Bread Flashcards
What is yeast?
Single cell micro organism from the fungus family
What slows down yeast activity?
Excess fat, sugar, salt, alcohol, low temperatures
Why do we knead bread?
To distribute ingredients and develop gluten
Which oven shelf do we bake bread on and at what temperature?
200C, top third shelf
What does yeast need to work?
Food (sugar), water and warmth
Basic stages of bread making
Sift flour into bowl, evenly distribute salt
Cream yeast in some water and sugar. Add to flour with 2/3 of liquid and distribute. Add more water if needed.
Knead dough until elastic.
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave until doubled its size.
Knock back dough and shape.
Proof dough until when poked, dough does not bounce back.
Bake until light for its size, golden and sounds hollow when tapped.
Reasons for bread only rising a little
Dough was too dry
Not proved for long enough
Reasons bread has a cake like texture
Insufficient kneading for gluten development
Plain flour used rather than strong
Recipe contains a lot of fat
Reasons bread has a coarse texture
Too little salt
Dough has overproved
Reasons bread has a sour/yeasty flavour
Dough risen for too long
Yeast was stale
Too much yeast
What causes oven spring?
Oven too hot or uneven heat in the oven
Underproved
Why does dough have uneven texture/holes?
Dough wasn’t knocked back sufficiently
Dough was overproved
Why does dough have a wrinkled crust?
Bread was cooled too quickly
Dough was overproved
Dough has bubbles underneath the crust
Dough was overproved
What strengthens gluten?
Salt, liquid, kneading, vitamin C, acid
