Making bread is a great way to not only have fresh bread at home but also to avoid buying overly processed bread at the grocery store and save money at the same time. But if you have been trying to make your own freshly baked bread and it isn’t turning out how you hoped, there are some very common mistakes you might be making.
Not Following Steps in Bread Making Exactly
One of the most common mistakes people make when making bread, especially for the first time, is not following the directions.
Bread should be considered an exact science, not something you experiment with.
You need to understand the proper process and steps in bread-making in order to do it correctly before you decide to make your own adjustments.
Some things that people often overlook when it comes to reading the directions include:
- Using too much or too little sugar or salt
- Not weighing ingredients with an electric scale
- Not scoring the bread
Remember to read the directions multiple times not just before you start, but in the middle of the bread-making process. Take each instruction seriously.
Not Covering Up Freshly Baked Bread Doughs
This is one of those bits of instructions on bread-making recipes that people can overlook, assuming it’s just a suggestion.
But covering up your dough is actually really important in achieving freshly baked bread. During each stage of your breadmaking, the recipe will probably ask you to cover it with a tea towel or kitchen towel.
This is to help keep air from ruining your dough! You want to reduce air as much as possible simply by covering your dough with a towel. You can also cover it in cling wrap, with a towel over it.
Using a Standing Mixer for Everything
We understand this is a bummer. Your stand mixer is your best friend and really comes in handy when it comes to baking, but it isn’t going to be your friend if you are making bread from scratch.
Do you want to learn how to start baking bread? You should start it by mixing ingredients to kneading your dough and it should be done by hand for the best results.
Failing to Take Notes
As you begin making more bread, you might come across little tips that helped you along the way.
From how to remember to score your bread to the proofing time, these tips are going to help the next time you make your bread. Make sure you take notes!
Takeaway
Making freshly baked bread is a wonderful venture, whether you are going with simple banana bread to a complex sourdough loaf. It’s always wonderful to have a fresh loaf of bread in your fridge. It just takes attention to detail to get it right.
Additionally, you may be wondering, ‘is homemade bread healthier?’ The answer is yes because knowing that you purchased the ingredients yourself gives you the assurance that they are nutritious.
So, if you’re still undecided about baking your own bread, now is the time to put your doubts aside and give it a try.
The good thing is you already know these common mistakes and you can certainly avoid them.