Bread Machine (7 page)

The Basic Steps of Bread Machine Baking

What you, the baker, must do:

• Select a recipe
  
• Assemble the equipment and ingredients on your workspace
  
• Measure the raw ingredients into the bread pan
  
• Program the control panel and press Start to begin the process in the machine
  
• Check the dough consistency and adjust if necessary
  

What occurs inside the machine:

• Mixing of the dough
  
• Kneading
  
• First rise
  
• Deflation of the dough/Punch Down
  
• Second rise
  
• Deflation of the dough/Shape
  
• Third rise
  
• Baking
  
• Bread is kept warm or cooled
  

MIXING THE INGREDIENTS/MIX AND KNEAD 1

When baking without the use of a bread machine, the mixing—the combining of liquid and dry ingredients—may be done by hand, using the dough hook of an electric mixer, or by a food processor. The bread machine has a slow clockwise rhythm that blends the dough properly, turning for about three minutes (if the blade was turning more vigorously at this point, flour would be flying up against the lid and over the sides onto the heating element). The yeast gets distributed and moistened during this mixing. The gluten in the flour begins to be moistened by the liquids, and all the ingredients become evenly distributed. The dough can look anywhere from batter like to dry and crumbly at this point, depending on the recipe, and there may be lots of lumpy, unincorporated bits of flour in the corners of the pan; this is okay. In the center of the mass, around the blade, there will be the beginnings of a dough ball coming together. I often look in at the dough during this step and scrape down the sides if there is a lot of flour in the corners of the pan. The mixing and kneading mechanism of the machine is very carefully engineered. There seems to me to be no great difference in the texture or flavor of loaf-style breads made in the bread machine from breads made by other appliance-aided means. In bread machine baking, the initial knead, Knead 1, is more or less an extension of Mix. It is not until Knead 2 that the kneading blade begins to rotate very fast.

This step in the machine is also part of the process used for constructing starters for country-style breads.

KNEADING THE DOUGH/KNEAD 2

Kneading, in the machine or by hand, is the step of the baking process that thoroughly mixes the ingredients, distributes the yeast, and strengthens the moistened gluten strands to a springy elasticity. It is a continuation of the mixing process. Kneading incorporates fresh oxygen into the dough, which is important to the rising and to the finished shape of the loaf. Hand kneading is a set of pressing, pushing, and folding physical motions that transform a dough from a rough, shaggy mass to a soft and smoothly pliable dough. The kneading paddle in the bottom of the baking pan has an action that simulates hand kneading. But bread machine doughs do call for high-gluten bread flour, which is especially suited to machine mixing. The action of the mechanical kneading produces more friction than kneading by hand, very slightly warming the dough.

During kneading, the proteins in wheat flour, called gluten, become a meshwork of stretchy strands as they are worked, creating the structure that is strong enough and absolutely necessary to contain the expanding gases that are the by-products of the yeast’s reproduction. After rising these strong gluten fibers will create a soft, firm, honeycomb pattern in cut slices of baked bread. The mechanical action of the blade accomplishes this gluten development automatically. The blade moves faster in Knead 2 than in Knead 1, and alternates clockwise and counterclockwise directions. With a slow rhythm it turns the dough and allows the dough ball to pick up the extra dry bits accumulated in the pan. This action is excellent for forming a dough since it accurately simulates mixing by hand. During this knead, the dough will slowly evolve into a smooth ball with tiny blisters forming just under the skin.

As the dough is worked, liquid is absorbed by the flour particles, and the dough becomes more compact. If you look inside the machine, the dough ball will clear the sides of the pan and look small in comparison to the volume of the pan. The top surface will be smooth.

Five to seven minutes into Knead 2, the dough will be far enough along to be able to tell whether it is too dry or too wet. Those baking by hand feel the consistency of the dough under their fingers and make allowances, adding more liquid or more flour, as they go along. You will need to open the lid of the machine in order to assess the dough. (You can set a kitchen timer to remind you when to check.) Open the lid, and, taking care to avoid the moving kneading blade, poke the dough ball with your finger to feel the consistency. Look for a springy, soft feel in white doughs and a very soft, almost loose feel in country bread doughs. Whole wheat and rye doughs tend to be denser, wetter, and tackier to the touch than white doughs. The level of humidity, the amount of moisture in the flour, and the amount of initial beating are all variables that may have affected the dough by this time. Every batch of dough is unique in the exact amount of flour used. Individual recipes will specify the proper consistency of the dough ball when necessary.

Now adjust the dough consistency, if necessary, by adding more flour or more liquid. Remember that a little goes a long way in this medium. Sprinkle the flour down the sides of the pan and let the dough ball pick it up, or dribble liquid, only 1 teaspoon at a time, onto the top of the dough ball. If an adjustment is necessary (most of the time it shouldn’t be) the amount of flour or liquid to be incorporated at this point will vary. It is important not to add too much of either, and to give any additions time to be kneaded in before reassessing the consistency of the dough. Remember, too, that more flour will be absorbed into the body of the dough during the rising process. Just as is necessary when kneading by hand, this is also the time to make sure the dough is uniformly moist throughout. If there are dry bits collected on the bottom of the pan and wet dough on the top of the dough ball, I use my plastic spatula to push the bits into the center so the dough ball can pick them up as it journeys around the pan with the action of the blade.

The dough ball changes a lot during the kneading cycle. What it looks like in the first ten minutes of being worked is not at all what it will look like when it is almost done. When baked, a standard loaf will smooth out and be springy. Be patient and let the machine do its work. I find a dough ball can change as many as three or four times during Knead 2. You will now have a dough ready to be “fermented,” or “proofed,” during the rises.

