enough. It seemed that he did everything right. Come to find out, he had an older model and a brand that we were not familiar with. (Bread machines are becoming more standardized but there are still different requirements for different machines.) So we tried to help him fine tune his to work perfectly with his machine.
Fine tuning may be required either because the recipe does not perfectly match the machine or because of environmental conditions in your kitchen—humidity, temperature, or altitude. (Since temperature is a variable, make sure that both the mix and machine are at room temperature before beginning.)
Bread machines work on a timer. They mix, allow time for the to rise, and then bake. If the dough does not rise fast enough, then the loaf is dense with poor volume. If the dough rises too fast, it collapses with a depression in the middle. If your recipe does not work just right, it may be fine tuned to turn out the perfect bread. To do so, you want to adjust the rising so that it is at peak height when the baking cycle begins.
In fine tuning, there are two variables to work
with. The first is hydration, the ratio of water
to dry ingredients. A more hydrated dough is softer
and will rise easier. If it is too firm, it won't
rise enough and will be dense.
If it is too soft, it will rise too quickly and
collapse as baking begins. A little difference
in the amount of water added will change the loaf
so measure carefully your water with a reliable
measuring cup designed for liquids.
Check the dough ball at the end of the kneading
cycle. Poke it with your finger. It should be
soft but not too sticky. If you think it is too
soft or too firm, pull it out of the machine,
form a loaf, let it rise, and bake it in the oven.
Then next time, add or subtract water. Usually
a one tablespoon adjustment is all that is needed.
The other method for fine tuning is adjusting
the temperature of the water. All of our
machine mixes are developed with water at 80 degrees
and a specified water temperature range of 75
to 85 degrees. As a rule of thumb, if your kitchen
is chilly, use water at 85 degrees. If hot, use
water at 75 degrees.
Increasing or decreasing the water temperature
will change the rate of the yeast growth substantially.
So if the dough ball indicates the right consistency,
then you can speed or retard the rising of the
quite handily by adjusting the water temperature--warmer
water will speed the rising and cooler water will
slow the rising. Usually an adjustment of ten
degrees is the most you will want to vary.
We hope this helps you fine tune your recipe for
your
machine and the conditions in your kitchen. Once
you find what works, stick with it. Consistently
turning out perfect loaves is usually no more
difficult than carefully measuring the water and
controlling water temperature.
Copyright 2003-2007,
The Prepared Pantry (www.prepraredpantry.com ).
Published by permission in the Article
Directory: http://www.articlecube.com
Dennis
Weaver is a baker, a recipe designer, and a writer.
He has written many baking guides and How
to Bake, a comprehensive baking and reference
e-book--available free at The
Prepared Pantry which sells baking and cooking
supplies and has a free online baking library.
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