Basic Ingredients - Oster 5814 User Manual

Basic Ingredients

Ye a s t
Yeast is actually a microscopic plant. Simply stated, without yeast, your
bread will not rise. When moistened by a liquid, fed by sugar, and carefully
warmed, yeast produces gases which power the dough to rise. If the
temperature is too cold, the yeast will not be activated; if it's too warm, it
will die. The Oster Deluxe Bread and Dough Maker takes care of this worry
®
for you by maintaining just the right temperature in the baking chamber at
all times. You can use either "active dry yeast", " quick acting", "rapid rise
yeast" or one of the new "Bread machine yeasts" in your Oster ® Deluxe
Bread and Dough Maker. Important: The amount of yeast for Extra Large
Loaf recipes may be the same or even less than what is called for in Large
recipes. For best results, use yeast amounts as indicated in each recipe.
S u g a r s
Sugars sweeten the bread, brown the crust, and lend tenderness to the
texture. These jobs can be performed by white or brown sugar, molasses,
maple or corn syrups, honey, fruits or other sweeteners.
F l o u r
In order for the bread to rise, the flour has to have a high protein content.
You should always use a "bread flour" (for white bread recipes) in your
bread maker to get the best results. Do not use all-purpose, cake flour or
self-rising flour.
Unlike white bread flour, whole wheat flour contains bran and wheat germ
which inhibit rising. Wheat breads therefore tend to be heavier in texture
and smaller in size. A lighter larger loaf can be achieved by combining
whole wheat flour with white bread flour for wheat bread recipes.
L i q u i d s
When liquids are mixed with the proteins in flour, gluten is formed. Gluten
is necessary for rising. Many recipes use dry milk, but other liquids, such as
fruit juice, beer, and water work too. It's a delicate balance: A recipe with
too much liquid may cause the bread to fall during baking while a recipe
with too little liquid will not rise.
S a l t
Salt inhibits rising, so be very careful measuring. Ordinary table salt will do.
F a t s
Many breads use fats to enhance the flavor and retain moisture. Typically,
we use margarine in these recipes, but butter may also be used.
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