Making homemade bread is becoming more popular these days since people grow tired of those supermarket loaves. Homemade bread is not only tasty but also very healthy. You might think that baking bread is beyond your cooking talents, but it is not as complicated as you think.
Before you try your hand at bread-making, check out a few tips for making homemade bread.
1. Make bread in smaller loaves
One of the advantages of homemade bread is that it doesn´t contain the preservatives and additives that supermarket bread has. But the disadvantage of this is that homemade bread doesn´t keep as long. My first tip is to make your bread in smaller loaves. I usually make the dough, store it in the fridge and make fresh bread every day.
2. Don’t be afraid
Don’t let yourself be intimidated by the thought of making your own bread. There is no mystery to it! Even if something doesn´t go according to the plan, just try again, don’t stop! You will certainly get it right in the end and you will soon be baking amazing homemade bread!
3. Don’t give up at the first attempt
It´s extremely important not to give up at the first attempt, keep practicing! When I start making homemade bread my dough refused to rise and sometimes my loaf sank in the middle. But I learn from my mistakes, and now my bread is much better! So learn from your mistakes and try again. Maybe your second attempt will be successful.
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4. Use filtered water
If your dough doesn’t want to rise, use filtered water, especially if you line in the area where the water is heavily chlorinated. So try using filtered or bottled water and see if the result is better. Don´t forget to warm the water.
5. Preparation
When making homemade bread you shouldn´t miss out a few very important steps. After you mix the dough and before kneading leave it for 10 minutes. Then knead the dough and leave it to rise by a half. Shape the dough and leave to rise again by a half to two-thirds.
6. Use bread flour
This may sound obvious, but don´t forget to buy bread flour. Bread flour has relatively high gluten content, and without it, your loaf will not rise properly. I also use bread flour for pizza base, you can try it too!
7. Start with white bread
Another most useful tip for making homemade bread is to start with white bread. I know a wholemeal loaf is healthier, but start with using white flour, since it’s easier to work with, and then you can experiment with wholemeal flour.
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8. Think of buying breadmaker
Most people say that their breadmakers make delicious loaves of bread without any effort. Other people say that it´s not the same as hand-made bread. Try testing out a breadmaker of your friend or neighbor and see what you think. If you like it, you will be making homemade bread with any efforts at all!
Don´t be discouraged if your first bread turns out wrong. You know baking is all about experimenting, trial, and mistakes. Be sure you will soon learn how to make delicious homemade bread! Do you have any tips for making homemade bread? Share your thoughts, please!