need advice please

[Zaya]

Hi everyone!
I m new here, I like baking but I want to get serious and do my business in the future if God will! Since I live in korea I can't really go to classes so I was thinking join forums and get some tips from you guys ! So which book is the best or online baking ? Every time when I bake bread something is wrong with it ( dense ect ...

 

[PattyCakes]

It depends on the type of baking you want to do. You've mentioned bread - is this what you would like to do as your business, or is cakes more your thing, or maybe both?

A good starting point for baking cakes that you want to sell is a YouTube channel called 'Woodland Bakery'. You will find this a very useful source for tips, ideas, and lots more whether you're a business or a keen home baker.

Here on this forum you will find a lot of great information, tips and ideas from the people here.

Happy baking!

 

[H.C. Heartland]

This forum is very good for advise on baking. You can find alot of good recipe e-books online but as far as classes go, I would just make sure to read and comment on as many posts as possible. There are bakers from all over the world at this forum and their input and advise is rich with experience; far more than you'll ever get from another source! Happy baking! Don't forget to post photos too - this always helps us on the Baking Forum.

 

[Mara]

The main thing I would say is practice because then you learn more about what feels right and how to rectify mistakes. Start with the basics of getting a good sponge and then work on toppings and creams. Bread is another skill altogether and you need to try different flours and figure out proving times. Take baby steps and then grow!

 

[Zaya]

Oh thank you guys so much , I really every comment !!! I will def will try to check you tube when I will have free time from my princess so busy with her right now ) anyway I baked bread yesterday and it was delish but still little bit dense I think how can I make it lighter I will put a pic in a few min , thanks again guys !
For now I m baking breads only but later I want to try cakes and biscuits Patty cakes )

 

[Zaya]

 

[PattyCakes]

Oh thank you guys so much , I really every comment !!! I will def will try to check you tube when I will have free time from my princess so busy with her right now ) anyway I baked bread yesterday and it was delish but still little bit dense I think how can I make it lighter I will put a pic in a few min , thanks again guys !
For now I m baking breads only but later I want to try cakes and biscuits Patty cakes )

Your bread looks good, Zaya! If your bread seems a little dense to you, one of the reasons could be that you are over kneading after the first prove. This is something I used to do all the time when I was first making bread, but several books stated that you must only shape the loaf after the first prove, and do not knead it at that point. It definitely made a difference.

Keep us informed as to how you're getting along - there's a wealth of knowledge on this forum.

 

[Zaya]

Wow thank you guys so MUCH!

Since i m new here , its hard to find anything you want . Hope soon will learn it ) anyway my mom used to bake bread a lot in my country( Kyrgyz republic) . So we used to help to bring the woods from the big river and she had an outdoor oven at the back yard to bake , the bread used to turn out excellent every time. I think i got my baking skills from her )) miss her and the bread !!!
anyway there is the recipe .

2 cups all-purpose enriched unbleached flour
1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour, if you do not have bread flour)
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup lukewarm water

I pored the first 1/4 cup of water it looked dry so i add the 1/4 of cup water again and it was little bit too much so i start needing with some flour

I have a kitchenaid and i did the first mixing part in that machine later after 3 or 4 min i start kneading by hand for 10 min exactly ( i need to check needing technicks) could be that

I let it rise in warm place for an hour or more ,then i knead for just slightly few min, then shaped it for bread and let it rise for an hour again! After i baked it 350 for 50 min

Thats all i did ! I will keep working more , definitely bread is Delicious but needs some more work

Patty Cakes thank you so much !

 

[PattyCakes]

Wow thank you guys so MUCH!

Since i m new here , its hard to find anything you want . Hope soon will learn it ) anyway my mom used to bake bread a lot in my country( Kyrgyz republic) . So we used to help to bring the woods from the big river and she had an outdoor oven at the back yard to bake , the bread used to turn out excellent every time. I think i got my baking skills from her )) miss her and the bread !!!
anyway there is the recipe .

2 cups all-purpose enriched unbleached flour
1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour, if you do not have bread flour)
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup lukewarm water

I pored the first 1/4 cup of water it looked dry so i add the 1/4 of cup water again and it was little bit too much so i start needing with some flour

I have a kitchenaid and i did the first mixing part in that machine later after 3 or 4 min i start kneading by hand for 10 min exactly ( i need to check needing technicks) could be that

I let it rise in warm place for an hour or more ,then i knead for just slightly few min, then shaped it for bread and let it rise for an hour again! After i baked it 350 for 50 min

Thats all i did ! I will keep working more , definitely bread is Delicious but needs some more work

Patty Cakes thank you so much !

