Hi All,
I am fairly new to machine bread baking having just purchased my first
machine (a Welbilt) on Memorial Day. I had been having great success
(7 perfect loaves from pumpernickel to sourdough) until last weekend.
I made a second loaf of a cranberry granola bread that I had
successfully made the previous weekend. This time, instead of a
beautiful well-risen loaf I got a hockey puck! The only difference
from the first time I baked the bread was that not only was it hot,
but the humidity had increased (this is traditionally the monsoon
season here in Arizona). I plan to buy a temperature/humidity gage for
the kitchen, but was wondering, is there a humidity level where I
should just forget about baking or what? Judging from some of the
responses, there seem to be mixed opinions as to whether humidity has
anything to do with proper rising---anyway, I took a break this weekend
from baking and will continue to read your suggestions. Also, the only
other thing I can think of was that I added the cranberries and the
nuts about 5 minutes before the signal, because the week before they
hadn't mixed into the dough very well and were mostly stuck on the
outside of the loaf.
By the way, I too would LOVE to have a recipe for the Oroweat Master's
Best Winter Wheat Bread. It is by far the best testing commercial
bread I have ever eaten and if I could duplicate that by hand or
machine, I would be an extremely "happy camper"!!
Karen
Hockey Pucks AreUs