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Baking Tip of the Day
Keeping homemade bread soft and fresh longer is easy with these simple tips.
Any bread dough that includes a small amount of fat from whole milk, butter, oil, or eggs will stay fresher than recipes that don’t contain an ingredient of fat.
Bread dough recipes that contain vegetable oil instead of butter or margarine help create a softer and moister loaf of bread.
Mixing in a small amount of vinegar helps to tenderize the gluten which helps the bread rise faster.
One tablespoon of cornstarch per one loaf of bread also helps to tenderize gluten for a faster rise.
When baking bread place a pan of boiling water into the oven. The moisture from the steam helps keep the crust soft so the dough can rise higher.
Some bread makers prefer to spray the loaf with water just before placing the bread dough in the oven.
Brushing the dough with melted butter can help keep the crust softer as it bakes. The melted butter can also be brushed onto the loaf as soon as it’s removed from the oven.
An easy way to know when a load of bread is baked is to use a thermometer. The internal temperature for a perfect loaf of bread is 195 F.
Cut the first slice from the middle of the load instead of the end. Then store the loaf tightly wrapped with the cut ends facing each other.
Store loaves of bread with a celery stick in the bag.
Bread wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil will stay fresh longer than bread wrapped in cloth. Paper bags will keep the bread freshest for the longest length of time.
For more bread making hints see:
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Author Marilyn Pokorney
Copyright Marilyn Pokorney 2023
