Saturday, 30 April 2011

Mistakes With Zucchini Bread Machine Recipes

Baking zucchini bread is easy as pie. Maybe you haven't done so good with bread machine recipes of late. I'd like to explain to you how to stay away from many of the mistakes while baking zucchini bread and pave the way for your first great zucchini bread.

Inappropriate Kind of Pumpkin For The Bread Machine Recipe

When you buy a pumpkin to bake pumpkin bread or for just about any other food, you can give it a try to start with. Zucchini are falling away rapidly. A zucchini must not be stored over 7 days, if you're going to get it ready for even more use. To be certain that the zucchini remains all right, try a bit of it. If it tastes sweet, you can continue to use it.

Incorrect Zucchini Bread Machine Recipes

Clearly you may be met with negative chance with your bread recipe. However it's not a must. There are a lot of websites offering bread recipes which are rated by a large number of individuals.

What's important is that you ought to keep to the bread recipes and do not change them except if you're a pro.

Awful Combination of Ingredients

Because almost everyone has no clue what effect each and every ingredient may have on the zucchini bread, it is possible to effortlessly go to an incorrect direction. You may need to have the zucchini bread somewhat sweeter than normal, which means you need to add much more sugar in it. Yet what does salt do to your loaf of bread?

Now along with the effect a certain ingredient may do to your bread, you need to look at the way through it too. The quantity of baking flour is dependent upon the amount of this or that. I will explain every little thing in an additional article, for now, stick to your recipe and buy an electronic scale. Before long, it will be Halloween, hence there actually is not enough time remaining to educate yourself a handicraft!

Leaving The Bread In Your Oven For Too Much Time

It actually happens to everyone. However it is fairly uncomplicated. Each oven differs from the others and you also cannot count on what the bread recipes say with regards to the length of time a zucchini bread needs to be kept in the oven. Set your alarm clock to 5 through 10 minutes prior to the bread should be ready.

Don't Throw The Bread In The Trash

Do not throw what you have made yourself away. Zucchini bread, particularly the sweeter ones, are bound to be kept in the fridge. Should you are sure that your chosen bread recipes suit both you and your personal taste, twice it and bake the second or even the third loaf of zucchini bread according to the bread machine recipes.

For more bread recipes, go to Bread Machine Recipes please.

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Wednesday, 27 April 2011

Make White Bread

Make White Bread

White bread is one of the most common bread types available. It is a favorite among children and adults because of its great taste, excellent texture and form that makes it very convenient to make sandwiches and the like. You can make your own homemade white bread in just a few simple and easy steps. Discover how much more you can save and how you can boost shelf-life and overall quality.

Starting Off

Place the smooth dough ball into a clean bowl. The bowl must be coated subtly with vegetable oil. Turn the dough one time so that you leave the top part oiled. Cover the bowl using plastic wrap then position in a warm place. Wait until the dough rises to about twice its original size. Observe again after 45 minutes. Put the dough back on the floured surface then punch it down. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces then allow to rest for 5 minutes.

If you want to make a pan loaf, you can use both your hands to roll each piece into a thick cylinder. This should be a bit longer compared to the bread pan. Use the heels of your hands, then press the cylinder, compressing it to the length of the pan. Place the loaves into bread pans with some oil. The sides of the loaves, particularly the short ends, should come in contact with the sides of the pan.

Next Steps

Place a kitchen towel over the bread pans, then let the dough rise in a warm place until it becomes twice as big as its first size. Wait for about 30 to 45 minutes. Place the loaves inside the oven at 400 degrees F. Bake these for about 30 minutes, and wait until these turn golden brown. The bottoms should have a hollow sound if thwacked with your hand. Take out the pans and let the loaves cool on the racks.

When Mixing the Dough

First, sprinkle the yeast over warm water in a measuring cup. Mix salt, 5 cups of flour and sugar together inside a big bowl. Add yeast mixture, milk and oil to the dry ingredients then stir until the dough moves away from the bowl sides. Begin by stirring everything using a wooden spoon. You will have to proceed to using your hands after a few minutes. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, then knead for 10 to 15 minutes. Add a lot of flour, as needed if you feel that the dough is still sticky. Form the dough into a big ball.

