Finished loaf feels wet
Hi.
I'm very much a baking newbie - I've only been doing it around a month or so. I bought a compact TODO bread machine, and started with a premix, then a recipe put together from various sources (bread machine instructions, baking flour pack, etc.) The bread was kind of OK, but very soft and pale - until I found that the bread machine was only reaching 160°C. Since then, I've been using my fan-forced oven at 200°C, and getting, if anything, a little darker than I would want, though not enough to concern me.
The flavour is fine, but the bread feels a little wet when slicing.
My recipe is:
Lukewarm Water 240 mL
Sugar 2 tbspn
Salt 1 tspn
Bread Improver 1 tspn
Yeast 1 tspn
Olive Oil 2 tbspn
Flour 370 g
Baking time 30 minutes.
Can anyone give me a clue as to what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks in advance
Are you aware that the machine has three crust-colour settings? Some members here cover a bread machine lid/window on the inside with foil to keep the heat in.
Can you control the fan in your conventional oven (turn it off?). That would prevent the loaf from getting too dark. Also lay a piece of damp parchment paper or foil over the top, near the end of baking, if necessary.
As long as you are letting the loaf cool before slicing, I can't help with why it feels wet. Actually, I've sliced lots of warm loaves without that problem. Are you removing the loaf from either the machine pan or oven pan immediately?
145-160ºC is normal baking temp for most bread machines. Very few bake hotter than that.
Moe's suggestions are good.
30 minutes is a very short bake time at those temps. I'd say it needs another 10-15 minutes. Your machine has a "bake only" program (#12), you could use that.
In the "know what you're eating" department, that is a lot of oil and sugar for a loaf that size.
The best way I know of to trick the machine into "baking hotter", is to paint the upper half of the outside of the breadpan with high-temp black paint. The pan will then absorb more of the radiant infrared bouncing around inside the baking cavity, and the walls where the temperature sensor is located will get less of it.