This Bread Machine Dough Recipe Makes the BEST Homemade Bread! (2024)

FAQs

How do I make my bread machine bread better? ›

Some recipes will advise adding sugar, which, in addition to making the bread a little sweet, helps the yeast to rise better. Others also suggest adding a little oil, such as olive or vegetable oil. This helps the dough form, preventing it from sticking to the sides of the pan, and makes the bread more tender.

Too much heat or humidity might lead to a too-quick rise and a crevice near the center of your bread. Conditions that are too cold might delay proofing or rising, resulting in a super-dense loaf.

It's healthier.

The downfall is that homemade bread goes bad much quicker than the standard store bought bread, but that is only because it does not contain the additives and preservatives store bought bread has. Store bought loaves also do not have much nutrition as well.

One disadvantage of using a bread maker as opposed to your hands is that the paddles are typically fixed, meaning they remain in the dough when baking, often leaving a hole in the middle of the loaf. Whilst this is not the biggest hinderance, it can be an annoyance to those who aim for gold standard loaves.

If your bread has a sour, yeasty flavour and smells of alcohol then you have either used too much yeast.or you may have use stale yeast or creamed fresh yeast with sugar.

Both commercial dry yeast and instant yeast are suitable for bread machines because they are designed to be added directly to the dry ingredients, and they don't require proofing in water before use.

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

After baking the bread, put it in a plastic bag just before it cools to room temperature. The residual moisture in the bread will soften the crust.

You can also add herbs and seasonings such as garlic, rosemary, dill, chopped onion, jalapeño, shredded cheese, chopped nuts, dried cranberries, etc. My no yeast bread is the quick bread alternative here—you can add flavors to that loaf, too! Baker's Tip: Avoid adding too much flour to the dough as you work with it.

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

What is the secret to fluffy bread? ›

Add Sugar

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

And It's not just cakes that benefit from a touch of vinegar, but also biscuits, muffins, and even bread. So when it comes to bread, it's the same concept – vinegar inhibits gluten formation which leads to a more relaxed and extensible dough, resulting in a less dense and chewy bread.

Breads made with water are heavier and have a crisp crust and a chewy texture. Milk helps to enrich the dough and the flavor of the bread. It produces a loaf with a creamy-colored, tender crumb and a golden crust. You can use whole, low-fat or skim milk based on your preference.

You will need a bit more milk than the amount of water required (because of the milk solids). The dough will be softer, the crumb less open. You will have to bake it at lower temperatures than a lean bread. In other words, your bread will be more like a sandwich bread.

- Use bread flour, not regular all-purpose flour for all bread machine recipes. Bread flour contains a higher percentage of gluten than regular all-purpose flour. Using bread flour will produce taller, less dense loaves.