Hi Zaya,

Your bread recipe looks good, and I imagine it will be delicious as the dough is enriched with butter and milk. These enriched doughs do tend to be a bit wetter and stickier than some other bread doughs, so it can be difficult to knead and shape them without adding too much flour to help you out.

When you say in your post that "I pored the first 1/4 cup of water it looked dry so i add the 1/4 of cup water again and it was little bit too much so i start needing with some flour" I recognized your mistake because I used to do this too when I first started out making bread. When you ad the first 1/4 cup of water to your dough, spend some time mixing it before you add anymore; the reason for this is that the flour needs time to absorb every drop of liquid slowly, and cannot take being overloaded to quickly.
Mixing in your Kitchen Aid will help you out a lot here. Adding only just the amount of water you need will prevent you from being tempted to add more flour, which can really mess up the end result for you. Try to avoid doing that if you can.

Once the first 1/4 cup of water is fully absorbed and mixed, gradually - and slowly - add a little more of the water at a time, allowing it to be worked well into the dough, before adding the next little bit. Switch off the machine regularly and feel the dough with your fingers to see how it's doing. The dough should be soft, and moist, but not sticky enough to make a mess on your hands,and it should be coming together quite well. Remember that you also have butter and milk in your recipe too, and these ingredients will also need to be mixed thoroughly to allow them to be incorporated into the dough successfully. Give it time to mix well - you'd be surprised how one minute you think it's far too wet and you need to add flour, and then a few minutes later you'll be glad you didn't add any more flour because it's all come together perfectly. Of course there will be the odd occasion where after you've been mixing for a good 7 or 8 minutes your dough is still too wet; on these occasions add a tiny bit of flour at a time, allowing it to incorporate fully before adding any more. You really do need to give it time.

I note that you are mixing for 3-4 minutes with your Kitchen Aid and then 10 minutes kneading by hand. Can I suggest that spend 10 minutes mixing the dough in your Kitchen Aid, and then 2-3 minutes by hand? I think that this could really help you with getting a really good result.

Letting it rise for the first time for an hour or more is perfect - you can let it go a couple of hours if you need to at this stage, as the first proof is where your bread will develop flavour. So, leaving it a bit longer will give you an even better tasting bread. Do not knead your bread after its first proof either - just gently knock the air out of it, and shape it to how you want it before leaving it for its second rise. I note that you leave it the second time for an hour - at this stage, you only need to leave it for 30 minutes, or until it doubles in size. As bread dough can rise much quicker at the second proofing stage, this can sometimes only take 30 minutes. So, keep a close eye on it from 30 minutes onwards, and get it into a roasting hot oven as soon as it has doubled in size. Leaving the bread for too long at the second rise stage can cause it to over proof - this will damage the texture and lightness of your loaf, as the yeast will be well and truly overworked by that point.

I hope this helps you, but feel free to ask for any more help you need.

 

[Zaya]

Hi Patty Cakes !
thank you so much for your time! I really appreciated!

anyway i will keep in mind and try to bake another loaf tomorrow and post it again! Do you think I should use the same recipe and beat that one first or try another one?! I was thinking just do the same one maybe add some butter or milk and avoid the water some ?! we will see! thoughts?

 

[Zaya]

Btw it was sweet i might put less sugar too

 

[PattyCakes]

Hi Patty Cakes !
thank you so much for your time! I really appreciated!

anyway i will keep in mind and try to bake another loaf tomorrow and post it again! Do you think I should use the same recipe and beat that one first or try another one?! I was thinking just do the same one maybe add some butter or milk and avoid the water some ?! we will see! thoughts?

Hi Zaya, you're welcome! So many other people online have helped me to learn, so I'm only too happy to pass the knowledge on.

I would stick to trying to perfect one recipe at a time; you won't get confused or overwhelmed if you do it this way, and be sure to make notes as you go along.

Keep your recipe the same, but add the water slowly and gradually. Sometimes your dough will absorb more water on one day, and maybe less the next; so it's important to take it easy when adding the water.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Btw it was sweet i might put less sugar too

It's worth a try! Make a note of how much you reduced the sugar quantity so you don't forget.