Elizabeth Schwartz <betsys@cs.umb.edu> writes
) We just got an Oster breadmaker as a housewarming gift! It's great!
I've
) never made bread before and I have a lot of questions!
I can't answer all of your questions, but those that I can be of help
with I answer below. Sorry if these have been answered already - I am
on the digest.
) here are my questions:
)
) 1)How to convert recipes with white flour to mixed whole wheat and
white?
) We like as close to 100% whole wheat as possible.
You can make bread in a breadmaker with *just* whole wheat flour (as
the only flour - you still need all those other ingredients <grin>) You
can generally substitute whole wheat for half the white flour in an all
white flour bread without much trouble. For 100% whole wheat bread a
couple of other modifications will be needed. Whole wheat flour doesn't
have as much gluten per cup as white flour. (Gluten is the protein (i
think) in the wheat. In any case, it makes the dough stickier and
allows the bread to rise) To overcome this you can add egg whites or
some gluten. I find gluten works a lot better. You can find gluten or
gluten flour (the same thing) at most grocery stores. You don't use
much (less than two tablespoons per loaf for most recipes) so price
isn't that important, but it can pay to shop around. My local Safeway
had it for $6.96 for a pound and a half bag, while my local health food
store had it in bulk for $0.99 a pound. Besides gluten, the other thing
that really helps keep those whole wheat loaves from being heavy is an
extra kneading. Some bread machines have a special setting for whole
grain breads that does this, mine doesn't, so I wait for it to be done
with the first kneading (10 min.) and reset the machine. I'll post my
favorite fat-free whole wheat bread recipe on Friday when I can bring
it in to work.
) 3) Can we use substitutes for egg? For fruit juice concentrate?
) Does anyone have a general table of substitutes for bread makers?
for egg - egg beaters, other egg substitute.
fruit juice concentrate is usually included as a substitute for sugar,
so I guess you could increase the liquid slightly and use sugar. I use
the frozen concentrate from the store for those recipes or diluted honey.
My favorite substitute is apple sauce for the oil or butter. I find
that I can substitute one slightly rounded tablespoon of apple sauce
for each tablespoon of oil the recipe calls for with little trouble. I
seem to get a few more loaves where the moisture wasn't just right (see
my answer to 4, below) but usually it is just as good.
) 4) If I add or subtract dry sugar, do I have to change anything else?
the amount of liquid may need to be changed slightly. The amount of
liquid in your dough is the hardest thing to get right when modifying
recipes. Too much and the bread will fall, too little and the top will
be flat or uneven and the bread may not rise enough. Be careful if you
want to remove all the sugar - I'm not sure exactly how much, but you
need some additional sugar for the yeast to feed on, just as you need
salt to regulate the growth. (of course, the sugar can come from
concentrated fruit juice or honey, or ...)
) 5) The first loaves I made have a slight aftertaste that I can't
) quite identify, possibly yeast or flour. I noticed it less
) after the bread was cooled. Any idea what this is and how to
) diminish it? The store-bought bread doesn't have it.
I can only think of a couple of things this could be. One very
noticeable aftertaste is from the yeast and is one of the best things
about fresh bread (IMHO) This tastes like bread smells and can't (?) be
what you're talking about :-), although it does diminish after a while
if the bread is allowed to cool uncovered. Also, old whole grain flours
can have an unpleasant aftertaste as the natural oil can start to go
bad. The solution is to throw away the flour and keep your whole grain
flours in the fridge if you have this problem. I'm not sure if any of
these are your problem, but I hope this helps.
) 6) What's the difference between bread and cake? I'd like to make
) a lowfat poppyseed bread that's more cake-y. Must I add egg?
) (I'm going to try putting poppyseeds into hazel@netcom's lemonade
) bread)
Cake rises only once while it is baking due to the action of baking
soda / powder under the influence of heat. Bread rises due to the yeast
growing (like you don't know that, sorry if I sound like I'm
lecturing). I'm not sure how you'd make bread more cake-like. Most
bread machines have a quick-bread setting that will allow you to make
cake-like breads (cornbread, banana bread, etc.) and cakes.
Robert