September 28, 2006 - 5:01am
lesson 1
hi,
im from indiaand this is a fabulous site.
i had given up on baking bread after a lot of unsuccessful attempts
but this is the first time i could actually do it and tasted good.
the crust was a bit too brown.. i guess i kept it in the oven for a bit too long.
how do i know that the bread is done from inside and also is not too hard/ brown onthe outside.
also i need to know what the measurements of a standard loaf tin are.
i have a small one 22 cm* 7* 7 cms.
so if i make the doughwith 3 cups of flour, and put half of it in the loaf tin and let it rise.
can i put the other half in hte freezer and use later after 2 days?
if yes then how long do i thaw it and after what time can it go in to the oven?
let me know.
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Comments
Welcome Lakshmi,
The way to tell when your bread is done internally is to take its temperature with an instant-read\probe thermometer.
See Floyd's post "The Best Seven Bucks You'll Ever Spend" http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/9.
Really though, the reason one is so useful is that the simplest way to tell when your loaf is done is to check the temperature in the center of it. Soft, pillow breads that contain fats are done baking when the internal temperature is around 180-190 degrees. Drier, crusty breads need to bake until they are between 200-210 degrees inside. Simply poke the thermometer into the bottom center of the loaf and in thirty seconds you should have an accurate read of its internal temperature.
Also keep in mind the temperatures listed are in degrees fahrenheit.
Can anyone else address Lakshmi's other questions?
hi darkstar.
thank u
wonder where to find the thermometer in India. will try.
is there no way of doing it by just looking at it or by the way it smells?
You are most welcome!
You can also pull the loaf out of the oven when it looks done, flip it over, and use the non-technical thump method. Thump the bottom of the loaf and listen for a nice hollow sound. It is more of an art than a science but it worked for bakers before the advent of instant read/probe thermometers.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/1107
You can get the thermometer online from www.kingarthurflour.com or www.amazon.com. These can get expensive for digital and instant read thermometer, but I use a slow dial thermometer and have had no problems.
You have the standard size loaf pan. I measured mine and they are just about the same.
For two days, I would try the refrigerator. The dough may get slightly sour or alcoholic but I would prefer that to frozen dough, which tends not to rise so well after defrosted. If you do want to freeze, let the dough fully defrost (about 6-8 h depending on room temp.) Then shape the defrosted dough into a loaf, let it double in size (don't wait more than 2 h) whilst covered with oiled plastic wrap or a wet towel. Then slash and bake as you would normally.
Good luck,
Breadwhiner