The technique of bread making is basic for almost all breads. Once you know the technique, you will not fail in bread making no matter what recipe you use. So it is important to read carefully and understand these instructions.
First lesson-- The right oven temperature is most important. The temperature must be 350 for loaves of traditional breads and most of the time 375 for sweet, egg breads. Always warm the oven to the exact temperature before putting the bread in. The right temperature makes for right bread texture. In addition the heated oven seals the bread in the first 15 minutes to form the crust. In a cold oven the dough will continue rising and then deflate. Because oven temperature is often unreliable, I always have an oven thermometer that I can see through the oven window and if the temperature is too low or too high, I keep on turning the knob up or down and watching the thermometer to get as close as possible to the right temperature. No, I do not open the oven door for the first 20 minutes. The bread will deflate and become tough.
Second lesson-- After all the ingredients are together and the dough is in the right consistence, knead for about 6-8 minutes and let the dough rise in a clean, oiled bowl covered with a towel in a warm place. It should almost double in volume and if you stick your finger in the dough, the dent should stay. Put the dough back in a floured board, punch down, gently knead for another three minutes and make the bread in whatever shape you want. Place it in an oiled baking pan, cover it and let rise again in a warm place. This second time it will rise quicker than the first. So, make sure to have your oven already warm at 350 temperature because after the bread rises to its maximum, if it is not put in the oven immediately, the dough starts to deflate and fall. If that happens, punch down the dough and let it rise again.
Third lesson--Yeast is the secret of bread making. It is alive and works by growing and making gas into the dough. I still believe that the fresh baker's yeast that comes in tablets and must be kept refrigerated gives a better texture to the bread. But the little packages of dry yeast or the packages of rapid rising yeast work well and certainly are easier to handle.
Making the sponge: With fresh yeast you must break it with a fork in a small bowl and add 1/4 cup of warm water with 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1TB of flour. Mix well, cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place until it looks like a sponge. Usually it takes about ten minutes. Mix the sponge with the other ingredients.
If you are going to use the active dry yeast, dissolve it in 1/4 cup of warm water before mixing with the other ingredients. With rapid rising yeast, the instruction in the package is that you can mix it directly into the flour. Well, I have tried and tell you that the bread texture is far superior if you make the old fashioned sponge whether using fresh yeast, active dry yeast, or rapid rising yeast. I am a woman of olden times and prefer the methods that have worked for centuries. But you can choose the easier way.
Note--Yeast is a living organism and needs the warmth of water to start growing. But if the liquid is too warm, it will kill the yeast and your bread will become hard as a rock. At the same time, cold or lukewarm water may prevent the dough from rising. You should be able to put your finger in the water and feel it very warm but not hot (105-110F in a thermometer). Also, place the bread to rise in a warm place. If the kitchen is too cold, cover the dough with several warm cloth. Usually the stove top is a good place.
Fourth lesson-- Basically bread is a mixture of wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. Everything else is the extras that have been added as civilizations became more sophisticated.
You can mix all kinds of different flour but wheat is the one that has gluten and without it the bread becomes heavy and hard. You must knead the dough until it gets smooth in order to release the gluten from the wheat flour. Although we follow a recipe, bread dough must get to a consistency that no longer sticks to the hand. That's why we keep on adding flour on a board or table until the dough reaches the right consistency. But an excess of flour will make the bread too dry.
Egg Wash: (Optional) - Beat one egg with two teaspoon of water. Brush on top of the bread right before baking. It serves to give a lovely golden color to the bread. If you wish, after you brush the egg wash on, you can sprinkle any bread with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, or ground nuts.
Baking is art and science. Pay attention to the techniques because you need to know them in order to be a good baker. But also, you must imbue each loaf of bread with love and sensitivity. With these ingredients you can make any breads of the world and you will nurture those who you will kindly hand a slice--A sliceof bread imbued with your love...
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