There is a knack to baking the perfect loaf of bread but with the right combination of appliances and insider tips from Diane Pollitt, our home economist, you’ll be an expert bread baker in no time!
Di at the Winning Demonstration Kitchen Redfern
Di bakes bread at the Winning Appliances Redfern showroom several times a week so she’s very familiar with the appliances as well the techniques and ingredients you need to get a great loaf. She alternates between different ovens, depending on what she’s baking each day, and speaks highly of the Miele, Gaggenau and V-Zug automatic bread baking functions.
Di recommends the following for beginner bread bakers:
- Check your recipe carefully to see what type of flour is required. Some recipes will use bread flour, which contains a higher proportion of protein and gives bread its elasticity. Make sure you’ve purchased the right pack.
- Use dry yeast instead of fresh. Dry yeast is easier to find in supermarkets and lasts much longer.
- Treat the dough with respect! Don’t kill the yeast by using hot water – add lukewarm liquids only.
- If using a bread machine to knead your dough, make sure you put the yeast on the bottom, followed by the dry ingredients and then the liquid. This prevents the yeast from being activated too early.
- Cut down cooking time by using a steam oven to proof the dough. It takes approximately 35-40 minutes for the dough to double in bulk in a steam oven as opposed to the 1 – 1 .5 hours you would have to leave it stand with a conventional oven.
- Bake your bread on a perforated tray so that the air can circulate and you achieve a more professional result.
- Use automatic bread baking programmes on a steam oven to add the required moisture – by injecting steam bursts at relevant times they remove the need to do this manually and cut down on guesswork. By injecting moisture you’ll achieve an incredible spongy dough and a nicely browned crust.
- If you want to know when your loaf is done give the middle of the base a tap with your finger – if it’s sound hollow, it’s ready.
Creative Flavours
Di bakes a variety of bread combinations every week but some of her favourite flavours include:
- Chilli flakes and chocolate
- Dried fig and walnut
- Middle Eastern inspired flat bread served with hummus and chutney
- For a Christmas flavoured loaf Di recommends adding apricots and raisons with a hint of cinnamon and cardamom
Di’s date and walnut spelt loaf
Further Reading
One of Di’s favourite baking blogs is Bake Club Australia by Anneka Manning. Find a selection of Anneka’s best baking tips here.
Ready to get baking?
Visit our recipes page to discover some of our suppliers’ Winning bread recipes.
