Making bread will involve a variety of ingredients and tools. Understanding the effects of each one will ensure that you make bread that is flavorful and of good quality. You may be surprised to know that some of the most common ingredients can change the nature of the bread drastically even with mild application. You can acquire these in many outlets, the internet and through local dealers. Here are some more tips about baking ingredients.
On Sweeteners
Liquid sweeteners help provide more taste to the bread. Honey and molasses are some of the most common options. Sweeteners provide moistness to the bread as well, giving it a better appearance and longer shelf-life. Sweet things also feed yeast. You can also use barley malt syrup. When using honey, be careful about using very high temperatures, since it can scorch and brown the bread. 1/3 cup of honey for every 2 loaves is recommended.
About Salt
Salt generally boosts the flavor of the bread and manages the fermentation process. Bread without salt becomes flat and tasteless. Do not add salt to the liquid wherein the yeast is dissolving since this can prevent yeast growth. You can use real salt, earth mineral salt or unrefined sea salt. Use 1 tablespoon for every 2 loaves. A lot of recipes require less.
Other Present Ingredients
Lecithin comes from soybeans and helps keep bread soft and moist. It slows down the oxidation of the liquid components and functions as a binder. Lecithin appears in liquid, granular or powdered form. 1.5 tablespoons of granular or liquid per loaf is enough as a binder. If you use the powdered form, make sure to follow the guidelines written on the can.
Malt, barley malt syrup or diastatic malt powder are sweet derivatives of toasted barley. These provide nutrition and boost texture, shelf life and appearance. Exchange 1 tablespoon of sweetener in the recipe together with 2 tablespoons of syrup and 1/2 teaspoon of powder. If you put in too much, your bread can become gummy, very sweet or bitter and dense. Vital wheat gluten or gluten flour is taken from high protein wheat. It also serves as a binder, resulting to dough becoming more elastic.
If the flour is lower than 16% protein, you need to add more gluten. Gluten also aids in the compensation of damage done to bread gluten because of the jagged edges of the bran, happening during the milling procedure. 1 to 2 tablespoons for every loaf is adequate. Too much gluten flour will lead to bread becoming rubbery and tough.
Final Ingredients
Oats or oatmeal provides added moistness and crunch to bread. This will lead to good toasting bread. You can add 1 cup of rolled oats for every 2 loaves. Pour 1 to 2 cups of boiling water over the rolled oats and allow to cool. Whey in liquid or powdered form is a dairy by-product. It contains a lot of milk sugar, protein and minerals. It also helps in the browning process and sweetens the bread a little.