Avoiding Mistakes When Baking Bread: You Should Pay Attention to This

1. Mistake when baking bread: The correct kneading

If you knead the bread dough too little or too long, the bread will collapse during baking or become too hard during the baking process. If you knead the dough with a food processor, you should make sure that the dough is not kneaded for too long. Check again and again whether the dough has the right consistency.

• Flour contains protein molecules. They form into gluten when kneaded. Gluten, on the other hand, is a scaffold for your dough as it supports the shape of the dough by holding the resulting fermentation gas in shape.
• The dough must be kneaded well so that the necessary amount of gluten is produced. If you knead too little, the dough will tear and not rise as there is not enough gluten. If you knead for too long, the dough will become hard because there is too much gluten in the dough.
• To find out if you kneaded enough, take a small piece of the dough in your hand. Pull it apart until almost transparent. If the dough tears, you have to knead a little more. If you can no longer pull the dough apart, you have kneaded too long and the dough is basically no longer suitable for bread.

2. Let the dough rise correctly

Once you have kneaded the dough, the dough must rise in a warm place. If you don’t give the dough time for this or put it in the wrong place, the baking result will deteriorate.

• Put the dough in a bowl and always cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Set the dough in a warm place. The right temperature is important for the fermentation processes to start and for the dough to rise.
• A place near the stove or heater is best. However, the place must not be too warm, otherwise, the yeast will be destroyed. Be careful not to exceed 38 degrees.
• But make sure that the place is draught-free. Therefore, close doors and windows. If it is too cold in the room, all fermentation processes are delayed because no fermentation processes can take place. However, it is too warm.

3. Score the dough properly and let it rest before baking

If you want your bread to get the right shape, for example by cutting the top, you must not do the bread right before baking.

• If the dough has risen, knead it well again. Don’t overdo it though. Then place the dough on the baking sheet or in a loaf pan. Cover and let the dough rise for another half hour.
• Score the dough with a knife before covering it. Make sure that you don’t cut too little and that the cut edges stick together again. Cutting makes sense. This is because the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation escapes.
• If you want a shiny crust to form after baking, it is best to moisten the bread with water before putting it in the oven.

4. Preheat the oven well

To ensure that your bread does not collapse and is baked well, it is important to preheat the oven well.

• In order for your bread to succeed, preheat your oven to the correct oven temperature depending on the recipe.
• Top and bottom heat are best for bread. Convection is less suitable because the bread would lose too much water. The result would be dry bread.
• Also, put an ovenproof dish in the oven. You can also put some water on a baking sheet and slide it under the bread. The water prevents your bread from burning or losing too much liquid.

5. Proper baking

In order for your bread to succeed, you should pay attention to the right temperature when baking.

• Always follow the instructions in the recipe when baking.
• Your bread should definitely bake for the first few minutes at the hot temperature. After about half an hour, set the temperature slightly lower.
• This will prevent the crust from burning. Your bread will then be soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.