Recipes and tips for breadmaker doughs

[lmarshal1]

My daughter gave me a bread machine for Christmas several years ago. I used it several times with general success but didn't like the big blob of bread that resulted. I put the machine away to gather dust and only recently started using it again, but just to make dough for items to bake in the oven instead of in the machine. Now I'm gung ho to go beyond cinnamon rolls, focaccia, and pizza dough (all of which turn out very well). Can you aim me in the direction of good recipes for breads especially? Are there any tips that make for better products? What about using gluten to allow me to use a higher percentage of whole wheat flour? Is there a flour that will make more "relaxed" dough for pizza and focaccia? Thanks. lkm

[tino27]

The single best thing you can do to improve your bread doughs is to buy a book that talks about the science of making bread (as well as providing recipes).

I started out with The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart and would still recommend that book to anyone looking to start out. In fact I still go back to it from time to time.

There are a ton of things you can do to improve the flavor of your breads, but your biggest asset is time. Doughs that can age overnight in the fridge, or doughs using a pre-ferment (poolish or biga) that have been allowed to age for 8-12 hours before being added to the dough were the single biggest improvements in how my breads tasted.

[BBJoe]

I definitely agree with tino27. Spot on, really.

There is some really useful information in some of the old Q&A sections here on egullet here and here.

As for making a more "relaxed" pizza dough, I would probably suggest a) using a softer flour such as AP and b) don't knead your dough as much (definitely make sure everything is thoroughly mixed). Hope this helps. I'm no expert, but these are my suggestions.

[saucée]

For pizza dough, I've found that good kneading is important. You want your bread to stretch out so that you can see through it (called "windowpaning"). This will ensure that you can stretch it thin, if that's what you're after. Long proofing (i.e. retardation in the refrigerator) and high hydration will make it slack. You still want it to be stretchy enough though, so that it doesn't tear when you shape it and kneading ensures this.

josh

[Lora]

If you're interested in whole wheat doughs, I use whole wheat pastry flour in my bread baking, often at 100%. I love the results - they're far better than with whole-wheat bread flour, which tends to make heavy and dense breads. I make almost exclusively home-style breads - sandwich loaves, dinner rolls, bagels, pita, etc, so I can't speak to how it would work in more bakery-style bread-making (baguettes and the like).

I became a better and happier bread baker when I stopped obsessing over the details and just baked away. I used to stress over whether I had the perfect flour, or the perfect hydration levels, or the exactly right proofing time. But then I realized that fresh bread is fresh bread, and it's almost always very very good.

[Jay Francis]

One of the best recipes that you will find for the breadmachine (hopefully you have the Breadman Plus brand) is the oatmeal bread recipe on the back of the King Arthur bread flour bag. Here is another foolproof recipe for a bread machine loaf:

1 tsp instant yeast

500 grams King Arthur bread flour

1 tbs sugar

25 grams unsalted butter

2 tbs milk powder

1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt (if you like a saltier bread, use regular salt)

350 millileters filtered water

Also, I have some notes and tips on making bread at the following youtube site. I've been working on breadmaking for a while now and love using my Breadman to do the kneading and mixing for oven baked loaves. This recipe was just a simple French bread recipe using water, flour, salt, yeast and a touch of sugar. I watched over it while it was being kneaded and added liquid or flour to keep the dough at 'just tacky but not sticky' surface. Take a look at some of my written notes at the site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAcoG5aqGDA

Note: when you are starting out be sure to weigh your ingredients until you get to the point where you can touch the dough and know what is needed. I prefer metric, it's just easier to work with and do any recalculations. I have a digital scale and the excellent Cuisinart Precison Portion Scale (limited to 300 grams, but you can work around that by weighing your flour in two batches...dollar for dollar, the best choice of scale if you don't want to bit the bullet and buy a digital scale). Stay away from spring loaded scales.

Edited April 18, 2008 by Jay Francis (log)

[lmarshal1]

Thanks for the variety of tips and links for making better doughs. I appreciate your taking the time, all of you, to aim me in the right direction.

Jay Frances, I enjoyed your market and restaurant trip movies and the sound of the Spanish coming so comfortably off your tongue. Thanks for the YouTube movies and the tips on breadmaking!

Lora: Thanks for your words ("I became a better and happier bread baker when I stopped obsessing over the details and just baked away.") Makes me want to head to the kitchen for a baking session!

lkm

Edited April 28, 2008 by lmarshal1 (log)