Final Advice

Yeast requires a warm environment of about 100 to 110 degrees F to begin growing. A very warm environment of about 115 degrees F will kill the yeast. If you think the water is warm enough, but not hot, this setup is ideal. Bread flour contains more gluten compared to all-purpose flour and will lead to a higher loaf. Gluten is a wheat protein that lets the dough rise well. You can substitute all-purpose flour using this. Do not forget the salt to avoid the loaf from rising very quickly then falling.

Sunday, 24 April 2011

Bread Machine Recipes A Whole Wheat Iced Breakfast Bread

This bread machine recipe for whole wheat bread is suitable as is for most bread machines. Add the ingredients in the order that your machine tells you, but for the most part that will be liquids first and flour last with the yeast sprinkled on top right before inserting the baking pan into the bread machine. This is a delicious breakfast bread that you will enjoy with your morning cup of coffee.

Bread Ingredients:

2 tablespoons brown sugar. Pack it tightly into the measuring spoon.
1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
2 tablespoons canola oil. Some people prefer olive oil but I think it adds the wrong taste.
1 1/2 cups water. Lukewarm from the tap or bottled if you prefer.
1 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. unbleached white flour or bread flour. My favorite is King Arthur brand.
1 3/4 teaspoons yeast.
Optional: almonds or raisins

Icing Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter
2 drops of vanilla
1/2 pound powdered sugar
milk to consistency

Let the bread bake through to completion, about 3.5 hours. Take the finished bread out of the baking container and let it cool on a rack. You can use the time to make the icing. For the icing, melt the butter in a microwave until it is just becomes pourable. You don't need it to be red hot. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and half the powdered sugar to a bowl. Add a little milk and a little more sugar in several batches until you use up all the sugar and get a consistency that pours easily in a thin stream. If it's too thick add a few more drops of milk at a time, and if it's too thin add a teaspoon or so of powdered sugar at a time until the consistency looks right.

Move the bread to a large dish to catch the drippings and pour the icing over it. Let it cool and enjoy. You could probably substitute 1 c. of wheat flour for 1 c. of unbleached flour but read the directions for your bread machine. Many bread machine recipes never use more than 1 c. of wheat flour.

If you are shopping for a bread machine the Zojirushi X20 Home Bakery Supreme has some attractive features. It makes a conventionally shaped loaf of bread with selectable light, medium, or dark crust. It has two kneading paddles to handle the stiffest dough, which also unfortunately leave two holes in the bottom of the bread when removed, and a 13 hour ahead timer so you can accurately time your fresh baked breakfast bread. One particularly unique and attractive feature is the quick sourdough starter cycle that prepares a light sourdough starter in two hours instead of the seven days it takes with the conventional method.

Learn more about the Zojirushi bread machine that has fast become the favorite with bread-making aficionados.

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Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Breadmaking And Freshly Milled Grains

Breadmaking is both an art and science. You have to understand the process, as well as the ingredients you are using to make the healthiest and freshest breads possible. You may not realize that time is a very important factor to consider to avoid rancidity and other problems when milling and baking. Here are some more tips about freshly milled grains and how you can prepare these to get the best results.

About Milled Grains

There are 25 vitamins, proteins and minerals, plus high fiber from freshly milled flour of whole grain berries. Since grain is naturally preserved inside its shell, it is vital to preserve the entire grain until the final moment to get the most nutrients possible. Natural occurring vegetable oils are encapsulated so that these do not spoil quickly in the whole grain kernel.

As soon as these are milled, flour can get rancid in a short time, because vegetable oils are released. A number of studies present that vitamin loss happens within 3 hours after milling. To make the healthiest breads, you have to mill and bake within 3 hours. Flours left on the shelf for several months have already lost parts of their C and B complex vitamins.