RISING THE DOUGH/RISE 1 AND RISE 2

Rising, also known as proofing, is a period of rest that allows the gluten to become smooth and elastic through a process of fermentation. During this stage, an amazing transformation takes place—a firm, heavy dough ball changes into a puffy mass that increases in size. To carry out this step, bakers working by hand would grease their dough and its bowl at this point, cover it loosely with plastic wrap or with a damp cloth, set it in a warm place, and leave it alone to rest. The nonstick coating of the bread pan eliminates the need for greasing, and the closed, warm environment keeps the surface of the dough from drying out.

It is difficult to predict how high a dough will rise during the rising phases, as it will depend on the temperature of the dough after Knead 2, the amount of yeast used, and general atmospheric conditions. Usually on Rise 1, the dough ball will expand only slightly. In Rise 2, it can increase as much as two to three times in bulk. As the dough rises, the gluten mesh network is trapping the expanding gases. Whole grain breads and sweet doughs high in fat, sugar, or fruit take longer than lean white-flour doughs to rise. Generally, a dough will take one to two hours to rise to the classic “doubled in bulk” stage, filling the pan half to two-thirds full, and this rising occurs in stages. The temperature inside the machine is about 82°F during the rising phases, known as Rise 1 and Rise 2. Rise 1 and Rise 2 are separated by a Punch Down (see following).

The enclosed environment of the bread machine, which has accumulated warmth from the action of the machine and holds the moisture from the dough, is, at this point, a perfect medium for rising. The environment is cozy and warm, and free from the drafts that can cause a dough outside the machine to rise slowly and unevenly. The bread machine is its own miniature proofing box, achieving the very important conditions professional bakers must create. Nonetheless, it is okay to open the lid and peek! The dough will look more moist during this rising period than it did during the kneading. Often it is sticky, but it absorbs this extra moisture during Rise 2.

Don’t even consider rushing your bread through the rising phases. Be patient. (This is, by the way, where time is cut for the Quick Yeast Bread and One Hour cycles.) A longer rise always makes for a tastier loaf. For dense whole-grain doughs, bakers often will reset their machines for one more rise.

PUNCH DOWN

Bakers baking by hand use volume, rather than time, as a measure for when to deflate the dough. They deflate the dough for the first time when it has doubled in bulk. The machine, with its more controlled and predictable rising environment, punches down the dough using time, rather than bulk, as its cue. Because the Punch Down phase is timed, different doughs will be in various stages of rising when punch downs occur. The first deflation happens half-way through the composite of all the rising periods, separating Rise 1 from Rise 2, and the second deflation occurs 80 percent through the total rising time, separating Rise 2 and Rise 3 (the dough will reach its full rising capacity in Rise 3). Punch downs are necessary to release the trapped carbon dioxide from the dough. The action of the machine’s blade, a few turns lasting less than ten seconds, is all that is needed to deflate the dough. (This time varies by machine—for example, Regal’s Punch Down is just three spins in five seconds at the same speed as Knead 1.) I don’t really like the term “punch down,” since it has a violent connotation and the dough really is deflated gently. No more kneading is required at this point, as it would reactivate the gluten strands and give the dough an undesirable tight tension. A relaxed dough is able to rise smoothly and easily.

If the dough is sitting off to one side of the pan after the Punch Down, I pull it into the middle and center it over the blade to avoid a lopsided baked loaf later.

SHAPE/RISE 3

After the second punch down, which lasts a few seconds longer than the first one, is a third and last rise, after which the loaf is baked. At the end of this rise, the risen dough usually fills the bread pan to its capacity. If the bread were being made by hand, the second punch down would occur as the dough was removed from the container in which it had been rising and pulled or twisted into a loaf shape. It would then be placed in a bread pan, where it would remain, rising, until time for baking. As the dough rises, it takes the shape of the bread pan, which is why this step is called Shape. You will see this happening to your bread as it rises inside the machine.

Usually during this phase, the dough gradually and magically fills the entire pan to just under the rim. Don’t worry if the dough is still somewhat low in the pan as this rise nears its end, unless it is like a soft rock. It will rise considerably during baking. If your dough rises higher than the edge of the pan during this phase, or is puffed over the rim of the pan when Rise 3 is nearing the end, open the lid and pierce the top gently with a toothpick or use your fingers to gently deflate it. It will lower slightly, and this should prevent it from possibly baking over the top of the pan, collapsing, or spilling onto the heating element. The temperature during this rise is about 100°F.

BAKE

The proper temperature provides the heat necessary for the best oven spring, or the final push of the dough when it increases in size and the gluten strands stretch to contain the last of the yeast’s gases. As the dough bakes, it can increase in volume by as much as a full third. Because of the warm environment during the rising, the bread machine is basically preheated. Each model bakes its cycles at different temperatures, lower than a home oven, but hot enough to bake the bread efficiently and evenly. The temperatures range from 254° to 300°F, with the Sweet Bread cycle the lowest, the Basic cycle in the middle range, and the French Bread cycle the highest. Baking times vary according to the loaf size and choice of cycle.

There is a lot happening during baking. Evaporation of moisture occurs; you will see steam coming out of the top vent. One pound of raw dough loses about 1
¹
/
₂
to 2 ounces of moisture during baking. The starch begins to swell at 130°F, transferring moisture. The heat stops the yeast from reproducing at 140°F and coagulates the proteins in the gluten at 165°F. Forming the structure of the loaf by setting the starches, a process called gelatinization, begins at about 150°F. The alcohol by-products of the yeast evaporate at 175°F, creating steam and trapping some of the by-products in the baked dough. There is the smell of evaporating alcohol. Fats melt into the dough and the starch changes into dextrins to create a brown crust. Moisture evaporates from the surface and the heat changes the chemical components of the starches, milk, and eggs. Sugar in the dough will make for a darker crust as it caramelizes in the heat.