Homemaking - Cooking
Bread Making Tips
See lots of savory recipes on our bread recipes page. For support, questions, encouragement, and more recipes, see our homemaking support message boards.
What to Do When Bread Won't Rise
Check to make sure your yeast is fresh.
Keep yeast in the freezer when not in use. Pour the bulk yeast into a clean peanut butter jar, freezer ziploc, or freezer safe plastic container. For extended storage in plastic bags or containers, try wrapping the yeast in plastic wrap first.
Put it in a draft-free area to rise. A lukewarm (NOT hot) oven is a good location. About 85 to 90 degrees F. should be good.
Grinding Your Own Grain
Freshly ground grain is much more healthful than store-bought, which might have been ground months before! You can buy an electric or manual grain grinder. Grind about one cup less raw grain than you need of flour. (It fluffs up when you grind it!)
- Soft white wheat -- best for cakes, biscuits, and recipes with baking powder.
- Hard wheat -- best for breads.
- Golden 86 -- a specific brand of hard white wheat. Many people like it because it has a milder flavor than hard red wheat, and the light color looks more like white bread.
- Spelt -- Very good for bread. Its high levels of gluten help bread to rise. Mix with hard wheat for best results.
- Popcorn -- Cornbread is excellent with fresh ground corn! Polenta is also very tasty.
How to Use Spelt
"Spelt (Triticum Spelta) has been cultivated for more than 9,000 years. A forgotten non-hybridized wheat, spelt is making a remarkable reappearance as a preferred bread flour with an exceptional protein and fiber profile. Spelt has a unique type of gluten with high water solubility that is easier to digest than gluten in common wheats." (From a package of Spelt) Spelt also contains all the amino acids.
Spelt works well when baking things with a dense texture such as banana bread and pumpkin bread. Mix it with red wheat to make an outstanding whole wheat bread. The spelt actually gives the bread a little more lift, so it will rise higher.
Measuring Flour
Use a scoop, and fluff it up. Then gently dump the scoop into the measuring cup and level it off. Don't tap it, don't jiggle it, and don't press down on it in any way! If you do, you will have too much flour. If you have a recipe with six cups of flour in it, and you measure all six cups wrong, you could actually have an extra cup of flour in it. One of the biggest mistakes in breadmaking is using too much flour. Your dough should be TACKY, but not sticky when it's done. Avoid the temptation of adding more flour when you get to tacky! -- Mary Leggewie
Tips for Using a KitchenAid Mixer to Knead Bread
The dough should NOT be heavy. (If it is, use less flour! To know how much flour to put in, touch the bread. It should be tacky, but not sticky. ) You can use the same basic recipes that you use in a bread machine. Knead with the bread hook about 15 minutes. It may start out "sticky", but it will get smoother with the kneading. Then unhook the dough hook, but leave it in the bread dough. Cover with a damp towel and let it rise. Usually 30-45 minutes, but watch it. Then shove the hook back in, and knead again about 5-10 mintes in the machine. Now, take it out and shape a loaf or loaves. Put in baking pans. Allow to rise until not quite double and put in the already hot oven. Kysa
Tips for Whole Wheat Bread
Use fifty percent spelt and fifty percent hard red or white wheat flour.
Make a wetter dough. While the dough is rising, the bran soaks up water and makes the dough stiffer.
Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book is highly recommended for bread recipes and tips.
Tips for Using Bread Machines
Always follow the directions. If you start having problems, use the tips they give in the manual until you have perfected the bread for you and your family.
1.5 pound loaves and 2 pounders do cook differently and don't always end up tasting the same. Start with the 1.5 loaf.
Use fresh ingredients only.
Buy bread flour rather than all purpose flour.
If you end up making a lot of bread, try buying in bulk at Sam's or Costco.
Grind your own flour using a grain grinder for a fresher taste and more healthful bread. Buy bulk grain at the health food store or local co-op.
