Use Your Loaf: How to bake bread at home and get perfect results (5 page)

If you are using a preheated baking tray, then remove it
from the oven and place it next to your dough. Shut the oven door as quickly as
possible to retain heat in the oven.

If
you have proved your loaves on a cloth or board, they are the right way up, so
gently roll the dough towards you and place a hand underneath. Then roll it
back onto your hand so you can lift it. If you have proved in baskets, then
gently support the dough as you tip it onto the baking tray.

Slashing the top of a loaf helps it to expand in the oven.
After your bread has proved it will have a slightly dry crust which inhibits
rising. If you cut through the crust you expose the soft moist dough beneath. I
use a large serrated knife or a very sharp carving knife, but you can use a
razor blade or a grignette (a very sharp blade similar to a razor blade). The
trick is to be firm but gentle, and not to apply too much pressure. Gently hold
the dough with one hand and cut using long controlled strokes - let the weight
of the blade slice through the dough. Your cuts should be about 1cm deep –
don’t cut too deeply. Keep your cuts simple; they are not decorative (although
they do look nice) but functional. They are there to help the dough expand in
the oven.

Slashing
is also a good test of the quality of your dough. If your dough is well kneaded
and well risen, the cuts will open out as you make them. This is because there
is tension in the loaf caused when you shaped them tightly, and this tension
pulls the slashes open. Round loaves have equal tension all round so a cut in
any direction will open well. All rectangular loaves have lateral tension, so
the more you cut across, the more the cuts will open. This means that a
lengthways cut opens the most and a crossways cut the least. Because of this I
usually cut across the diagonal.

Glazing can be done either before or after baking.

Glazes before baking

If you are using a loaf tin, when applying a finishing
touch before baking, be careful not to glue the loaf to the rim of the tin as
this will make it difficult to remove when it has finished baking.

Glazes after baking

After baking, transfer the bread to a wire cooling rack,
then apply the prepared finishing touch using a soft pastry brush. Do this
whilst the bread is still warm as this adds flavour to the bread and will
soften the crust.

Types of glaze

Ø
 
Egg wash. This will
make the crust golden and shiny, and make it a little harder. To prepare the
glaze, beat one egg with 1tbsp of water and apply before baking. However, if
you forget, you can add the glaze 5 minutes before the end of baking.

Ø
 
Butter. This glaze
will give a nice brown crust with extra flavour. Melt 1-2tbsp of butter and
apply before baking.

Ø
 
Honey. This will give
your bread a soft, sweet, sticky dark crust if applied before baking. If you
add after baking you will get a soft, sweet, sticky crust.

Ø
 
Milk. This produces a
slightly soft crust with a golden colour if applied before baking.

Ø
 
Olive oil. This adds
flavour and a nice golden colour with a slight shine. Apply it before and after
baking.

Ø
 
Salted water. This
glaze produces a shiny and crisp golden crust. Mix 1tsp of salt with 3tbsp of
water and apply before baking.

Ø
 
Cornflour. This will
produce a chewy crust with a sheen. To prepare the glaze, mix 1tsp of cornflour
with 3tbsp of water. Warm in a pan until it thickens and becomes translucent.
Then allow to cool and apply to the loaf about 10 minutes before baking and
again about 3-5 minutes before baking is done.

After adding any glaze (or not) your
bread is ready for baking. Before the loaves go into the oven spray them with a
little water. Also boil the kettle. If you want to do a savoury topping such as
grated cheese, sprinkle it over your bread now. Now place your baking tray into
the oven. As soon as this is done, grab your kettle and pour some boiling water
into your roasting pan or Pyrex bowl to give a nice burst of steam.
Alternatively, you could throw a handful of ice cubes into the bottom of the
oven

with the same result. Try to be as
quick as possible to keep the precious heat in.

Leave to bake for 10 minutes – do NOT
open the oven door during this time. This will keep the moist heat in and allow
for a good oven spring, the final rise before the crust hardens. After 10
minutes check your bread and look to see whether it is browning too quickly. If
it is, cover the loaf loosely with foil to prevent over browning.

Now
lower the temperature. If the crust is still very pale, lower to 200
^o
C/Gas
Mark 6/400
^o
F. If the crust is noticeably browning, reduce to 180
^o
C/Gas
Mark 4/350
^o
F. If the crust appears to be browning too quickly,
reduce to
170
^o
C
/Gas
Mark 3/340
^o
F.

A
rough guide to baking times:

12
rolls. Bake for 12-15 minutes

3
small loaves. Bake for 35 minutes

2
large loaves. Bake for 45 minutes.

How do I know my bread is done?

When
done your bread will be up to 20% lighter due to evaporation. The crust should
be nice and firm, and the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
However, it may still sound hollow even though it could do with another 10
minutes in the oven. If in doubt leave it in the oven for a few more minutes –
the worst thing that will happen is that the crust may be a little thicker. If
you have a food thermometer you could stick this into the centre of the loaf.
If it reads 88-90
^o
C/190-194
^o
F the bread is done.

