do you do?

[tinca]

When making my bread , i leave the mix for 20 mins before the first nead, in a awarm place . ive found this helps with the texture and rise, basically its like making pastry , pull everything together then leave it to rest awhile. Any of you guy/girls do th same , i believe it helps the dough , but of course it could just be my imagination

[wheels]

Yes, I do when making sour-dough. I don't bother with 'instant yeast'.

Phil

[tinca]

Wheels

i use allinsons dry active yeast in the tin, not a great bread maker but not bad either, tried this method after reading a recipe about french bread, has improved my loaves for sure, my kitchen is like an ice box in winter so keeping stuff warm aint easy, certainly dont help with the bread. i put my big mixing bowl over another with hot water in it , then add me flour,sugar, liquid and yeast , give alittle stir then let the yeast get going, after that i add salt oil or fat, then roughl;y mx up to a ball and leave for 20 mins covered with clingfilm, then i cheat and put it into my bread maker for the neading bit shame on me the wifes definately notice a difference in the texture of the bread.
Does your wife every wonder why we , use every utensil in the kitchen and leave a big pile of washing up we all do it , ask her

[wheels]

I'm quite a tidy bread maker now having got into a routine. But I get in Big trouble if I get dough stuck all over the dishcloths!

If your kitchen's cold, it makes sense to use the bread-machine to knead and rise the dough.

Phil

[covlocks]

In my experience a slow rise gives a better flavour so it is not always necessary to have the dough in a warm place - room temperature works fine if you are not in a hurry.

[Snags]

I be put mine in the fridge for a day or two
It develops the flavour

[mitchamus]

Yeah - I do this every time - it's called 'autolysing'

it helps the water and flour to mix properly.

[Ruralidle]

As mitchamus correctly says, the process in known as "autolyse". It is useful for yeasted or sourdough breads and allows the gluten to start developing before you begin to work the dough by your preferred method (traditional kneading, the Bertinet slap & fold approach or whatever you use - even an electric mixer). It reduces the time you have to work the dough before the gluten is sufficiently developed.

I use it almost everytime I make bread and find it a very useful technique. One time our bank mamager called about 20mins after I had started the autolyse and I left the mix for about 2 hours in the end. It was very easy and quick to work after that! It is fine to mix the flour and water and add the yeast after the autolyse. Some say that you should not include the salt in the autolyse mixture but I have not noticed any difference if I do or don't.

[tinca]

I must admit im abit lazy when it comes to bread making but try to experiment alittle, my kitchen is an ice box even with a boiler in it I have to confess i like warbutons bread i like the chewy crust sorry
but atleast i give bread making ago, i had a bread many years ago in a pub with my ploughmans its must have been a malt or beer bread and suited the ploughmans but im buggered if i can replicate it, never seen a recipe that would suit it, still i will find it one day gaz

[Ruralidle]

Gaz

My lot like the crumb on my bread but find the crusts too chewy when compared to Warburtons. Just try a sourdough and you will get a chewy crust!

[tinca]

Gaz

My lot like the crumb on my bread but find the crusts too chewy when compared to Warburtons. Just try a sourdough and you will get a chewy crust!

will give it ago, did a bloomer today as i ran out of packet bread, came out a gooden, must have been the extra hand kneading i did before going in the bread machine to knead worked to ill do it again next time to see if its a fluke gaz

[Abrwstr]

But I get in Big trouble if I get dough stuck all over the dishcloths! Phil

Oh boy! I'm with you on that one, I've taken to buying a pack of 6 washing up brushes from the 99p shop and throwing them away after I've clagged them up, just to keep me out of hot water.
They just don't understand do they,

TB