Bread Basics Summary

1. The Principle of Bread Making

Bread is made by mixing flour with water, sugar, yeast and other ingredients to form a dough, and then going through a series of processes such as basic fermentation, shaping, final fermentation, and baking to complete the product. Although the ingredients used in the bread recipes may seem to be very similar, as long as they account for a different percentage of the ingredients, the baking process is different, Although the ingredients used in the bread recipe may seem similar, as long as the proportion of the ingredients is different and the production process is different, the baked bread will have various flavors and characteristics.

2. The key points of bread making

The two most important steps in bread making are mixing and fermentation. Mixing not only makes the ingredients mix evenly, but also accelerates the formation of gluten, so that the gluten can be fully expanded, so that the dough can cover the expansion of the disk gas during fermentation, and has a better baking flow during baking, which means that the dough can be smoothly expanded in the corner of the baking mold during baking, so that the finished product can get the best quality in terms of both texture and appearance. In particular, when making bread with lid, if the baking fluidity and fermentation of the dough are insufficient or excessive, it will result in rounded corners or corners, and the quality will not be up to the standard.

3. Six stages of bread mixing

Pick-up stage:

The first stage of dough mixing. At this point, all the wet and dry ingredients are mixed into a rough and wet dough, which is hard and has no elasticity or extensibility, and there are still some unmixed ingredients around the mixing bowl.

Rolling Stage:

As the dough continues to be mixed, the water in the recipe is completely absorbed by the flour and gluten begins to form. At this point, the dough has a strong gluten character and starts to roll and attach itself to the hook mixer, but the texture is still hard and lacks elasticity, and it is a bit sticky to touch with your hands, but it is still easy to break when you pull the dough. If you are using the medium fermentation method and need to divide the dough into two mixing sessions, mix the medium dough until it reaches the extension stage and then proceed to the basic fermentation, so that the gluten will not break when you add the main dough into the mixing session due to over mixing.

Expansion stage:

The surface of the dough is dry and smooth, glossy, not sticky, and the tissue is strong, elastic, soft, and the gluten has begun to expand, but the dough will break when you pull it with your hands, even though it is malleable

Finish stage

The gluten of the dough has reached its full expansion, and the dough will beat the side of the tank with the mixer, but it will always be rolled up on the mixer. The dough will beat the sides of the cylinder with the stirring of the mixer, but it will always be rolled and attached to the mixer, so it will form the phenomenon of "tail dragging" and make a loud crackling sound. At this point, the surface of the dough is fine, smooth and non-sticky, the tissue is soft and malleable, and the dough can be stretched out by hand to form a very thin film, and even if the film is broken, the edges will still be smooth and rounded. When the dough does not reach the finished stage by hand, there is the so-called "three light" judgment standard, meaning that the surface of the dough is smooth on the hands and the mixing bowl and worktop. When the mixing process is completed, the dough is ready to be poured out for fermentation. In general, when the dough is operated by the direct fermentation method, and when the main dough is operated by the medium fermentation method, the dough should be mixed to the completion stage in order to produce enough gluten to cover the gas.

Excessive Stage:

If the dough is mixed to the completion stage, the surface of the smooth and dry dough will become watery and shiny again, and the gluten will start to break, and the dough will stick to the mixing bowl again, and then flow in all directions after stopping the machine, forming a thin, sticky filament that is no longer suitable for bread making.

Gluten breaks

If mixing is continued, the dough becomes hydrated and loose, the surface is wet and sticky, and the gluten breaks so much that the hook mixer is no longer able to roll the dough, and when pulled by hand it forms transparent threads, making it unsuitable for bread making.

4. Impact of mixing on the quality of bread

Highly rolled dough

When mixing a large amount of dough, the ingredients are easily rolled up and attached to the hook mixer, so it is necessary to stop the machine and scrape down the dough at the right time for mixing, otherwise the texture of the dough will be uneven, which will affect the quality.

Insufficient mixing

From the above, it can be seen that the dough must be mixed to a certain stage in order to form a good gluten and tissue extensibility, if the mixing is insufficient, the final fermentation of the dough is slow, and the bottom of the finished product after baking is hard and rough, with a small and upright area, and the aging rate is fast

Over-mixing

The use of over-mixing of dough is slow, but the baking is not as slow as under-mixing, so it is not as easy as over-mixing the dough. Although the final fermentation is as slow as that of undermixing, the quality of the baked bread is even worse than that of undermixing. Not only does the baked product lack elasticity, it is also flat and has a large bottom area, and the internal organization is rough with large holes.