Bread Baking Tip I Got From Petek

[ea56]

A while back on another thread about baking bread our friend and member from Canada, Petek suggested using dry powdered milk when baking homemade bread.  This last Wednesday I baked a loaf of Whole Wheat bread using 1/4 cup of powdered non fat milk and 1 1/3 cups water instead of my usual 2/3 cup evaporated milk and 2/3 cup water.

 

What a miraculous difference it made!  We just had our lunch sandwich using this bread that is now 4 days old, and you would never know it!  This bread is still just as soft and fresh as it was the day it was baked!  I’m a believer.  On Thursday I made a batch of Whole Wheat hamburger buns again using the powdered milk and water rather than my usual 1/2 and 1/2 water and evap milk and they are the most excellent hamburger buns I’ve ever made!

 

Thanks Pete for the great baking tip!!!!   You’re never too old to learn something new.

 

Eddie

 

[fisherpaykel]

Those hamburger buns do look very good, is that an egg wash on the top? I have been threatening to bake bread again, will have to try the powdered milk.

 

[ea56]

Thanks Walter, not its not an egg wash, I brushed them with oil when they come out of the oven.

 

Eddie

 

[appnut]

Eddie, my bread food processor book said to use powered milk as it doesn't need t be scalded. Just mix the powered milk with the rest of the dry ingreients and add warmed liquid. Have continued to do this after acquring the KA stand mixer. Simplifes bread making and as you see, the results are terrific.

 

[ea56]

Bob, thats exactly how I did it, mixed the powdered milk with the other dry ingredients then added the liquid ingredients.  I’ve also found that using the paddle attachment rather  than the dough hook on the KA stand mixer, adding all but the last 1/4 cup of flour, mixing the dough on speed 6 for 2 mins, then turn speed down to 2 and  slowly add last 1/4 cup of flour until dough cleans side of the bowl.  Then remove dough from bowl and knead 50 turns (this only takes about a min.) cover with damp cloth and rest for 10 mins.  Then form into loaf or rolls allow to rise 35 mins then bake.

 

This method works better for me than using the dough hook.  The dough develops gluten well this way and rises very nicely.  By using Rapid Rise yeast only 1 rise is required with a 10 min rest first.

 

Eddie

 

[petek]

Here's some other tips you might want to try that I've found successful. First off, do not "preheat" your oven. Just let your dough rise in the pans inside of the oven and when about near risen turn it on to 350 , set your timer for two to three minutes less than if you'd put them in a preheated over. Saves power, saves some heating up of the kitchen. I'm talking electric ovens, but can't see why it would be different with gas.

The whole myth on keeping yeast separate from the salt is just that pretty much.You're not going to "Kill the yeast" if you put it into your warm water that has some salt,sugar, milk powder in it.. Dry yeasts have a coating on them and the scant amount of time

Weigh your flour and water instead of using cups. For sandwich breads you want a hydration level of about 64-65%.. So no matter how much flour you weigh you just weigh 64-65% of that weight in water. It's so easy... Use grams on you digital scale. A single loaf of bread is about 450 grams of flour, so 65% hydration is 293 grams of water.. easy peasy. If you have an odd amount of flour left and you weight it and it comes to 576 grams for example, again you just weigh out 65% water of 576 grams, which would be 374 grams of water. If you're bad at math and have Alexa just ask.. what is 65% of (how ever many grams of flour you're using).

You can do the same for the yeast and oil and salt by weighing the required percentages of those but if you already know by experience that it takes about 3-4 teaspoonss of yeast for each loaf (450 grams) and 2 table spoons of oil, etc.. then play it by ear accordingly.

I put all my ingredients, except the flour, into the mixer bowl then put all the flour on top of that and start the machine slowly to incorporate it without a flour explosion, then turn it up to the proper speed and let her go for the 8 or 9 minutes required. It's rare I have to add a teaspoon or more of flour because it's too wet. It might take you a time or two to adjust to doing it this way as there are variables like the type and size of mixer you're using. Done right you never have to take the dough out and do any "hand kneading". I want the mixer to do the work not me.. LOL.

Use real bread flour rather than all-purpose. Bread flour is made from hard wheat varieties, all-purpose is usually a blend of soft and hard wheats and while it can make decent bread it's a notch below bread made with higher protein bread flour.

 

[kevin313]

Eddie,

Nice buns!

Those really look great and what a terrific tip from Petek about the powdered milk. I also appreciate the other bread tips he provides - great information!

 

[mattl]

I learned about this technique and

Am anxious to try it. Though 90% of my breads are sourdough and a heavier crusty bread every now and then I want a lighter type. I'm looking for ward to trying this type:

 

<blockquote>
Tangzhong Is The Key Method For Achieving Ultra Tender Bread

Tangzhong is a Mandarin term referring to a mixture of flour and liquid (typically water, milk, or a combination of both) cooked over low heat to form a thick paste and then incorporated into bread dough. It is similar to a roux, except it replaces the fat with water or milk. In fact, it is sometimes known in English as a water roux. Tangzhong was popularized by Taiwanese baker Yvonne Chen through her 2005 book "65°C Bread Doctor" and is closely related to a Japanese technique called Yudane, which is essentially the same, except that it involves pouring hot water into flour instead of cooking the two together. This is a key component of Japanese milk bread, renowned for its pillowy texture that lasts for days without hardening, but you can adapt it to all kinds of bread recipes to keep them fresh and fluffy.

</blockquote>

https://www.thedailymeal.com/1352901/tangzhong-key-method-achieve-tender-soft-bread/

 

[lotsosudz]

Hey Eddie

You gave me a orange cake recipe, but I
neglected to ask what type of flour it calls for. I was thinking of using cake flour. What kind did you use?
Hugs,
David

 

[ea56]

David,
I just use regular All Purpose flour in that Orange Cake recipe. It was originally my Grandma’s recipe from the 30’s or 40’s and I know that she didn’t use Cake flour. But I don’t see why Cake flour wouldn’t work with this recipe, however why pay extra when you surely already have AP flour on hand.

Hope you like the Orange Cake, its one of my favorites. I used to bake it for my workers birthdays before I retired and they all loved it.

Eddie

 

[lotsosudz]

Thanks Eddie

I'm going to make the cake tonight and take it to a friend's elderly parents home tomorrow.
Huga,
David