Application Guide

Nonfat Dry Milk or Dry Buttermilk Powder
3 tablespoons dry milk powder + 1 cup water = 1 cup
fresh milk or buttermilk. For a richer flavor, use 4 to 5
tablespoons per cup.
Firm Cheeses
3 ounces of a firm, moist grated cheese = 2 tablespoons
liquid measurement
THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE/PREHEAT
Temperature is an important consideration throughout the entire process of mixing,
kneading, rising, and baking bread. Someone baking by hand attempts to control the
temperature of the environs for every step, adding water of a certain temperature, mix-
ing the dough in one area of the kitchen, moving it to another spot to rise, perhaps
moving it again, and, finally, setting the oven at just the right temperature for baking.
The bread machine has been designed to create just the right environment for each step
in the process. The first step, an important one, is to properly activate the yeast, which
is the primary leavener in most breads.
Yeast is a living organism and very sensitive to temperature. When it
has been properly activated, it remains alive through the process of constructing the
dough and is killed in the heat of baking. Yeast needs moisture, food, and an environ-
ment between 75° and 100°F to become active. Under ideal conditions, the liquid and
the dry ingredients are at the same temperature before they are mixed together. This is
what the Preheat portion of the cycle, a feature of many bread machines, accomplishes.
Since the bread machine has been carefully programmed to control
the conditions inside of it, you should not have to do any adjusting to the dough or en-
virons. But the machine is not sealed off from its surroundings, so extreme tempera-
tures or humidity can affect the contents of, and effectiveness of, the bread machine.
You may find yourself sympathetic to the hand baker’s plight. Pay attention to the
weather. Since dough is more active when it is warm and humid, add cooler liquid to
slow the yeast action; I often use cool water on very hot baking days. Just as many
bakers do not bake in extremely high temperatures, it is probably best not to bake in
your bread machine under such conditions either. For the best results from your ma-
chine, begin with room temperature ingredients. Make sure any extra ingredients, like
sautéed onions or toasted nuts, are cooled to room temperature before they are added.
Beginning with all the ingredients at room temperature contributes to the proper con-
sistency of the dough ball and to optimum rising.
The Basic Steps of Bread Machine Baking
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