There are few aromas more warm and welcoming than the delightful smell of home made bread baking in the oven. Bread as been around over 10,000 years but making break is an activity that has diminished as our daily schedules have become more busy and hectic. It can still be a very satisfying and rewarding experience however, if you take advantage of all the modern techniques and tools that have been developed specifically for break making.

There are four ingredients used to make the basic load of bread – yeast, flour, water, or other liquid, and salt. You can add a huge variety of delicious and interesting ingredients to this short, simple list to make many types of flavorful and unique breads. A few examples of great choices of ingredients to add to your favorite bread recipe include raisins and other dried fruits, nuts and seeds.

Yeast is a key ingredient to some of the most delicious bread made. You don’t know what you’re missing if you have never baked breads at home using yeast. It takes a bit of time for the final product to be produced when baking bread with yeast, but the rewards make it worth the wait. There are two types of yeast – yeast that is prepackaged and available at your local grocer and that you cultivate and ferment at home with a starter. Either is effective when making your home-made yeast bread, but it’s important to be sure that the yeast is fresh. When using the prepackaged yeast, be sure to check the “best if used by date”. Cake yeast, if you can find it, is a form of fresh yeast that makes a really wonderful loaf of bread, but if must be used within 2-3 days or may mold.

The type flour you choose to use in your bread makes a difference in the quality of the final product. Bread flour is higher in protein content which gives the bread a unique texture. All purpose flour, which is usually easier to find, will also work just fine in most bread recipes. Whole grain and other types of flour add flavor, texture and color to breads, but must be combined with some measurement of all purpose flour in order to produce enough gluten to produce a successful loaf of delicious bread. Gluten is formed when water is added to flour. It forms a network of proteins that stretch through bread dough like a web, trapping air bubbles that form as the yeast ferments, thus creating the air holes that are characteristic of the perfect bread.

Kneading the bread dough is a process that is repeated until it is smooth, springy and elastic, and no longer sticky. Kneading generally takes about 5 to 10 minutes although dough made with bread flour usually requires more kneading than those made with all purpose flour. Once the dough is kneaded, place the dough in a large, greased bowl turning it over to allow all sides to be greased to insure that the dough does not dry out while it rises. Cover with a clean cloth and place in a warm spot until is doubles in bulk. Divide it into loaf pans that have been primed with cooking spray and bake.

These are the basic steps for making the perfect loaf of home-made bread. Be sure to follow your recipe carefully, as bread making is like building a house – you must get the foundation right before building the rest of the house, or it risks a fall!

By: Rennie Whatley

About the Author:
To learn more about how to bake bread, visit Bread by YiaYia.

Man cannot live on bread alone. We have heard it countless of times in many variations depending on the religion in which the speaker is affiliated with. Regardless, it only shows that amongst all of vast variety of foods we have on the table, the bread represents all that is good in life. Or rather, it represents our very survival when our lives are stripped down to the basics.

It is indeed important to bake bread as best as you possibly can. After all, breads can form the basis of the entire meal from the appetizer (dip bread) to the main course (pizza) to desserts (cinnamon rolls). Well, here are tips and tricks to bake the perfect homemade bread.

Right Temperature

When preheating the oven, you must set the temperature at 50 degrees higher than the recommended baking temperature. As soon as the oven reaches the preheating temperature, place the bread dough inside, perform misting procedures and then lower the heat to the recommended baking temperature.

Keep in mind that breads can be baked anywhere from 350 degrees to 450 degrees. As such, you may also experiment with the heat until you get the desired results in terms of crustiness and tenderness of the bread. Take note that the emphasis is on experimentation when you have already acquired the necessary experience.

Right Shape

The beauty of breads often lies in their different shapes, with texture and taste coming in a very, very close second. Besides, the right shape of the bread dough affects how well it is cooked.

You will need to practice how to shape the bread dough especially as each one requires different techniques imposed either by tradition or by the type of dough. For example, Viennese bread has tapered ends while the French bread known as fougasse is flat and rectangular.

Right Misting

You must introduce humidity to the bread dough at the beginning of its baking cycle. This allows the bread to take on a golden brown, crunchy crust that makes for one of life’s pleasures.

To achieve this effect, you should place an empty, clean pan into the shelf below the baking pan as the oven preheats. When you have placed the bread into the oven, pour a half cup of tap water into the preheated pan. This will introduce steam into the whole setup.

You also need to mist the top of the bread dough using a clean spray bottle. Immediately close the oven door after the misting but remember to do it again after 2-3 minutes for two more times. After that, leave the bread to bake to its full cycle.

By: Doug Cobb

About the Author:
Doug has been writing online articles about health and family topics for 4 years. Doug specializes in baby and kitchen products. You can read his latest articles KitchenAid Professional 600 Series Mixers and Kitchen Artisan Mixers at KitchenArtisan.Org