I have a great recipe I want to share but it will have to wait until later when I'm at work and have some free time.
More immediate is a problem I'm having with my bread machine. Our family loves bread machines. We have had several and once even had bread machine races with our three kids. So you would think we would know how to adjust simple recipes. Nope, LOL!
In our trusty, Old Welbilt A4000 I make Italian bread but it's only a 1 and a half pound loaf. The recipe didn't come from the Welbilt manual. I'm using one from our long gone Regal machine manual.
8-9 oz water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vetg oil
3 cops bread floud
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
I set the machine to the 2-3 cup setting and let it go, about 3 hours. The 1 1/2 loaf comes out perfect. So what's the problem?
I'd like to increase the recipe to a 2 lb loaf. I have given up trying to figure it out. Doubling a 1 lb recipe seems wrong because I would be using 4 1/2 tsp of yeast. That has to be too much.
BTW I'd prefer NOT to use egg whites as some recipes suggest but it really doesn't matter.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
If not I'll have to go back to multiple machines because 6 hours for making two loaves of bread isn't going to work.
Thanks in advance.
One package of dry yeast equals 2.25 tsp. I don’t think you need to double the yeast in a 2 lb recipe just add a little more flour. 2.25 tsp of yeast would be fine. How many cups of flour would you use for a 2 lb loaf? 4 cups? Watch your water also I would not double may be go to 1 or 2 oz. more. I bake bread all the time using a stand mixer to knead and then bake in an oven. I would up your sugar to 2 tsp. I use 2 Tbs sugar per 3 - 4 cups flour.
Increase your ingredients by 75%. Easiest way is to multiply all your amounts by 1.75. This would make your yeast amount 3 1/2 tsps, for example.
The problem is volume versus weight.
Professional chefs go by weights. For some obscure reason flour is counted as 100%. And the other ingredients are a ratio of flour weight to ingredient weight.
So, I use about 750 grams of bread flour, 12 grams of yeast, 18 grams of salt, 18 grams of fine caster sugar, 22 grams of oil for my daily bread.
Water, yeast, sugar and oil to begin, proof, then add flour and salt. Mix on 3.5 with a KitchenAid(tm) mixer for 8 to 10 minutes, rise, shape, slash and cook per normal, adding water as required for local conditions.
I start with 160 grams of water and adjust as required depending on flour, weather, etc.
Don't go by volume measurements. Go by weight. I've cooked bread for me and 1500 of my best friends for a long time, and still make my own daily bread (purchased bread need not apply).
I still drag out the scales. Digital these days. I do still check calibration with an old 1 oz silver piece that I carry in my pocket.
/johnny