Breville BEM800XL manual Warm area for rising, For Better Baking

HINTS &TIPS

Warm area for rising

•Yeast, either when sponging or in the dough, requires warmth to rise.

•To create a 'warm area' for dough to rise, place baking tray over a bowl of fairly warm water, place prepared dough item on baking tray, cover loosely with lightly greased thicker-style plastic wrap or a tea towel. Ensure kitchen is warm and free of drafts. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.

•Alternatively, place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in an oven. Fill a medium/large bowl with hot water and place next to the dough. Close the oven door and allow to rise. The heat and moisture creates and ideal environment to proof the dough.

FOR BETTER BAKING

•Check the ingredients and read the recipe before starting to bake.

•Weigh and measure ingredients correctly.

•Variations may occur in raw ingredients used so adjust other ingredients and baking times if required.

•Preheat oven before starting recipe preparation, this will ensure the correct temperature is achieved before baking starts.

•Temperatures and cooking times may vary with some ovens so adjust accordingly. If using a fan forced oven (convection oven) reduce the temperatures in the recipes by 20°F (10°C).

•When mixing, start the mixer at a lower speed then gradually increase to the recommended speed in the recipe especially when adding dry ingredients.

•Ensure wire whip and mixing bowl are clean and free of fats when whipping egg whites as these will impede aeration.

•Instead of greasing baking pans or trays, line with baking paper or parchment paper where appropriate. However, a little light greasing in pans will keep the paper in place.

•Pre-warm a measuring spoon in hot water for easy measuring of golden syrup or honey.

•Butter should be softened at room temperature to make creaming butter and sugar easier.

•Keep surfaces and ingredients chilled when making, handling or rolling out pastry. Butter for pastry making should be kept refrigerated.

•Avoid stretching pastry when rolling out as it will shrink when baking. Use light, even strokes in one direction and avoid pressing down hard on the rolling pin. Where possible, rest pastry in the refrigerator before baking.

•Eggs should be at room temperature to give better volume when whipping. Break eggs individually into another container before adding to other ingredients to avoid potential spoilage.

•Separate egg whites carefully to avoid inclusion of egg yolks. Egg yolks contain fat and will prevent successful whipping of egg whites.

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BEM800XL_IB_v10.indd 26 19/11/09 3:16 PM