Baking bread is an art. Careful planning is essential to the bread making process. In this article, I plan to cover some important dynamics that many bakers don’t give thought to. For example, does it matter whether you own a convention or convection oven? Is there any significant difference between baking bread in a gas or electric oven? A little but I am going to teach you a couple of tricks so that it won’t make any difference if it’s a yeast bread or a quick bread or even a cake. Are you concerned about whether or not there is a preferred brand for home baking? Are you cooking with one of the following appliances: Frigidaire, Whirlpool, Jenn-Air or Samsung? At the end of the day, it isn’t going to matter which brand is sitting in your kitchen. If your oven is working, you’ll be able to bake bread like a pro.
Tip 1 – Things to consider before baking bread
Tip 2 – How to get consistent crispy crust every time
Steam is important for bread recipe’s that require a crisp, crusty exterior. Steam affects texture and the way the bread looks. The moisture helps to soften the crust in its earliest stages. This allows the bread to completely rise and form a thin crisp crust. Moisture also helps to caramelize the natural sugars giving the bread a rich and golden brown crust.
The following is an artisan bread that sort of breaks bread baking rules and whose simplicity will blow your mind yet your friends will think you bought it at a local bakery.
Cranberry Orange Almond Artisan Bread
Ingredients
Whisk together flour, salt, yeast, and orange zest in a large glass or plastic bowl. Stir in the dried cranberries and toasted chopped almonds. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours. Overnight is a perfect length of time.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a dutch oven or cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat for 30 minutes. While the pot is heating up, pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Do not knead! Cover with plastic wrap and allow to set while the pot is heating. Remove the pot from the oven. At this point, I like to use parchment paper to help drop the dough into the pot. The parchment paper also helps to remove the loaf from the pot. Cover and return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article about some of the nuances of baking bread. Repetition is key to becoming a successful baker. If you have any inquiries regarding appliance repair, appliance repair training, or any marketing queries, please contact Fred’s Appliances today. We are standing by for all your appliance questions!
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