Breads

The purpose of this lab was to learn how to make dinner rolls, measure them, roll them, and bake them.

Safety and Sanitation

This recipe followed normal procedures. I used a hairnet and apron, washed my hands, and cleaned the work surface afterwards. We made sure to turn off the dough mixer before opening the guard, and turning on after the guard was back in place.

Tools and Equipment

In this lab, we used some metal bowls, a dough mixer, a scale, a bench scraper, some oiled parchment paper, and a baking tray.

Ingredients

The original dinner roll recipe consisted of 7g of instant yeast, 409g of bread flour, 9g of salt, 39g of sugar, 39g of margarine, 1 egg, and 194g of water. The recipe was tripled.

Procedure

To begin making this recipe, once my station was ready and I had all my ingredients, I started by mixing the flour and yeast together, along with the rest of the dry ingredients. These were added to the mixer bowl, and mixed together. Next, I added the fat and eggs to the bowl, incorporated them, and added water slowly. The dough was then mixed and kneaded by the mixer until it was able to pass the window test. After this, the dough was placed on a tray with oiled parchment paper, and left in the fridge to ferment overnight. The next day, the dough was degassed, cut into three large slices, and then cut into 60g sized portions. I then rolled mine into buns. Finally, all the buns were placed on a tray and proofed, then baked for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Challenges

It took me a while to get used to the correct way to roll the balls, so some of my first ones didn’t turn out quite as well. Once I fell into the correct rhythm, everything was fine.

Successes and Growth

When I did get the rhythm of rolling the dinner buns, mine turned out excellently, and were nearly perfect in shape.

Advice for Beginners

Make sure you mix your ingredients evenly and make consistent shapes for your buns. When rolling your buns, make sure you do it on a tabletop that the buns can stick to at least a little bit because it helps shape and stretch the dough. To roll them well, make sure you have a good grasp of the roll and while pushing against the tabletop at the sides of your hand, quickly roll in a circle. If you do it right, they will be perfectly spherical.

Final Evaluation

I would give the buns a 9/10 rating as well. As per usual, they had a nice light flavour, with hints of sweetness, and a generally good flavour from the gluten. They were incredibly fluffy and very light. The buns were a nice golden colour on top, and had a very even baked gradient of colour. The buns are very simple to make, and absolutely worth the effort.

The goal of this lab was for me to make pan bread, understand the process of letting bread rise, and learn how gluten develops.

Safety and Sanitation

This recipe followed normal procedures. I used a hairnet and apron, washed my hands, and cleaned the work surface afterwards.

Tools and Equipment

In this lab, we used some metal baking pans for the bread. We used a large dough mixer to prepare the bread, a scale, two small jugs, some small metal cups, and a large metal bowl. We also used a large metal tray, parchment paper, and some oil spray for both trays.

Ingredients

The pan bread recipe that we used consisted of 440g of bread flour, 7g of salt, 14g of margarine, 5g of instant yeast, 14g of brown sugar, and 286g of warm water. Half of the warm water was substituted for milk, making it 143g water and 143g milk. This recipe was tripled to make three loaves in one go.

Procedure

First, we gathered all the ingredients we needed. The recipe was tripled in this lab. We filled one jug with 143g of water, and another with equal parts milk. We added all of the dry ingredients to a bowl, and measured everything else out separately. First, the dry ingredients were added to the dough mixer, and stirred together. Then, the margarine was added. While the mixer was mixing, the water and milk was slowly added to the dough. After a lot of mixing, once the dough passed the window test, we placed it on a pan with oiled parchment paper, and cut it into three evenly sized balls to make the loaves. This tray was covered, and left to ferment in the fridge overnight. After the dough had risen, each one was placed on the counter, and degassed. Then, each one was folded into a roll, with the ends tucked in and the dough rolled up. The seam of each was pinched together and smoothed out. Next, each bread pan was oiled, and the loaves were placed in pans, seam down. After proofing, each loaf was baked in the oven until golden brown. Then, they were removed, and placed in bags.

Challenges

Making the bread was relatively easy and I did not have any problems. However, if I were to make this lab again, I would choose to not use milk, so that one of my family members could also enjoy it.

Successes and Growth

I did quite well in this lab. I found rolling the dough to be very easy, and I got better at using the dough mixer to speed up the process.

Advice for Beginners

As a beginner, pan bread is a perfect option to start with. It’s simple, easy to make, and is the most common bread for sandwiches, toast, etc.

Final Evaluation

I would rate this bread as an 8/10. It tasted pretty good, and had a very light and fluffy texture. It may have also been slightly chewy. It looked like normal pan bread, with a tan crust and a mushroomed top. The pan bread was very easy to make, and it was a quick process. It was definitely worth the effort.

In this lab, the goal was to make good challah bread, and in the process, learn how to braid the dough and add eggwash.

Safety and Sanitation

This recipe followed normal procedures. I used a hairnet and apron, washed my hands, and cleaned the work surface afterwards. We made sure to turn off the dough mixer before opening the guard, and turning on after the guard was back in place.

Tools and Equipment

In this lab, we used some metal bowls, a dough mixer, a scale, a bench scraper, some oiled parchment paper, and a baking tray.

Ingredients

The challah bread recipe we used consisted of 398g of bread flour, 5g of instant yeast, 160ml of water, 75g of egg yolk (roughly), 38g of vegetable oil, 36g of sugar, 7g of salt, and egg wash from the egg whites.

Procedure

To begin, we gathered all necessary ingredients and tools. We used three bowls to separate the egg yolk and egg white – one for cracking the eggs, one for the whites, and one for the yolks. First, we added all of the flour, salt, sugar, oil, and egg yolks to the bread mixer bowl. Then, we added the water and yeast, and mixed at a low speed. We mixed the dough for about 10 minutes, until it was no longer sticky. From there, we cut up the dough into three, placed the balls onto an oiled tray with parchment, and let them ferment. Once the dough had fermented, we began shaping the bread. Each ball was cut into four pieces, and each of the pieces was rolled out into a long strip. Next, each strip was placed to make a plus shape, and all the strips were braided together to make one loaf. Once the loaves were ready, they were again proofed, and then washed with egg wash (made with the egg whites) and dressed with poppy or sesame seeds. Finally, each loaf was baked for a bit under 20 minutes in a 350°F oven.

Challenges

I had some difficulty braiding the twist bread when making the lab. Other than that, I did not have any other difficulties.

Successes and Growth

I distributed the seeds and toppings on the bread easily and lightly.

Advice for Beginners

You might want to practice braiding on some fabric or some other large and flexible materials before braiding the dough. If it’s your first time, it might not turn out right.

Final Evaluation

I think I’d rate this bread as a 9/10. It tasted delicious. It had a light and fluffy texture. It was a deep golden brown on the outside, speckled with black dots and white seeds. The twist bread was harder to make than some other breads, but with a mixer, it is still a very easy recipe. One of my favourite things about this incredibly good tasting bread is that it is dairy-free.