Morphy Richards BM48324 manual Hints and Tips, Understanding Baking, Using the Right Ingredients

48324 rev1_x 27/10/2011 12:09 Page 9

Rise 3

45 minutes appears on the clock as the default time for this stage of the process. The length of the 3rd Rise cycle can be increased or decreased by between 2 – 120 minutes by pressing the Increase Ô or Decrease  buttons. Confirm the time you want by pressing the Accept/Start button Ò and the Bake symbol will flash on the Screen.

Bake

35 minutes appears on the clock as the default time for this stage of the process.

The length of the Baking cycle can be increased or decreased between 0 –1 hour and 20 minutes by pressing the Increase Ô and Decrease  buttons. Confirm the time you want by pressing the Accept/Start button Ò the Crust Control symbol will flash on the screen.

Crust Setting

At this stage the clock disappears from the screen. Scroll to select the crust colour you want and press green tick button to confirm and the total cooking time programmed, appears on the screen. You can either start the programme baking immediately by pressing the Accept button Ò for 3 seconds or use the Delay Timer function.

Hints and Tips

•Room temperature

The breadmaker will work well in a wide range of temperatures, but there could be a difference in loaf size between a very warm room and a very cold room. We recommend the room temperature should be between 15ºC and 34ºC.

All ingredients, including the machine and pan, and especially liquids (water or milk), should be warmed to room temperature 21°C (70°F). If ingredients are too cold, below 10°C (50°F), they will not activate the yeast. Hot liquids, above 40°C (104°F), may kill the yeast.

•Glazing

Give your just baked bread a professional finish. Select one of the following special glazes to enhance your bread.

•Egg glaze

Beat 1 large egg and 1 tablespoon of water together, brush generously. Note: this glaze is only for bread where the dough has been prepared in the breadmaker and is then being baked in the oven. The glaze should be applied when the dough is removed from the breadmaker. Do not apply this glaze to doughs in the breadmaker.

Melted butter crust

Brush melted butter over just baked bread for a softer, tender crust.

Milk glaze

•Place all recipe ingredients into the Baking Pan so that yeast is not touching any liquid.

•If you are using the machine on the Dough setting (programme 6), after the cycle is complete, remove the dough from the breadmaker, cover in a thin coating of sunflower oil and cover with greaseproof paper and a dry tea towel. The dough should then be left in a warm area free from draughts, for approximately 30 minutes or until it has roughly doubled in size.

•Humidity can cause problems, therefore humidity and high altitudes require adjustments. For high humidity, add an extra tablespoon of flour if consistency is not right. For high altitudes, decrease yeast amount by approximately 1/4 teaspoon, and decrease sugar and/or water or milk slightly.

•The dough setting is great for the mixing, kneading and proofing (allowing dough to rise) of richer doughs like croissant dough. Use the breadmaker to prepare this dough so all you need to do is shape and bake it according to your recipe.

•When recipes call for a ‘lightly floured surface,’ use about 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour on the surface. You may want to lightly flour your fingers or rolling pin for easy dough manipulation.

•When you let dough ‘rest’ and ‘rise’ according to a recipe, place it in a warm, draught-free area. If the dough does not double in size, it may not produce a tender product.

•If the dough you are rolling shrinks back, let it rest covered for a few minutes before rolling again.

•Dough may be wrapped in plastic and stored in a freezer for later use. Bring the dough to room temperature before using.

•After 5 minutes of kneading, open the Lid and check the dough consistency. The dough should form a soft, smooth ball. If too dry, add liquid. If too wet, add flour (1/2 to 1 tablespoon at a time).

•Since homemade bread has no preservatives it tends to dry out and become stale faster than commercially made bread.

•Do not open the Lid whilst the breadmaker is operating as this will affect the quality of the bread, especially its ability to rise properly. Only open the Lid when the recipe needs you to add additional ingredients (see recipes.)

For a softer, shiny crust, brush just baked bread with milk or cream.

Sweet icing glaze

Mix 1 cup sifted icing sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk to make a glaze consistency and drizzle over raisin bread or sweet breads.

Poppy/Sesame/Caraway seed/Oatmeal

Sprinkle your choice of these seeds generously over just glazed bread.

Understanding Baking

It is often said that cooking is an art relying on the creativity of the chef, while baking bread is much more of a science. This means that the process of combining flour, water and yeast, results in a reaction that produces bread. You have to remember that when the ingredients combine with each other they produce a specific result. Read the following information carefully to gain a better understanding of the importance each ingredient plays in the breadmaking process.

In all of the recipes you create yourself, never exceed a total amount of 5 cups of dry ingredients (that includes the total amount of flour, oats, oatmeal, bran.) Also do not exceed the total amount of 3 tsp of yeast and 5 tsp of baking powder.

Using the Right Ingredients

Flours, while visibly similar, can be very different by virtue of how they were grown, milled, stored, etc. You may find that you will have to experiment with different brands of flour to help you make that perfect loaf. Storage is also very important, as all flours should be kept in an airtight container.

All purpose flour/plain flour

All purpose flour is a blend of refined hard and soft wheat flours especially suitable for making cake.

This type of flour should be used for recipes in the cake/quick bread section.

For details of other Morphy Richards products, please see our website: 9