Bake

The proper temperature provides the heat necessary for the best oven spring, or the final push of the dough when it increases in size and the gluten strands stretch to contain the last of the yeast’s gases. As the dough bakes, it can increase in volume by as much as a full third. Because of the warm environment during the rising, the bread machine is basically preheated. Each model bakes its cycles at different temperatures, lower than a home oven, but hot enough to bake the bread efficiently and evenly. The temperatures range from 254° to 300°F, with the Sweet Bread cycle the lowest, the Basic cycle in the middle range, and the French Bread cycle the highest. Baking times vary according to the loaf size and choice of cycle.