I really need to start adding a little more water to the dough when I put the bread machine on dough cycle. Quite often, the dough is good & tight, and I have to prod and pull and stretch to get it to fill the pan. Tonight’s wheat bread needed some extra water — not only was it on the dry side, it was bogging the machine down to the point where the motor wouldn’t turn without some help, and that was after I added more water.
Naturally, those finger-pokes and so on don’t flow or rise out of the dough after it goes in the pan, so the result looks like the above. It’s still good though. I’ll cut it up first thing in the morning. Right now, it’s bed time!
I've never used a bread machine, so I don't know much about how to set them up...but, how are you measuring your flour?
ReplyDeleteThe "proper" way is to spoon it into the cup (rather than using the cup to scoop up the flour or pouring the flour into the cup). Supposedly, the absolutely best way to measure flour is to use a scale, but I've never seen anything that identifies the cups-to-weight ratio.
Flour absorbs humidity from the air, so the amount of water/liquid needed in recipes is never static. Most experts recommend adding most (but not all) of what the recipe calls for, kneeding the dough, and adding additional liquid as needed to keep the dough from being too dry or too moist.
Making dough is a hands-on experience...that's why I don't use bread machines or mixers. I have to be able to feel the dough to know if it is ready...
J
Hey! I added a link to your blog from my blog!
ReplyDeleteHey guys, thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteJeff, this is the first time I’ve had trouble with the flour measurements — I probably overdid the wheat flour. Anyway, I’ve found whether making bread by hand or by machine, measurements can vary off the recipe by a fair amount. I think it depends mostly on the humidity while making it. My bread machine runs its heating element (very low) on dough cycle, I think it’s an attempt to regulate the humidify. But yeah, I prefer to do it by hand as well, but on weeknights I don’t have time.