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Some Special Tips

Appears in
top 1000The Baking Bible
The Baking Bible

By Rose Levy Beranbaum

Published 2014

  • About
  • I prefer to add the water to the bread machine container or mixer bowl before the flour because, when I set the container on the scale and then add the water, it is easy to pour in a little too much and equally easy to remove it, whereas if the flour is already in the bowl, the water will start to mix with the flour and it will be harder to remove.
  • If making a recipe using a sponge starter, such as the White Chocolate Club Med Bread, and it suits your schedule best to let it rise overnight, you can let the sponge sit at 60°F/16°C, or refrigerate it, for up to 12 hours.
  • Bread rises best in a moist environment, 75° to 85°F/24° to 29°C (see bread proofer). To make your own bread proofer, place a container or cup filled with hot water in a plastic box or a microwave oven. Change the water every 30 minutes. You can also use a conventional oven without a pilot light but with the light turned on to provide heat.
  • The range of time for bread rising is not only related to the temperature of the rising environment, but also to how often bread is made in your kitchen. Because I have been baking bread often for more than a decade, my bread dough rises faster due to all of the friendly flora in the air.
  • Stretching the dough gently between risings helps to develop elasticity, resulting in a good rise and shape to the finished loaf. When the recipe says to give the dough “a four-sided stretch and fold,” set the dough on a lightly floured counter and pat it into a rough square. One at a time, gently pull out and stretch each of the four edges and then fold them into the center. Press the center of the dough so that the dough sticks together, turn it over, round the dough by tucking the corners under, and return it to the rising container, smooth side up.
  • When dough is retarded overnight (set in the refrigerator overnight before baking), it will develop more flavor but will be slightly lower in height after baking.
  • If dough is shaped when cold, the components will not be evenly distributed, so the resulting crumb may have bubbles and the texture may be uneven. If the dough has been refrigerated, remove it to room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour before shaping. (Brioche, however, is such a soft, moist dough that it is best rolled when cold, because it will require less flour to keep it from sticking.)
  • Always place the dough, smooth (skin) side down, on a very lightly floured counter to begin shaping. Too much flour causes the dough to slip. You want the dough to grab slightly onto the counter as you push against it to tighten the outer “skin,” which will help to support and maintain the shape of the loaf.
  • Let bread cool completely before cutting because the baking process continues while the bread is still hot.

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