Important tips about baking bread
Start with fresh, organic ingredients
Flour is the most important raw material for baking bread. In general, if you want your bread to be of excellent quality and have a delicious taste that you will enjoy eating, you must definitely choose high quality raw materials.
The flour you use should be of the right type for making the desired bread and any type of wholemeal or white flour you use should be of good quality. Fresh organic flour that you grind yourself contains the vital gluten of wheat, germ and bran. This is the best flour for your bread. Flour that is rich in enzymes and protein that makes your bread rise well. Try not to use flour that is for baking because it will make your dough not work well and try to buy your flour from bakeries.
I suggest that you use different flours because each one has its own quality, so after a while of testing, you can choose a strong brand that will work for your flour and won’t bother you when you knead the dough.
Heat the bread at 70 degrees
The best and tastiest bread rises slowly in cooler temperatures. In summer in hot climates, you may need to place your bread in a cooler location. Adjust the temperature rise so that you can maintain this desired temperature.
Do not cut hot bread!
When you buy hot bread, you like to cut it and put it in the freezer as soon as possible. But when the bread is hot and you cut it, it has a bad effect on its texture and taste, so you have to let the bread cool down and then cut it.
Test your yeast
2 important points before buying yeast
Be sure to check the type of yeast before buying because there are 3 main types of yeast:
1 fresh dried yeast
2 fast-acting yeast
3 active dry yeast
The most convenient type of yeast for home baking, using dry yeast is currently fast-acting because it allows your dough to fully rise and be fully prepared.
Be sure to check the expiration date
Yeast has a shelf life of 1-2 weeks. Keeping your yeast in the refrigerator can increase its shelf life. But eventually, it loses its vitality. Always test your yeast before adding it to your bread.
To test the yeast, combine the yeast mixture, warm water, and sugar or honey in a 2-cup measuring cup. Let it sit for 10 minutes. The active yeast will bubble. If your yeast doesn’t bubble, discard it and try again with fresh yeast.
Careful use of water or milk
Water or milk: Be sure to add water or milk gradually so that your dough gets the desired texture.
The temperature of the water you use for bread is very important. If in your bread recipe all the dry ingredients must be dissolved in water or another liquid, the temperature of the milk or water should be 43 to 48 degrees Celsius, but if water must be added to the dry ingredients, it should be from If it is higher than 48 to 54, you can use a cooking thermometer.