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LIQUIDS
Water - cheapest, easiest, fastest! The flavor of the grain will be more apparent and the texture chewy.
Milk - Bread will rise higher, toast more evenly and quickly. Bread will have a finer texture and keep longer. Scald all milk (heat to just below boiling) except canned milk. This is to kill enzymes that interfere with the activity of the yeast. Milk proteins also compliment the protein in what for added nutritional value.
Buttermilk - dough will be more tender and have a nice flavor. Scald like regular milk and use no more than ½ liquid requirement or it can make the bread too tender.
Potato Water - the liquid reserved after boiling potatoes not only gives greater volume, but gives a coarser texture, one that is good for holding spread butter after toasting. Also adds moistness. Use no more than ½ your liquid requirement
Yogurt - adds tang. Substitute for ½ liquid requirement.
Vegetable juices or Broth - tomato juice, apple juice, seed sprouting soak water or whey (by-product of cheese making). Use any of these as part of your liquid requirement for added nutrition and varying tastes and textures.
Eggs - can be another liquid - adding protein, color and loft. They also add to the keeping quality of bread due to the preserving quality in the lecithin in the egg. If eggs are added in addition to required liquid amount. Decrease liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup for each large egg. You can use 1-2 eggs per loaf.
1 extra large egg equals about 2 ounces.
4 extra large eggs or 5 large eggs equal about 1 cup liquid.
Oils - Canola, olive oil, any good quality (cold pressed oil) or the cream off whole fresh milk.
Tenderizes the dough, increases elasticity and produces a more tender crumb. Volume increases, bread browns more evenly and it enchases keeping quality. Never use to much as it will shorten the gluten strands, making it crumbly and cake like.
A minimum of one tablespoon oil or fat for each 4 cups flour.
I use 1/3-cup oil or melted butter for a 2-loaf recipe.
Pizza dough and French bread has hardly any.
First measure your oil the use same cup to measure and add sweetener to recipe.
Sweeteners - add flavor, adds moistness, especially honey. Feeds yeast and add to keeping quality.
Preferred: Honey, molasses or barley malt syrup.
Be careful of high temperatures when using honey as it tends to over brown and scorch.
I use 1/3-cup honey per 2-loaf recipe.
Salt - Enhances flavors and controls the fermentation process. Bread with no salt is usually tasteless and flat. Never add it to the liquid in which the yeast is dissolving as it inhibits yeast growth. Use unrefined sea salt or "real Salt (earth mineral salt).
I use 1 tablespoon per 2-loaf recipe. Many recipes call for less, this is my preference to bring out flavor in bread.
EXTRA INGREDIENTS
Lecithin - Derived from soybeans, it helps bread remain moist and soft by slowing down oxidation of its liquid components and acts as a binder. It comes in granular, liquid or powdered form.
1 ½ tsp. of liquid or granular per loaf is sufficient as a binder. If you use powdered follow directions on can.
Vital Wheat Gluten or Gluten Flour - This is extracted from high protein wheat. It is also a binder, making dough more elastic and gives it a boost. If your flour is less than 16% protein you will need to add gluten. It also helps to compensate for the damage done to the gluten in your bread dough due to the brans jagged edges, which occur during the mill process.
1-2 tablespoons per loaf should be enough. To much gluten flour will make bread tough and rubbery.
Malt, Diastatic Malt Powder or Barley Malt Syrup - These are sweet derivatives of toasted barley. They add nutrition, improves appearance, texture and keeping quality.
Replace 1-tablespoon sweetener in recipe with ½ - tsp. power or 2 tablespoon syrup.
To much will make you bread gummy, dense and either too sweet or bitter.
Whey - Powdered or liquid - A dairy by-product (from making cheese), rich in protein, minerals and milk sugar. Aids in browning, adds nutrition, adds flavor and slightly sweetens. Good for promoting beneficial bacteria in colon (like yogurt).
Use ½ cup powdered to any recipe. I use 1-cup liquid whey to replace water in a 4-loaf recipe.
Mashed Potatoes - A good source of yeast food and natural vitamin C. Acts as a dough enhancer and adds moistness. Makes for a lighter better textured bread.
Use up to 1/4 cup per loaf. Instant potato flakes or granules help, but not as good as the real thing.
Oats or Oatmeal - They add crunch and moistness, makes good toasting bread.
1 cup rolled oats per 2-loaf recipe.
Pour 1-2 cups boiling water over rolled oats, mix and let cool before incorporating to yeast mixture. Decrease liquid requirements by that 1-2 cups.
Nuts and Seeds - Chopped or ground nuts, ground or whole seeds
Dried Fruit, Sprouts, Spices, Herbs, Cheeses, etc. - Adds nutrition, crunch, flavor, variety, fund, adds to appearance. Once you have gotten the "feel of the dough", start experimenting and be creative. Your family will thank you! Dried fruit can be used as is, but it does help to soak in boiled hot water first.
Other Flours - Rye, Pumpernickel, Triticale, Corn, Barley, Soy (except Kamut and Spelt), produce protein in themselves to make successful risen yeast bread. These flours must be used together with high protein wheat flour. Some vital wheat gluten added would not hurt either. Excellent results can still be obtained by replacing wheat flour with your choice of flours up to 1/4 - 1/3 the total amount of flour. Kamut flour and spelt flour are exceptions. The both contain adequate gluten to make yeast breads with cohesiveness and loft. Kamut is an alternative for many persons allergic to wheat.
MORE TIPS
MORE USEFUL INFORMATION ON GRAINS AND BAKING.
45 Pounds of wheat berries in a 6 gallon pail yields 158 cups ground flour
1 pound or 3 cups berries yields approximately 4 cups ground flour
A rough approximation - a scant 2/3 cup berries + 1 cup ground flour
When rolling or flaking oat grains, it is ½ cup groats + 1 cup flaked grain
The Family Grain Mill grinds 3 cups berries into fine flour in about 4 minutes
A yeast bread recipe using 3 cups flour fits into a medium loaf pan 81/2 x 41/2; it will give you a nice domed top.
The larger loaf, commonly available in stores, 9x5 is really for quick bread recipes, such as banana and zucchini bread. They do not work as nicely for the traditional 2 cup loaf recipe.
For recipes using 1/4 cup or more sugar (sweetener) to 3 cups flour, increase yeast.
The oils and milk in the recipe make chewy bread.
Bowing of crust comes from the sugars caramelizing.
Bread made with little oils or without fats are wonderful fresh, but stale quickly as with French or Italian type breads.
Oil and lecithin (liquid) is the best combination for greasing pans - not straight oil. 2 parts lecithin to 1 part oil or 1 part lecithin to 2 parts oil, you experiment.
A wire cooling rack, very helpful, pop bread out of pans onto rack right away avoids have your crust steamed.
Refrigeration will retard mold, but accelerates the staling process.
Freezing loaves after they have completely cooled will keep loaves almost just baked fresh for up to 3 months.
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