T-Fal NC00111292 Manual page 13

Tfal-ODM-US-NC00111292 09/05/12 15:52 Page13
Tips for good bread and dough
1. Instructions and recipes:
• Read all instructional materials that came
with your bread maker and understand how
the appliance works.
• Bread made in your bread maker is of excel-
lent quality. However, it will be different than
store bought or bakery bread. The bread will
be chewier and the crust thicker and crisper.
2. Ingredients:
• Use fresh ingredients at room temperature.
• Make sure that the yeast has not expired and-
was stored properly.
• A common error is to think that adding more
yeast will make the bread rise more. Too much
yeast makes the structure of the bread more
fragile; the dough will rise too high, too
quickly, and then collapse while baking. Al-
ways use the amount specified in the recipe.
• All ingredients must be at room temperature
(unless otherwise indicated) and must be
measured exactly.
• Place all ingredients into the bread pan in the
exact order given in the recipe.
• Yeast should not come into contact with liq-
uids, fat, sugar or salt.
• Liquids should be between 70° to 80° F, under
normal baking conditions. In case of high
heat, use liquids that are cooler than usual,
approximately 68° F, but no colder than 65°
F. Likewise, if it is cold in your kitchen, it may
be necessary to warm up the water or milk
(never exceeding 90° F).
• When making bread using the Express Bread
program, the liquid should be 90° to 104°F).
3. Measuring:
• Measure ingredients using kitchen measuring
cups and spoons.
• Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level
off with a knife.
• Always measure liquids with the graduated
beaker included with your bread maker or a
glass liquid measuring cup.
• Use the double spoon supplied to measure
teaspoons on one side and tablespoons on
the other.
• All spoon measures are level and not heaping.
• Incorrect measurements will give poor results
therefore do not sift dry ingredients or pack
them down.
4. Weather:
• Weather conditions can affect how the bread
comes out.
• Flour is very absorbent. Recipes may need to
be adjusted and more flour added during pe-
riods of high humidity.
• You may have to use less yeast (1/4 to 1 tea-
spoon less, depending on the loaf size) and
cooler water (68° F) when it's very hot out.
5.Altitude:
• High altitude affects how the dough develops
and the bread rises.
• If baking bread at 3,000 feet above sea level,
reduce the water or liquid by approximately 1
tablespoon every 1,000 feet above 3,000 feet;
do not decrease by more than 4 tablespoons.
6.Consistency:
• For best results, check the dough once it be-
gins to come together. It should form a
smooth yet sticky to the touch ball which
comes away easily from the walls of the
bread pan.
• If all of the flour has not been blended into
the dough, add a little more water, a table-
spoon at a time, up to 4 tablespoons.
• If the dough is too wet and sticks to the sides,
you may need to add a little flour, a table-
spoon at a time, up to 4 tablespoons.
7. Crust and Baking:
• Always select medium crust color unless mak-
ing bread that has a high sugar or fat content,
then you might want to choose light.
• If you plan to bake a second loaf, always
open the lid and wait 1 hour before beginning
the second loaf.
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