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Bread & Pastries/air pockets in bread

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Expert: Elyse Grau - 6/10/2009


Question
When baking wholemeal bread using quick yeast my bread comes out looking and tasting fine but with an airpocket just below the crust that causes bread to break when cut. I kneed for about 10 minutes. rise for about 1 hour? cook in a fan oven at 200 degrees C for 30 mins. Any ideas?

Answer
Dave:
Be sure you are covering the loaf during the second rise. Try brushing the crust with some milk or egg before baking, that will keep it from drying out. Also, be sure you are getting rid of all the air bubbles when you shape your loaf.

For a loaf bread I roll or pat the dough into a rectangle, then fold it in thirds and repeat same twice before putting it into the pan. This give the bread a nice "crumb" and the crust rarely separates.

Elys

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Elyse Grau

Expertise

I can answer any questions about baking. The only thing I'm not too good at is baking pies, nor do I know much about high altitude baking.

Experience

I have been baking for over 30 years. One of my hobbies is creating recipes, most of those for baked goods. I made my own wedding cake. Currently I prefer to bake healthier things. I use a lot of whole wheat and other whole grain flours, and prefer to use less sugar or sugar substitutes in my baking. I do a lot with fruit.

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Hobby Farms Home Gardening How-to BackHome Creswell Chronicle

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none that apply

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