where am I?
Bread
Answer
Dear Nuala
Here are some pointers that should help improve things:
1. Make sure you use STRONG flour especially ground for baking bread.
2. For speed and ease, I suggest if you are not already using it, use a sachet of all-in-one "instant" yeast (Allinsons and the main supermarket chains do their own versions). Inspection of the packet reveals a magic ingredient - ascorbic acid (Vitamin C powder) which causes the yeast to have a whoopee party in your bread far faster than normal, giving an excellent rise. Check it is in date...
3. Some salt is needed or your bread will taste dire. Having said that, too much salt kills yeast, so measure accurately.
4. If your recipe doesn`t include any fat or oil, add an ounce or 25g as this gives slightly better elasticity and also drastically improves the keeping qualities.
5. Use hand-hot water (50:50 cold from a run tap and from a boiled kettle if you`re in doubt).
6. Warm the flour in the bowl on top of the Aga for half an hour before you start to mix the dough.
7. The best way to describe dough that is the correct texture is, "silky" - neither too dry or too sticky.
8. A decent knead is essential. After human elbow grease, if you have one, a KitchenAid or Kenwood mixer with dough hook are both brilliant. If making a smaller amount and you don`t have one, but are the owner of a Magimix, check for the maximum size it will cope with, and use the plastic blade for the time given. If you are a fan of the "Doris Grant" loaf, a school of thought that dispenses with proper kneading, try a conventional recipe.
9. An initial proving and then knocking down and giving a second short knead before shaping into loaves or rolls before a final prove is worth the effort.
10. Prove on a surface next to the Aga, covered with oiled clingfilm each time. Avoid unnecessary draughts in the kitchen but don`t become paranoid!
11. If trying to make wholemeal bread a 50:50 mix of wholemeal and white makes a much easier to eat bread. Home-made 100% wholemeal is very close-textured and rather heavy going. I like 1/3 wholemeal to 1/3 mixed grain flour to 1/3 white for a change, by the way.
12. Bread likes a hot oven and an Aga top oven is the finest domestic oven in the world for baking bread. Best to use it for bread when it is at its hottest when you haven`t been baking other things, so I suggest you roll up your sleeves after breakfast and bake in the morning until you`ve got it cracked.
13. For a two oven Aga bake loaves on the grid shelf on the floor of the top oven.
14. Throw in an ice cube before you shut the door. It will melt on the hot oven floor and create a steamy environment which is ideal for that perfect crust.
15. I`m sure you know that to test for whether the bread is cooked you remove from the tins and tap the bases to see if they sound hollow. If you feel they need it, pop back in the oven, upside down, balanced in their tins for a couple of minutes. I hardly ever need to do this with an Aga, but it is worth mentioning.
16. Now an important bit which I hope will improve matters: after the loaves have cooled for a couple of minutes on a wire tray, wrap tightly in a clean tea towel to finish off cooling. It is at this point I think your bread may be drying out and developing the over-hard crust. I even wrap up loaves not for immediate use in cling film and freeze as soon as they are down to blood heat. This keeps the crust nice and soft. The fat or oil should also go a long way to improve matters.
I hope the above helps.
Good luck and don`t give up, practice makes perfect and all that!
Best wishes
Richard Maggs
THE AGALINKS COOKERY DOCTOR
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Dear Richard, Please, please help. No matter how I try I just cannot make good bread in my 2-oven Aga. The crust is nearly always too hard, and even if it is anywhere near presentable it turns out to be stale the following day. What am I doing wrong? Yours sincerely, Nuala Shepley.