When summer temperatures soar, humidity drips and the air conditioning
system pleads for mercy - turning on the kitchen oven for baking
bread... is a major turn-off.
The bread machine is a great solution - it doesn't generate excessive
heat.
But, bread from a bread machine can't match the quality of oven-baked
bread. Here's an effective compromise using a bread machine AND oven:
Mix the desired dough (2-lb loaf size) and complete first rise in the
bread machine.
After machine deflates dough (post first-rise): Remove dough and
divide between two 9" pans.
Second rise is in pans (stick 'em in the cold oven, door closed).
After second rise: turn on the oven, 420 degrees, 20 minutes.
A key point: Start with a COLD oven.
Turn off the oven's heat the last 5 minutes (use the oven's thermal
lag).
All things considered, the resulting bread is very good -
taste/texture/color, without a ton of heat overloading the kitchen and
home.
This technique works well on all but those 95+ degree days when the AC
doesn't stand a chance, and turning on an oven is beyond sanity.
Baking artists may shudder at the thought of using a cold oven -
instead of a lengthy pre-heat period... but the above method basically
replicates what a bread machine is doing.
Post-bake cooling: leave the bread in the oven (out of pans) with the
door partially open (maybe 3") for 30-40 minutes while prepping
dinner.
A few technical points:
Use any time cycle built into your bread machine, simply stop the
process after the first rise is deflated, then move dough to the pans.
I use the machine's (Zojirushi) default times for the "Home Made"
cycle: 18-minute mix, 45-minute first rise, 85-minute second rise
(done in pans). The big difference is the time in the oven: 20 minutes
versus the machine's required 70-minute bake period (the latter done
at about 280 degrees).
Almost any basic bread-machine (or oven) recipe will work.
I use heavy-duty Chicago Metallic pans, a bit more expensive but the
quality is superb.
Different ovens may require variations in time/temperature. The
420-degree, 20-minute bake cycle I use is with a convection oven. The
bread's internal temperature ends up at 198 degrees (a bit higher is
better). My first guess at 390 degrees for 35 minutes produced a 207
bread temperature - but the crust was barely brown; next time I
increased the temperature (to brown the loaf) while reducing baking
time.
>From a cold start my oven reaches the 420-degree setting in 10
minutes. The last 5 minutes (when the oven is off), the temperature
decreases only about 30 degrees.
I often add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the dough
mix cycle for variety.
A technical point unique to a convection oven (fan forced heat): the
last 5 minutes of baking when I turn the oven "off"...I actually reset
the oven's temperature to 170 degrees which keeps the fan on, but the
heating element remains off since the oven's temperature remains above
that point.
Bottom line: the amount of heat dumped into the kitchen/home with the
machine-oven combination is very modest, relative to a full
bake/pre-heat use of an oven.
- Ed Okie