Durum Wheat, Hard Wheat and Soft Wheat

Durum wheat contains high levels of protein, although these create lemon yellow mealy flour referred to as Semolina, such as the one used for making past. Kamut can also be used to make pasta. Hard white spring wheat, referred to as Prairie Gold and Golden 86 can also be used to make bread. This is a hybrid, wherein the bitter compounds of the bran are bred out. The grain is lighter and sweeter, making it an ideal ingredient in making pizza dough and French bread. Soft white winter wheat is referred to as pastry wheat and is used for cookies, pies, pastries, biscuits, muffins and cakes.

The high gluten grains are kamut, spelt and hard wehat. These result to high rising breads containing high levels of protein. Hard wheat can also make yeast bread. Kamut grain and spelt grain lead to yeasted breads. There are several other nutritional grains, although these should be mixed with wheat to create yeast bread.

More on Grains

Changing the grains used can lead to a certain recipe. For example, 10% to 20% of rice flour results to crunchier cookies. Mixing soft white wheat and red wheat 2:3 leads to soft yeasted rolls. Mixing oat flour and soft wheat 1:3 leads to cake flour ideal for a very delicate chiffon cake. Other flours like grains or beans can be substituted for wheat flour in bread recipes, in turn, presenting its own special features. Spelt and kamut do not have adequate gluten inside to successfully raise yeast bread. You can add 1/6 cup of wheat flour to the mix to get high rising breads.

On Wheat Flour

Wheat flour has the highest gluten, a type of protein. It is also that portion of the grain that leads to elasticity, when kneaded. The substance trapping the carbon dioxide provided by the fermenting yeast provides rise and texture to the bread.

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Making Whole Wheat Bread

Making Whole Wheat Bread

It is important to understand the special techniques in making whole wheat bread. Homemade whole wheat bread has a distinct taste and texture, not to mention, all the nutrients that will keep you slim and fit. Some individuals use 100% whole wheat flour but fail to acquire the right firmness. You may end up with a very hard loaf if you do not follow the guidelines strictly. Here are some tried and proven tips from the experts.

The Basic Factors

To make the best 100% whole wheat bread, you need 3 things. First, always use adequately high protein flour, or alternatively, add some vital wheat gluten to the bread dough. Second, avoid adding flour a long while before you need to. Third, knead consistently and nonstop. You will find that using a food processor helps you with the kneading process, since you get to save more time and effort. You can also use your hands or a mixer with a dough hook to get the job done.

Whole wheat flour is heavier compared to white flour, so you need to develop good strong gluten to make a soft crumb and pleasing texture. The higher protein content you have, the more gluten available. Avoid adding too much flour or you risk creating loaves that are hard as a brick. Kneading continuously leads to gluten forming a consistent and strong matrix.

The Recipe

To make a full loaf, you will need 3.5 cups of 100% whole wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten, 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt, 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 package of dry yeast, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of liquid lecithin and warm water. If you are using food processors to do the kneading for you, always use ice water. Once you master the recipe, feel free to add more ingredients like seeds and nuts.

These ingredients are enough to make a loaf weight about 1 1/4 pounds, baked inside an 8.5 x 4.5 inch pan. This pan is ideal compared to metal or glass pans. The metal can create an ideal exterior crust along the sides, baking the loaf evenly throughout. The smooth hard surface will let go of the loaf quickly after baking. This pan also cleans up very easily.

Understanding the Process

There are a number of processes to be followed to make 100% whole wheat bread that has soft and crumb texture. You can knead using a food processor, your hands or the mixer, but the process is radically the same. The 4 processes included are the mixing process, the kneading process, the rising process and the baking process.

Using Bread Machines

You can also use bread machines that provide you the exact amount of every ingredient added in a certain order. You can have the machine operate independently to do the four processes. This is excellent with dough that is made with some white flour. It is not ideal for dough that is 100% whole wheat flour. Whole wheat bread generally requires more rising and kneading times.

