Secrets of baking bread at home

Bread is the head of everything. It is so desirable for the "head" to be soft, tasty, and genuine! Unfortunately, it is practically impossible to find real bread in stores. In industrial production, there is simply no opportunity to pay as much attention to bread as our grandmothers always did. Moreover, bread made in factories contains many different unpleasant additives. For these reasons, more and more housewives prefer to bake bread themselves at home. This process has many peculiarities and secrets, which we will discuss today.

The basics of basics

Classic bread consists of the simplest ingredients: flour, yeast, water, and salt. At home, bread can be baked in the most ordinary oven; it is not necessary to buy a bread maker for this purpose. All ingredients used to make the dough should be warm. If they were just brought from the store and it is winter outside, the ingredients should be left on the table to warm up to room temperature. During mixing, flour should be added to water – this makes it much easier to achieve a homogeneous consistency.

Flour

The basis of bread is wheat flour. Even if the bread is called rye or corn, it still has wheat flour as the base, to which other types of flour are added for flavor. Never try to make bread solely from rye flour. It is too "heavy" and absorbs a large amount of water, resulting in the dough not rising or baking properly. Always use high-quality wheat flour as the base (this is the simplest option). The ideal ratio is seventy percent wheat flour and thirty percent of another type of flour. Flour must be sifted to saturate it with oxygen.

Yeast

Housewives with little experience are best off using fast-acting dry yeast. With this, the dough will definitely rise and the bread will turn out. However, even in this case, the bread can be spoiled if too much yeast is added: as a result, it will smell of yeast. If you feel that you have added too much yeast, increase the proofing time. Dissolve the yeast only in warm water (about thirty-six degrees). Under no circumstances should you use boiling water: it will kill the yeast!

About sourdough

An ancient substitute for modern yeast is sourdough. Baking bread with sourdough is a true art. Sourdough is made from flour and water, and its fermentation takes a long time, sometimes even several days. The fermentation process requires constant monitoring. Sourdough needs to be kneaded, adding flour, water, or some other ingredients, such as honey, raisins, hops, or grapes. This is a very long, but quite interesting process. However, it is worth trying to bake bread with sourdough only if you have a deep interest in bread making and sufficient time.

Kneading the dough

Many housewives hesitate to bake bread on their own, thinking that the dough must be kneaded for a very long time. However, this is a misconception: bread dough only needs to be kneaded for five to ten minutes until it no longer sticks to the hands. Overall, kneading dough is necessary for it to become saturated with oxygen. It is advisable to carry out this process by hand so that the future bread receives your warmth. However, many bakers now use kitchen mixers and special dough kneaders. You can also use the help of machines, but at the end, at least for a couple of minutes, remember to knead the dough by hand. Some housewives make the mistake of constantly adding flour to the dough to prevent it from sticking to the table. This should not be done, as the dough sticks not because of a lack of flour, but due to a lack of oxygen, which is what saturates the dough during kneading.

Proofing and punching down

Yeast bread needs about three hours to fully absorb oxygen. During this time, the bread is placed in a warm spot (with a temperature of twenty-five to twenty-six degrees) where there are no drafts. The container with the dough is covered with a damp towel to prevent crust formation and retain moisture. Some housewives use the cold fermentation method and put the dough in the refrigerator overnight. For those baking bread for the first time, it is better to use the first method.

About one and a half hours after the fermentation process starts, the dough is punched down to remove excess air and prevent large holes from forming in the bread. Punching down is required for both yeast and sourdough.

Shaping

Dough with high moisture is baked in molds to prevent it from spreading on the baking sheet. For example, baguettes are prepared this way. It is best to use a cast-iron or ceramic mold, in which heat is distributed evenly. If such molds are not available, silicone, metal, or paper molds can be used. After placing the dough in the mold, it is essential to make cuts in the necessary places for the bread to look appetizing. After shaping, the bread must be put back for fermentation: yeast bread for one hour and sourdough for two hours.

Baking

Preheat the oven to the temperature specified in the recipe (two hundred to two hundred forty degrees). Place a saucer with water or ice cubes at the bottom. Increased humidity in the oven will prevent rough crust formation and help the bread bake evenly. To avoid burning, coarse salt can be sprinkled on the baking sheet, or a cabbage leaf can be placed under each loaf. The loaves can be covered with foil or damp paper. For forty minutes, do not open the oven so the bread does not collapse. You can check for doneness by poking the bread with a wooden stick: if it comes out dry, the product is ready. After baking, cover the bread with a dry towel and allow it to "rest" for thirty minutes. After this procedure, the bread can be enjoyed. Regular yeast bread lasts about three days, while a masterpiece baked with sourdough stays fresh for up to ten days.