The Right Temperature/Preheat

Temperature is an important consideration throughout the entire process of mixing, kneading, rising, and baking bread. Someone baking by hand attempts to control the temperature of the environs for every step, adding water of a certain temperature, mixing the dough in one area of the kitchen, moving it to another spot to rise, perhaps moving it again, and, finally, setting the oven at just the right temperature for baking. The bread machine has been designed to create just the right environment for each step in the process. The first step, an important one, is to properly activate the yeast, which is the primary leavener in most breads.