After
the bread has been baked it needs to be left to cool. If you have a wire
cooling rack place your bread on it. If not, just use an oven shelf. Now you
need to leave the bread to cool – this may be difficult as it will smell so
delicious! However, the bread is full of steam and still cooking. Whatever you
do, do NOT cut hot bread. This will cause your bread to become steamy, heavy
and doughy. Have a little more patience; it will be worth it.

When
you do come to slicing your bread, try not to press down. Just cut gently with
your bread knife and let the weight of the blade push it through the loaf.

Bread
should be stored at room temperature. Put the loaf in a paper bag and/or put it
in a bread bin. Do not use plastic bags as they retain too much moisture and
this softens the crust. Do not store bread in the fridge as it will stale much
quicker than at room temperature.

If
you want to freeze your bread, place it in a plastic bag before freezing and it
will keep for up to 3 months. To thaw, leave at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
You could also freeze it sliced and toast the slices straight from the freezer.

Bread
kept for a day or two can be made to appear almost fresh again by warming it in
a moderate oven (170
^o
C
/Gas Mark 3/340
^o
F).
Staling is caused by the starch granules becoming hard again after baking
softened them. So if you warm up the bread again, the starch will soften. The
bread needs to reach at least 60
^o
C/140
^o
F. Of course, when
you do this, your crust will become a little thicker but it does work. Leave in
the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Sourdough is a type of bread that is baked using
naturally occurring yeast and given a long, slow rising period. In comparison
with commercial yeast-based breads, it produces a characteristic sour
flavour and a chewy crumb. This is mainly because of the production of lactic
acid.

In more general terms it is any bread that is made
from a sourdough starter. The starter (also known as a poolish or levain)
is essentially a pre-fermenting process that helps to develop its
characteristic flavour. Commercial starters are available but they may not
have the sour flavour of a true sourdough bread.

Mass-produced versions of sourdough bread are baked with
traditional baker’s yeast and have acids and flavourings added to simulate the
sour flavour. However, these barely qualify as a true sourdough bread even
under the loosest of definitions.

Sourdough is a real artisan bread. Do not be fooled by
the cheap imitation in the supermarkets. Find a proper baker and try real
sourdough, or even better, try making it yourself. I am telling you now; the
result will be a revelation…

The
sourdough starter is basically a fermenting dough or batter. Sourdough breads
have a slower fermentation and a characteristic sour flavour due to the
production of lactic acid by lactobacilli (the same bacteria in yoghurt) which
colonise the starter alongside the yeasts. It is quite simple to make a
sourdough starter and once you have started you may become quite possessive of
it. I know of starters that are over 20 years old and the one I use is nearly 2
years old.

Yeast
requires 3 major factors to replicate; sugar, warmth and moisture. If we can
provide these we can produce a starter.

Stage 1: Prepare the batter

Mix
a cupful of flour, preferably wholemeal, with a cupful of warm water in a
suitably large container to allow plenty of frothing. Ideally it should be at
least four times the volume of your original batter. Whisk the flour and water
to incorporate as much air (and thus yeast) as possible. Place in a warm place
and leave to ferment. The starter may take several days to start fermenting so
check it every 12 hours or so. When you see the first bubbles of fermentation
you are ready to feed the starter.

Stage 2: The first feeding

When
you see evidence of fermentation you can give your starter its first feed...
Whisk in another cupful of flour and warm water, replace the lid and leave for
another 24 hours. After a day or so you should see signs of vigorous
fermentation and it will start to smell – the odour may be sweet, sour,
vinegar-like, or like rotten apples or soured milk!

Stage 3: Subsequent feeding

Discard
half of your starter and replace this with another cup of flour and water. I
would also decant it into a more permanent container at this stage. Leave in a
fairly cool place. For the first week I would repeat the above process every
day i.e. discard half the starter and replace with fresh flour and water. You
may notice that the odour will develop into a rounder aroma as the starter
progresses. After a week of this daily feeding you should have a fairly
vigorous starter that is now ready for use.

If
you are going to use your starter regularly, it is best to keep it as a thick
batter and to feed it daily. But if you bake less frequently, it would be
better to slow the fermentation down by making it colder, drier or both.

If
you keep your starter in the fridge you will only need to feed it weekly.

Or
you could add more flour, enough to make a stiff dough, and feed it every 3-4
days. To feed a dough, discard half (or bake with it!), make a new flour and
water dough and incorporate this into the remaining starter dough.

Alternatively
you could do both; keep your starter as a dough in the fridge and you will only
need to feed it every 2-3 weeks. If you do keep it in the fridge, please
remember to remove it from the fridge a day or two before you want to bake with
it. This is to ensure that your starter is nice and active ready for baking.

For
long-term storage you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months.

Now
you can use your starter to bake a delicious sourdough loaf. The whole process
is the same as normal baking, although the process takes a little longer as you
use the sponge method (pg. 12).