How to make bread - bread-making ingredients

Flour, yeast, water and salt are the four key ingredients required to make

bread. Extra ingredients such as fat (in the form of butter, olive oil and

margarine), sugar, nuts, seeds and dried fruit can be added to enhance the

taste of your loaves or create specialty breads. Wherever possible, use the

highest quality ingredients.

Making bread using a bread machine

When using a bread machine to make your bread at home, there are a number of points to bear in mind. Most importantly,

always follow the manufacturer's guidelines. You may find that some of the recipes that come with your machine need

some fine-tuning so you may have to experiment with the first few loaves.

Some bread machine models enable you to select a light or dark crust setting and some come with preset settings for

French bread. If your machine features a rapid bake setting, this will speed up the bread making process but be prepared

that rapid bake loaves will not rise as much as those baked on a regular setting.

Try to be as accurate as possible with your measurements, especially with your water. Too much water can result in a

leaden loaf.

Successful home bread making requires time and care

For the most successful home baking results, invest in a set of digital home cooking scales. These are invaluable when

measuring out ingredients, especially fluids.

Get the room temperature right

Ensure the temperature of the kitchen is correct. It needs to be warm - not too hot or too cold - for making dough and

leaving it to rise.

Save time and effort

Bread machines can save time and effort. If you have access to a bread-making machine you could use it for the

kneading part of the bread making process. After kneading the dough should be left to recover before it goes into the final

mould. The dough should ideally be left to rest for around half an hour.

Browning Off

As a guideline, the final bake and browning off should ideally be done at 230°C. If your oven doesn't reach that

temperature (most modern ovens do not), then bake your loaf at as high a temperature as you can.

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