Bread Machines For Dummies by Glenna Vance, Tom Lacalamita Page A
Authors: Glenna Vance, Tom Lacalamita
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dining.
However, one of the greatest pleasures of owning a bread machine is being able to make an endless variety of hand-shaped breads and rolls. The machine does all the work of mixing and raising the dough. You do the fun part of forming the shape to fit your fancy.
If you mastered Play-Doh as a kid, you can handle yeast dough. While itâs true that hand shaping bread dough is quite easy, you may wonder whatâs going on the first time you try something simple like rolling out a pizza dough. You roll it out and the dough moves right back, almost to the same size it was. The elasticity of the dough seems to be working against your intentions. Relax â the dough that is. You can relax too, because you are going to control that dough, learn how to handle that doughâs springiness, and be able to shape it anyway you so desire.
Using the Dough or Manual Setting
Always remember to set the bread machine on the Manual or Dough setting when you plan to hand shape the dough and bake it using a conventional oven. On this setting there is no signal to add fruit or nuts, so if you want them in your dough, you can either put them in at the beginning of the cycle with the other ingredients or near the end of the kneading cycle. If you are concerned that the fruit will be too crushed if you add it early or not evenly distributed if you add it late, then add the fruit (or nuts) by hand after the cycle is complete.
At the end of the dough cycle, some bread machines automatically punch the dough down with a few turns of the kneading blade. If you have a machine that does not do this, all you have to do to accomplish the same thing is select a cycle and press start. Allow the kneading blade to only make a few turns, just enough to punch all the gas bubbles out of the dough, and stop the machine immediately. Of course, you can just dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch all the air out with your hand, but the machine does such a good job â use it. The punching down process dispels any gas that might cause an irregular texture or unwanted air pockets and it invigorates the yeast in the dough.
Rolling the Dough
The bread machine does a great job of developing elasticity in the dough. You want the dough to be able to stretch, so that as the yeast activity produces gases the dough will expand. But when youâre trying to shape the dough first and then have it expand, this dough-spring can be a great frustration.
The first impulse is to put more pressure on the rolling pin and roll harder which, as you probably know, produces little if any difference. The trick is to roll or pat the dough out a bit, then let it set there for a minute or two. The dough will relax and you can roll it a bit further, then let it relax again. Repeat the rolling/hesitation process until the dough is the size you want it. You can use this technique for pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, or any shape that has to be made by first rolling or patting out the dough.
Shaping Breads
Once you have your dough prepared, you probably want your loaf to have a pleasing shape. Hereâs how you do it:
Round loaf: To shape a round loaf, cup hands around the sides of the dough and rotate in a circular motion on a lightly floured surface until you have formed a ball, as shown in Figure 8-1. Place the dough on a greased cooking sheet; cover, and allow to rise.
Log shape: To form a log shape, roll or pat dough to a 12-x-6-inch rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly, pressing the dough with the heel of your hand with each turn. If it is necessary to elongate the loaf or even it out, start with your hands together at the center, and move them apart as you gently roll and stretch the dough, applying pressure as you move. Place the loaf on a cooking sheet that youâve greased and covered with corn meal; cover the dough and allow it to rise.
We no longer use a damp towel to cover the rising dough. It would
However, one of the greatest pleasures of owning a bread machine is being able to make an endless variety of hand-shaped breads and rolls. The machine does all the work of mixing and raising the dough. You do the fun part of forming the shape to fit your fancy.
If you mastered Play-Doh as a kid, you can handle yeast dough. While itâs true that hand shaping bread dough is quite easy, you may wonder whatâs going on the first time you try something simple like rolling out a pizza dough. You roll it out and the dough moves right back, almost to the same size it was. The elasticity of the dough seems to be working against your intentions. Relax â the dough that is. You can relax too, because you are going to control that dough, learn how to handle that doughâs springiness, and be able to shape it anyway you so desire.
Using the Dough or Manual Setting
Always remember to set the bread machine on the Manual or Dough setting when you plan to hand shape the dough and bake it using a conventional oven. On this setting there is no signal to add fruit or nuts, so if you want them in your dough, you can either put them in at the beginning of the cycle with the other ingredients or near the end of the kneading cycle. If you are concerned that the fruit will be too crushed if you add it early or not evenly distributed if you add it late, then add the fruit (or nuts) by hand after the cycle is complete.
At the end of the dough cycle, some bread machines automatically punch the dough down with a few turns of the kneading blade. If you have a machine that does not do this, all you have to do to accomplish the same thing is select a cycle and press start. Allow the kneading blade to only make a few turns, just enough to punch all the gas bubbles out of the dough, and stop the machine immediately. Of course, you can just dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch all the air out with your hand, but the machine does such a good job â use it. The punching down process dispels any gas that might cause an irregular texture or unwanted air pockets and it invigorates the yeast in the dough.
Rolling the Dough
The bread machine does a great job of developing elasticity in the dough. You want the dough to be able to stretch, so that as the yeast activity produces gases the dough will expand. But when youâre trying to shape the dough first and then have it expand, this dough-spring can be a great frustration.
The first impulse is to put more pressure on the rolling pin and roll harder which, as you probably know, produces little if any difference. The trick is to roll or pat the dough out a bit, then let it set there for a minute or two. The dough will relax and you can roll it a bit further, then let it relax again. Repeat the rolling/hesitation process until the dough is the size you want it. You can use this technique for pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, or any shape that has to be made by first rolling or patting out the dough.
Shaping Breads
Once you have your dough prepared, you probably want your loaf to have a pleasing shape. Hereâs how you do it:
Round loaf: To shape a round loaf, cup hands around the sides of the dough and rotate in a circular motion on a lightly floured surface until you have formed a ball, as shown in Figure 8-1. Place the dough on a greased cooking sheet; cover, and allow to rise.
Log shape: To form a log shape, roll or pat dough to a 12-x-6-inch rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly, pressing the dough with the heel of your hand with each turn. If it is necessary to elongate the loaf or even it out, start with your hands together at the center, and move them apart as you gently roll and stretch the dough, applying pressure as you move. Place the loaf on a cooking sheet that youâve greased and covered with corn meal; cover the dough and allow it to rise.
We no longer use a damp towel to cover the rising dough. It would
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