Knead dough:

The first thing is to mix materials. I am used to dissolving dry yeast in wet materials, such as water and milk. Wait until the yeast is completely melted before adding other materials. The rest is to continue to knead the dough. When the materials are basically agglomerated, you can add grease materials, such as butter or other grease, but there are also some breads without any grease. After adding grease, you can continue to knead the dough until the kneaded dough can be pulled out into a film shape with both hands. However, it is not easy to knead the dough into a film, and it may take a long time. Therefore, it is suggested that people who like to make bread at home can consider buying a desktop dough mixer, so that the kneading process can be completed by a bread machine. If you want to add some nuts or preserved fruits to the formula, you should add them at this time and simply knead them evenly.

Fermentation:

After the dough is kneaded, it can be fermented. We collect the dough into glossy flour, put it in a buttered basin, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in a warm place for the first fermentation. Of course, if the weather is hot, it can be fermented at room temperature. If the weather is cold, you should find a relatively warm environment. There are also some recipes that need to be fermented at low temperature for a long time. At this time, it is necessary to operate according to the specific recipe. The way to judge whether the dough is ready is to dip some dry flour with your index finger and poke it directly into the bottom of the dough. If the dough behind the finger is not retracted, it means that the fermentation has been completed. After taking out the dough fermented for the first time, gently press it with your hands to exhaust the air in the dough, then divide it into small pieces according to the formula, knead it and let it stand for a period of time for intermediate fermentation. The next step is shaping. Put the dough into the baking tray, and cover it with oil paper or oil cloth to avoid sticking. The final fermentation of the dough is also very important. Professionals will put the molded dough into the fermentation box. We can use the oven instead of the fermentation box at home. The specific method is to adjust the oven temperature to 100 degrees, 10 minutes, put a pot of hot water in, turn off the oven and put the dough in. Be careful not to take out the hot water until the dough is twice as big.

Baking:

Before baking, some recipes may need to brush the egg liquid on the dough, or draw a knife edge and so on. Whether brushing egg liquid or cutting knife, pay attention to the action must be light. There are also some recipes that need to be sprayed with water before baking and then put into the preheated oven. After the toast is taken out, it should be taken out of the baking tray immediately and put on the grill, otherwise the steam will soften the bottom of the toast and affect the taste of the bread. The cooled bread should be put in a fresh-keeping bag.

Tip:

If your dough is warm enough when it is fermented, but the dough just doesn't ferment well and the baked bread tastes hard, then I suggest you try to switch to dry yeast, because dry yeast may fail if it is left for too long.