Thursday, 14 April 2011

Bread Machine Recipes To Tickle Your Taste Buds

Even if you're a novice you can make all sorts of delicious home made breads in your bread maker. Here are some mouth watering and free bread machine recipes with easy-to-follow directions. And, if these don't appeal, there are hundreds more to choose from.

If you've never made any bread recipes except those that came in your bread machine's recipe book, don't be afraid to experiment baking new and scrumptious breads. Bread makers make baking bread almost child's play; just follow the instructions below and explore the tasty world of wholesome, home made bread.

Almond and Poppy Seed Bread

Nuts and seeds are complementary ingredients in many breads. This recipe conjures up images of family summer picnics.

Ingredients - this will make a 1 1/2lb loaf

1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons almond extract
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons of gluten (optional)
3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast
1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Directions

Except for the nuts, put all the ingredients into the bread pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select your machine's sweet cycle with a light crust setting. Add the nuts when you hear the bread machine's signal to do so.

Orange Millet Bread

This is a lovely sweet, citrus bread that's perfect for Sunday afternoon tea.

Ingredients - this will make a 1 1/2lb loaf

5/8 cup of warm water
1/2 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed is best)
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
3 tablespoons of raisins
Grated rind of 1 orange
2 cups white bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons whole millet
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
3 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

Put all the ingredients into the bread pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select your machine's sweet cycle with a light crust setting.

Potato Bread

This is an old favorite. Rather than using raw potatoes, this recipe makes it easy by using instant potato flakes.

Ingredients - this will make a 1 1/2lb loaf

3/4 cup of milk (you can us either full or semi skimmed)
3/8 cup of water
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 cup bread flour
1/4 cup instant potato flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

Put all the ingredients into the bread pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select your machine's basic bread cycle.

Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Bread

An exotic bread that is perfect for any Mediterranean or North African meal.

Ingredients - this will make a 2lb loaf

3/4 cup of warm water
1/3 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers (other sweet peppers are fine too)
1 tablespoon of softened butter
2 cloves of crushed garlic
3 1/4 cups white bread flour
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (try to use fresh if possible)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

Put all the ingredients into the bread pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select your machine's basic bread cycle.

The above recipes are just a tiny fraction of the free bread machine recipes that are available online. Go on, experiment and broaden your bread baking world.

Follow the links for more delicious and free bread machine recipes and found out why many consider the Zojirushi bread machine the best bread machine you can buy.

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Sunday, 10 April 2011

Maximizing Bread Machine Recipes

In both bread machine recipes and oven baked recipes, we only need three primary ingredients to make cakes- flour, liquid, and the yeast. Once these basics are prepared, you can add, mix and experiment on some other ingredients that will enhance the taste of simple recipes.

Baking a bread by hand and with the help of bread machine follows the same basic processes. The only crucial difference is that rising, mixing and baking are all done inside the machine. However, this doesn't imply that you must not keep a close observation on what's cooking in your bread machine. The little window is there for a reason, remember?

Flour

The structure-giving component in all breads is the flour. And this is further supported by the gluten content of the cake, bread, wheat and other flour varieties.

However, gluten comes in varying levels in different types of flour. Hard wheat has the strongest and largest gluten amount per cup. (Perhaps 6 grams or more in each cup.) Bread machine flour however, is somewhat identical with that of the all-purpose flour.

Gluten is important in baking since it gives the body for the bread. It also helps yield chewy texture.

Meanwhile, vital wheat gluten is a food item that creates the benefits of gluten in non-gluten or less gluten content flour varieties such as whole-wheat flour, rye flour, oatmeal, soy flour and cornmeal. This is usually used when your bread machine recipes requires such varieties as we have mentioned.

Liquid

The most popular liquids used in bread machine recipes are buttermilk, milk and water. The general rule of thumb in using liquid and other main ingredients is to allow them to settle at room temperature. If your bread machine recipe requires eggs, you must follow this rule too.

