I am by no means an EXPERT on Bread baking but after working 4 Years as a
professional Cook/Demi-Chef I have learned a few things along the way.
Now that I have "retired" to the wonderful world of being a "Techno_Geek", I
have plenty of time to play w/ my DAK(R2D2) Bread Machine.
1) Yeast: The single most important factor in bread making.
For those people that only casually make bread, By hand or in their machine:
I would recommend buying packets of yeast as needed.
MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE DATE ON THE PACKAGE!
For people that bake at least 1 Loaf a week or more:
Buy a small Jar of yeast. You can usually find them in the cooler right next to
the package yeast. It seems like a lot, I know, but it goes FAST, TRUST ME!
I have no explanation for this one but I thought it might be of interest:
I found 1/2 a jar in the back of my fridge that was OVER a year old and it still
performed just fine. Go figure!
2) Rising:
For recipes that just wont rise correctly try increasing the liquid amount
_SLIGHTLY_ and adding a tablespoon of Whole Wheat Gluten(available at gourmet
and Health food stores.
3) Falling Loaves(loaves that sink during cooling):
Add an egg to the ingredients! The egg will help the loaf "setup" and prevent it
from falling during cooling.
4) Ambient Temperature(The temperature of the room outside the machine)
This can be the biggest problem for some people and they wont even know it!
I have recipes that just will not work at all if the ambient temperature is
below 70 Degree.
If you have a draft in the winter or a cool summer breeze from an open
window...FORGET IT! On my particular machine I simply wrap some aluminum foil
around the top of it(blocking the "vents") to prevent (or at least slow down)
the offending air currents. it helps but is not a sure fire cure.
Hope this helps someone out there.
L8r
John A. Gunterman
Macintosh Specialist
Technical Support Group
Cabletron Systems Inc.
gunterman@ctron.com
<OR>
gunterman@eworld.com
______________________________________________
The opinions expressed in this message are solely mine.
If they coincide w/ ctron's opinion's it is purely coincidental.
______________________________________________