Use Your Loaf: How to bake bread at home and get perfect results (3 page)

Find
a container that will allow your dough to double in size without billowing over
the top. I tend to use the same mixing bowl. Lightly flour or grease the bowl
and your dough. This helps to stop the dough from drying out.

Place
your dough into your container and cover it. If the dough isn’t correctly
covered during rising it may develop a dry surface. This will give your bread a
hard crust and it will not brown correctly. I tend to use a black bin liner as
they are cheap, reusable and retain warmth and humidity, which creates the
perfect environment for the yeast to ferment. You could also use cling film or
even shower caps!

If
you wish to freeze your dough, now is the time to do it. Place the dough in an
airtight bag and put in the freezer. To thaw your dough, it is best to place it
in the fridge overnight. Before using it, partially unwrap it and leave on the
worktop for 15-20 minutes to warm to room temperature. You could defrost at
room temperature to reduce thawing time; however the edges will thaw faster
than the middle.

If
you are not freezing your dough, you will now need to find a warm place to
allow it to rise and will ideally be draught free. I like to use the oven with
the internal light switched on for about 15 minutes to warm the oven– it is
surprising how much heat the bulb produces. Ensure it is not too warm as this
may cause an unpleasant beery taste and a crumbly loaf.

Rising
improves the flavour and texture of bread. During this period the gluten is
stretched by the fermenting yeast hopefully to the limits of its elasticity.
Try to not let it rise too much as then the dough will lose structure and may
end up dense and sour tasting.

Rise
times vary wildly; anything from 45 minutes to 2 hours. By the end of the first
rise your dough will contain nearly twice as much yeast as when it started.
Yeast is a living organism so don’t get discouraged if nothing seems to be
happening. Rising is influenced by numerous factors; how warm the room is, the
amount of kneading, cold weather, cold ingredients especially water. Recipes
with a lot of sugar, wholemeal flour, or those containing nuts or seeds will
take longer to rise too.

During
rising your dough undergoes a magical transformation. From the fermenting yeast
it takes time to accumulate a sufficient volume of carbon dioxide which is
strong enough to stretch a bread dough and hold it up. Externally you see the
dough expand but there is an awful lot going on internally too. The gluten
begins to repair and pull together. This process makes your dough easier to
work with. Yeast feeds on the starches in the flour and doubles in number. All
of these products are important in making bread; carbon dioxide causes air
bubbles to expand so the dough rises and the alcohol adds to the flavour.

Has my dough fully risen?

There is a reliable way to check that your dough has risen enough.
Firstly look at it. Has it doubled in size? If it has you can perform the touch
test.

The touch test:
  Press the top of the dough
lightly with a finger making a ½ inch deep impression in the dough. If the
impression stays, your dough has risen sufficiently and can be deflated and
shaped. If the impression springs back quickly, leave to rise for a little
longer. Please note that this is the opposite of the touch test to check
whether your kneading was sufficient – remember to get the results of the touch
test the right way round!

Once you are satisfied that your dough has risen
sufficiently, uncover it, lightly flour the worktop, and tip the dough out.
Using your lightly floured fingertips, gently press into the dough to release
the gas bubbles. This is commonly known as “knocking back” or “punching down.”
These terms appear to suggest you treat your dough with violence, but treat it
gently.

Why deflate
the dough?

Deflating makes shaping your dough a lot easier. You are
basically giving the dough a fresh start. Helping the release of the built up
gases that have accumulated in the dough is beneficial as too much are toxic.
So you are releasing carbon dioxide, redistributing yeast to promote more
growth and relaxing the gluten. The overall process results in an improved
texture and flavour in your finished loaf.

Additional risings

You may wish to
leave your dough to rise a second or even third time. If you do, follow the
same process as before; shape into a round, cover, leave to rise, perform touch
test, and deflate.

Bread
needs to be shaped prior to baking whether it is plaited, filled, round or
rectangular. Shaping is not just decorative. Afterwards it is left for a final
rise, which produces even more carbon dioxide and alcohol for better texture
and flavour. Shaping also forms the dough for an optimal “oven spring” when put
in the oven to bake.

Before
shaping, divide your dough into portions as precisely as possible. It is
advisable to make your loaves or rolls in a batch the same size so they will
cook in the same time. From your 1kg batch of flour you could make two 800g
loaves or three 600g loaves. I make my rolls about 80g each, as I don’t like
them too large. It may also be worth keeping a small piece of dough for using
next time you bake. If you bake every day or every other day, keep a small
piece of dough back, wrap in cling film and keep in the fridge. Old dough has
had time to mature due to the fermentation process and thus develop flavour.
Adding a piece to a new batch will add extra depth and character.

After
you have divided your dough, shape all the portions into a round and leave to
rest for 5-10 minutes covered with a well floured cloth. This allows the gluten
to relax slightly and makes the dough easier to shape.

Take
your time when shaping your loaves. If you rush you may cause the resulting
bread to be dry and flat. Don’t try to force the dough into a shape, coax it.
If you feel as if you are pushing the dough too hard or trying to stretch it
you are doing a couple of things:

Ø
 
You are popping too
many air bubbles and these are responsible for your bread rising and a tender
open texture.

Ø
 
You are overworking
the dough, which creates even more gluten – more than you need. This will
result in a tough dry loaf.

Ø
 
Forcing the gluten strands in the dough to stretch when they are
not relaxed. The gluten strands are much like elastic bands and in this
situation they will pull the dough back into their pre-stretch state, called
contraction or shrinkage. So if it keeps springing back, form it into a round
and let it rest for a while longer. Forcing the dough will make it tough when
baked.

When shaping your loaf, do NOT press down so hard that you
can hear air bubbles popping, and do not stretch it so it tears. Use your
fingertips (floured if needed) and gently coax the dough into shape.

Also, when shaping your loaves, use as little flour as
possible. Too much actually makes it harder to shape and affects the final
rise, again resulting in a tough dry loaf.

As stated before, there are many shapes you can use for
your loaf. You may also like to use a loaf tin, although I prefer the hand
shaped loaf – it looks more rustic and authentic and you get a nice golden
crust on the base, whereas in a loaf tin the base tends to stay a little pale.
The most common loaf shapes are rectangular, round, tapered baton and the
baguette. By far the most common shape is the rectangular loaf. When you see it
after it has been shaped it looks pretty unremarkable, but it is quite
complicated to get a nice tightly shaped loaf. I use this shape most and I use
it on its own or place it in a loaf tin after shaping.

The
rectangular loaf

To begin, place your round relaxed dough smooth side down.
Now poke it gently with your fingertips (a bit like knocking back). Next, roll
the dough tightly towards you tucking it in as you roll. You should now have a
seam on the top. Press the seam down with your fingertips to seal it. Now
flatten the dough gently into a rectangle so it is about twice as long as it is
wide. Fold one end in about a third of the way, then take the other end and
fold it over the top nice and tight. Flatten the dough down into a rough square
using fingertips or knuckles. Be gentle and do not force the dough. When the
dough has been flattened roll the dough towards you as before and seal the seam
on top. Flip it over and roll gently back and forth to get a nice even shape
and tuck the ends under. Phew! It is complicated but this does result in a
really tight loaf that holds its shape really well and produces a great oven
spring when placed in the oven.