FLOUR
Flour is the most important ingredient used for
bread making. It provides food for the yeast and
structures the loaf. When mixed with liquid, the
protein in the flour starts to form gluten. Gluten is
a network of elastic strands, which interlock to
trap the gases produced by yeast. This process
increases as the dough undergoes kneading and
this provides the dough with the structure
required to produce the weight and shape of the
bread.
White Wheat Flour
The flour used in the Bread Master Big Loaf
should be bread flour. Baker’s flour or plain flour
may be used. There is no need to sift the flour.
Plain flour is most readily available, however best
results are obtained with flour with at least 11%-
12% protein content. For this reason, the recipes
in this book requiring Bread Flour, have been
made with flours with a 12% protein content. This
is normally indicated on the packaging. Do not
use self-raising flour unless indicated in the
recipe.
‘Kitchen Collection’ Brand Bread Flour
This brand of bread flour is available nationally at
larger supermarkets and was used for the
development of most of the recipes contained in
this guide. It is a high protein, white bread flour,
with 12% protein content ensuring a higher
quality and consistency to the baked bread.
‘Defiance’ Brand High Grade Plain Flour
Also known as bread or baker’s flour, it is
produced from hard wheats to give a protein level
of at least 11.5%. This product is available
nationally at larger supermarkets.
Wholemeal Flour
Contains all the bran, germ and flour of the
wholewheat grain. Although breads baked with
this type of flour will be higher in fibre, the loaf will
be lower in height and heavier in texture. A lighter
textured bread can be achieved by replacing 1
cup of wholemeal flour with white bread flour.
Rye flour
A popular flour used for bread making, rye flour is
low in protein so it is essential to combine rye
flour with bread flour to make bread successfully
in the Bread Master Big Loaf. Rye flour is
traditionally used to make Pumpernickel and
Black Breads.
Gluten Flour
Gluten flour is a concentrated mixture of gluten-
forming protein and wheat flour. Adding gluten
flour can improve the structure and volume of
bread when using low protein, stoneground,
wholemeal or plain flour.
BREAD MIXES
These convenient mixes contain flour, sugar, milk,
salt, oil and other ingredients such as bread
improvers. Usually only the addition of water and
yeast is required. Bread mix brands such as
‘Kitchen Collection’, ‘Defiance’ and ‘Lowan’ are
available from major supermarkets in Australia.
Recipes for these bread mix brands are listed in
the Easy Bake recipe section of this book.
For information on other brands of bread mix
contact the manufacturer listed on the
package.
BREAD IMPROVER
Several brands of bread improvers are available
nationally in supermarkets and health food stores.
The ingredients in a bread improver are usually a
food acid such as ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) plus
other enzymes (amylases) extracted from wheat
flours.
Measuring Up
15
Vital
Ingredients
When using a low protein, stone ground,
wholemeal or plain flour the quality of the
bread can be improved by adding 1
1
/
2
–
2 tablespoons of gluten flour.
NEW ZEALAND ONLY
‘Elfin High Grade White flour’ and
‘Champion High Grade Flour’
These are high protein, white bread flours,
containing 12% protein.
☛
NOTE!
NEW ZEALAND ONLY
Bread mix brands such as Elfin are
available