Since active dry yeast is dissolved in warm liquids (but definitely not hot!), it becomes an exception to the rule. One main point to remember in most bread machine recipes is that they seldom make use of fresh milk. (Who wants milk that has been exposed to the external environment for a whole night anyway?) Instead, we alternate powdered buttermilk or non-fat dry milk. However, if you're planning to mix the ingredients right away and bake them immediately, you can substitute fresh milk with buttermilk or water then cancel powdered milk.

Yeast

As we have noted earlier, yeast yields the body for the bread. Yeast is a one-celled plant that feeds on starches and sugar which in return, gives off carbon dioxide- a leading element in raising the size of your dough. Since it is a living organism, it can be vulnerable to very harsh conditions such as too hot or too salty environment.

But yeast takes considerable time to activate in the dough, more often 45 to more than an hour. That is why you often see that recipes require the use of another yeast breed - rapid-rise yeast. This is a special formulation that can be mixed directly into the dry ingredients.

All bread machines are not created equal. Please note of the maximum size your bread machine yields and the estimated size of the recipe that you will bake. Bread machines can either make 1 pound, 1 ½ pound or two-pound loaves. Please be sure to follow the guidelines as stated in your user manual. Make use only of recipes that have proportionate amounts of ingredients with your bread machine or try to adjust the quantities accordingly.

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Saturday, 9 April 2011

Simple Breadmaker Recipes for Homemade Bread

Simple Breadmaker Recipes for Homemade Bread

When bread makers first came out years back people felt that all you could use them for was plain white bread. Well that is not even close to being true any more. There are now dozens of fantastic recipes available for all kinds of bread. What you will find is that the ingredients you use in a bread machine will be a little different than if you were baking bread normally. The results are just as good however.

Below is a selection of recipes that are very simple to make, very affordable, and most of all, deliciously healthy. They only take a few minutes to prepare and the results will make everyone happy. So go ahead and try them out. Crack open your breadmaker and give one of these yummy recipes a try.

Basic White Bread

1 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons powdered milk

2 TBSP oil (l usually use canola)

1 tsp salt

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp yeast

Just use the standard wet on the bottom dry on top mixing process. This is delicious with butter and honey while it is still hot.

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Grain & Honey Bread

3/4 cup warm water

2 TBSP honey (liquid or melted)

2 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP lemon juice

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (mixed grain flower is OK too)

1/2 cup rolled oats

2 tsps granulated yeast

Put the salt in the breadmaker first, then add all other ingredients except the yeast, oats and flour. Add the oats and flour. Make a small hole at the top of the dry ingredients for the yeast. Bake as usual.

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Cheesy Buttermilk Bread

This yields a moist and tasty loaf. It also stores very well, but you'll probably finish it before that even matters!

1 and 1/8 cups buttermilk

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP sugar

.75 cup extra sharp chedder (grated)

3 cups bread flour

1.5 tsps bread machine yeast

Prepare as usual. All wet ingredients first, then the cheese, then dry ingredients, and the yeast on top.

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Oat Bread

Use natural rolled oats. Just put them in a pot with boiling water, and then let them soak until they cool off. Then add the other ingredients and proceed as usual.

1 cup rolled oats

11 fl.oz. water

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups flour

1 tsp yeast

Baking bread is a wonderfully delicious way to add great nutrition to you family's diet. Give the recipes a try and add some flavour to your meals.

Lynne Birch writes on home decor and home improvement. http://www.my-kitchen-appliance.com has a selection of articles and reviews of kitchen appliances that is growing daily. Recent & updated Bread Machine reviews.

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Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Simple Bread Machine Pizza Dough

Simple Bread Machine Pizza Dough

Making pizza at home is easy if you have the right tools and you'd be surprised how few tools you need. The dough is typically the part most people think is difficult to make but my 15 year old son who has no time is able to make is own pizza every night.

The only piece of "special" equipment you need is a bread machine with a dough setting. We had one sitting around from the home bread making craze a few years ago. The first thing you are going to need are the ingredients. Simple bread ingredients are all that is needed.

