Operation Manual

11
Plain or household flour
Most white flour is called plain or household flour and this contains almost no bran or wheatgerm but
does contain a lot of gluten. This flour is used to thicken soups and sauces but perfectly good bread can
be baked using it.
Wheat flour
Wheat flour is white flour formed from grains of wheat and it is slightly grey in colour because it
contains a small quantity of bran and wheatgerm as well as a lot of gluten.
Wholemeal flour
Wholemeal flour is ground from the complete, untreated grains of wheat so that all the bran and
wheatgerm are still in it.
Just like wheat flour it is rich in gluten but denser because of the bran and wheatgerm particles. If only
wholemeal flour is used the bread is more compact so that most home bakers also add some wheat flour.
In addition to these varieties of flour there are lots more for you to experiment with including oatmeal,
barley flour, buckwheat, spelt, cornflour and rye flour.
Mixing flour types
Most flour types can be mixed together easily. Common combinations are buckwheat/oats/wheat and
barley/wheat. Various mixes are available in the shops, such as waldkorn, six, nine or ten-grain
multi-flour. These mixes often already contain bread improver as well as the flour.
All-in mixes
These are mixes which contain all the necessary ingredients except water. They are easy and quick to use
but are also more expensive.
YEAST
Yeast is necessary if bread is to rise. Yeast is available either as fresh yeast (blocks) or dried yeast
(granules). There are various types of dried yeast which work slightly differently from each other so that
once more it is a question of personal preference.
Roughly speaking you will need about half as much dry yeast (also known as instant) as you would fresh.
Yeast may not work properly if it comes into contact with salt or fats. Salt can kill the yeast while fats
enclose the yeast cells preventing them from rising. Therefore, it is important that the yeast, salt and
butter are not too close to each other in the breadmaker.
SALT
Naturally salt adds to the taste of the bread but it is also important for making a crisp crust and for the
rising process (although salt can stop this if it comes into contact with the yeast). Salt strengthens the
gluten structure which gives the bread its form and also helps to prevent the bread from rising out of the
pan or collapsing before it is properly baked. It is quite possible to bake low-salt or even salt-free bread
but then the ingredients will need to be varied.
LIQUIDS
The commonest liquid used in baking bread is water but you can also try using fresh milk or buttermilk.
If you do this it will also affect the amount of rising and the structure of the bread.
Because of the amount of fat present full fat milk keeps the bread fresher for longer and the milk sugars
present (lactose) improve the rising. Buttermilk gives a lighter loaf that stays fresh longer.
SUGAR
Sugar plays only a minor role in the rising process but it does affect the flavour. Honey,
syrup or treacle can be used instead of sugar. It is preferable not to use any hard-grained
sugar types or candy sugar in the breadmaker because this can damage the non-stick coating.
Do not use synthetic sweeteners when baking as most of these decompose in the heat.
FATS
A fat is really a bread improver, it is not essential but the bread is better if it is used. Fat
makes the dough more supple so that it can rise more easily and it also surrounds the glu-
ten structure so that the carbon dioxide gas being produced cannot escape. This makes the
bread softer and it stays fresh for longer. Various sorts of fat are suitable.