Application Guide

Table Of Contents

In addition to their baking cycles, bread machines have some or all of the

following features:

DELAY FEATURE

Almost all machines have a Delay Timer, which allows you to place the ingredients in

the bread pan, choose the baking cycle, and program the machine to begin the process

of mixing and baking your dough 3

to 24 hours later. This is a popular feature, since

it enables you to program the machine at night and wake up to fresh bread in the morn-

ing, or have fresh bread ready when you get home from work. I have noted throughout

the book which recipes are not suitable for this cycle, but please remember that when-

ever you program the machine for a delay of even a few hours, you should not make a

bread that calls for any fresh ingredients, such as milk, eggs, or cheese (including cot-

tage cheese, sour cream, or yogurt), bacon, or fresh vegetables. Ingredients such as

these can grow harmful bacteria at room temperature that can result in food poisoning.

Many bread machine recipes call for dry milk and powdered eggs, which are safe to

use with the Delay Timer.

In order to get optimum results using the Delay Timer, it is important

that the yeast not come in contact with the salt (which would inhibit its rising power)

nor with any liquid (which would activate it before the mixing began) when the ingre-

dients are standing in the bread pan. Add the liquid ingredients first, then the salt, then

all the dry ingredients, and finally the yeast at the end (or switch this order around if

your machine so requires). Many bread machine books stipulate this precaution for all

their recipes, but it is only really necessary when using the Delay Timer.

PREHEAT

Some machines have a Preheat or Rest period, which was created so that you could put

ingredients at cold and warm temperatures into the machine and have them at a uni-

form temperature by the time the mixing starts. (Perhaps a throwback to the days of

warming the flour on the oven door to take off the chill and encourage the best rising?)

This allows the yeast to perform at optimum capacity. This phase lasts from 15 to 30

minutes. Remember that there is no blade action, so the machine will be quiet during

this phase. In some of the more sophisticated machines you can bypass this step, in

others you cannot. Some machines have it built into every baking cycle; others, like

Breadman machines, just have it on the Whole Wheat cycle. Some people like this fea-

ture, believing it produces better bread, and some don’t, since it adds time to the whole

process. You can use the Program setting (see Program), if your machine has it, to by-

pass the Preheat cycle.

CRUST CONTROL

In addition to choosing the cycle for your loaf, most models offer a setting that, by

varying the baking temperature or timing slightly, gives you the choice of a light,

medium, or dark crust. You are choosing how your loaf will look when it is finished