  1. 3 1/2 cups of flour (Bread flour for a slightly chewier crust.)
  2. 2 tablespoons of yeast (Normal yeast, not fast acting yeast.)
  3. 2 table spoons of honey (I add 3-4 tablespoons for a sweeter dough)
  4. 1/4 cup olive oil (This adds a lot of flavor.)
  5. 1/2 teaspoon salt (Don't skip this.)
  6. 1 cup warm water (Around 100 degrees.)
  7. Any other flavorings (I put Italian seasoning, 1 table spoon, garlic powder, onions, ETC.)
Place all the ingredients into the bread machine and set it to the dough setting. This is the only part that takes some time. My machine runs an hour and a half and only needs to be checked once after 20 minutes or so to make sure the dough doesn't climb the side.

Once the dough is done, spread flour over a large cutting board or a clean table. First divide up the dough because this is just a huge amount of dough to work with. One recipe makes 2 large regular pizzas or 1 large pan style pizza.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Roll away from you then turn the dough a quarter turn and roll again. Continue doing this until the dough is 1/4 inch thick for regular pizza or 1/2 inch for thick pan style.

Now you have inexpensive and tasty pizza dough waiting for your toppings. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minute then check on it regularly until the crust is a golden brown.

Zane Minninger loves food and experiments with different foods regularly. Having two children who love pizza but hate most delivery places, he had to come up with a fast and easy method to feed his growing children.

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Monday, 4 April 2011

Bread Formulation Plus

If you want to successfully make bread, you have to know more about its composition and chemistry. There are different ingredients that have relative effects to the process. Choosing the right ones will result to delicious bread with good form that keeps for several days or weeks. You have to learn the balance between the ingredients to get the most benefits possible.

About Bread Chemistry

The amount of flour and water is very important when making bread, since these change the crumb and texture of the bread. Professional bakers use a system of percentages called Bakers' Percentage when following recipes and making formulations. They measure all the ingredients according to weight instead of volume. Measuring by weight becomes more accurate and consistent, compared to volume measuring. Dry ingredients are also easier to measure when weighed.

Flour always has 100% and all other ingredients get a percentage of that amount according to weight. The common table bread in America uses about 50% water, leading to light and finely textured bread. A lot of artisan bread formulas also have 60% to 75% water. In yeast bread types, high water percentages lead to CO2 bubbles, plus a coarser bread crumb. One pound of flour will result to a regular loaf bread or 2 french loaves.

Knowing Bread Flour

Flour is a product created from grain which has been ground into a powdery consistent form. Flour gives the primary structure to the final baked bread. Common available flours are created from barley, maize, rye and other grains. Wheat flour is the most commonly used for breads, with each of the grains giving protein and starch to the resulting product.

Wheat flour, aside from its starch, also has 3 water soluble protein groups, globulin, albumin, proteoses and 2 non-water soluble protein groups called gliadin and glutenin. When flour mixes with water, the water-soluble proteins dissolve, which trigger gliadin and glutenin to create the structure of the remaining dough. Glutenin creates strands of long thin and chain-like molecules when kneaded, while gliadin creates bridges between glutenin strands. The networks of strands create by the 2 proteins are called gluten. Gluten boosts the quality of the dough.

About Bread Liquids

Water or any other liquid can be used to create the flour and turn it into dough or a paste. The volume of liquid needed will change between recipes, although a ratio of 1 cup of liquid to 3 flour cups is basic for yeast breads. Recipes using steam as a main leavening procedure can have liquid content in excess of 1 part liquid to 1 part flour according to volume. Aside from water, other liquids can be used such as fruit juice, dairy products and orbeer. These can provide added fats, sweeteners and leavening components.

Bread Recipes

Bread recipes will differ, but it is important that you stick to the ratios provided. You will find that later on, you can change the amounts slightly to get the right consistency, flavor and texture that you prefer. Some countries have varying components to provide more uniqueness and creativity to the mix.