Changing a Bread Recipe

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When people make homemade bread they are generally looking for qualities different from bread that can be purchased in a store. With bread made at home, the baker can tailor the loaves to match her own tastes and the tastes of family and friends. This is especially true in cases where the baker has some experience and gets to know the precise effects of the ingredients used to make the bread.

Bread machine makers and recipe books strongly discourage varying the ingredients in a recipe. However, trying out different ideas is the best way to discover the optimum flavor and texture of a bread. Adding more sugar, for example, makes a sweeter bread and is recommended especially for making raisin bread or cinnamon rolls. For dinner rolls try using olive oil instead of butter or margarine. The author has found that bread recipes that include milk can most often be made with water as a substitute with no discernible difference in taste.

Different kinds of flour can also be used. All purpose flour usually works as well as flour manufactured especially for making bread. Bread flour contains more protein/gluten. This helps keep the dough more elastic when rising. But the average consumer or baker will not be able to discern much difference, except in some cases where a more chewy texture is desired. Whole wheat flour or non-gluten flour or other special flours (such as rice or oat flour) will require special handling. In these cases a separate recipe should be the starting point. Whatever is done with the flour, the ratio of wet to dry ingredients should stay at least roughly the same.

The amount of salt should probably not be changed much, although it can generally be reduced from the amount recommended in a recipe. Nevertheless, it is nearly always a mistake to increase the amount of salt in a recipe as it deters the yeast from rising. The baker should not be tempted to change the amount of yeast in a recipe as more might lend a yeasty flavor and less only means a longer period for rising. (Generally, bread should not rise for a specific period of time as much as it should double in size. This is usually dependent on the action of the yeast - more than the recommended amount of yeast wont make the dough rise any faster, while less will mean the yeast will have to spend a little more time multiplying.)

Bread machines make very good bread. Nevertheless, hand-made bread is superior, perhaps because of the method of kneading. However, the baker can have the best of both worlds. It is a simple matter to make dough in a bread machine; then remove it, knead it a few times, and lay it in a bread pan for a final rise and baking.

The final product can also be adjusted. Some people like to lather the baked bread in butter or oil. The bread can be eaten immediately, but this often results in a mashed loaf as the bread is not yet firm enough to stand up to the pressure of even a sharp knife. It is best to let a loaf cool for at least twenty minutes (better even longer). Crust style can also be changed. Many people like to have a soft crust rather than the hard crust that is often associated with homemade bread. This can easily be accomplished by letting the bread cool for several hours, and then placing the bread in an air-tight plastic bag over-night. The next morning the bread can be easily sliced and served up with jam or as toast. Storing in a plastic bag can also make the bread more amenable to sandwiches.