Baking bread made easy

Baking bread made easy

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Could there be anything more welcoming than the scent of home-baked bread wafting through the front door?

If you believe that nothing is more satisfying than a home-baked loaf, we’d have to agree. But the perfect crust can be hard to master without full control over your proving, baking and moisture processes. So we’ve got some tips and tricks up our sleeve to help you nail your homemade bread recipe – every time.

With the Dough Prove and Bread Baking settings on a NEFF oven, there’s very little room for fault. Instead, you’ll have family members of all ages reaching across for a warm, fluffy slice of bread in no time at all – no complicated processes or stress required.

Pick your bread recipe, add some more sophisticated flavours if you’d like to experiment, and follow these foolproof tips:

You don’t need to knead too much

The secret to a light, fluffy crumb? Don’t over-knead your dough. If you’re using an electric mixer, make sure you use a dough hook on medium speed – only until your dough feels springy to the touch. When manually kneading, some extra flour on the workbench will help avoid sticking.

The proof is in the proving

Proving is the first essential stage of the rising process, giving the yeast time to ferment, swell and aerate your loaf before any real baking has taken place. You can simply leave your dough to rest in a warm place (such as a warming drawer or the bench of a hot kitchen) for a few hours, kneading gently at intervals, or the Dough Prove setting in in your NEFF oven can control this step for you. Select “Dough Prove” level one, follow the recipe’s instructions about switching racks, and watch your dough double in size. This NEFF oven setting provides warm, moist air, turning the oven into an optimal climate zone without unwanted drafts, thus creating the ideal conditions for yeast dough to rise.

Inject steam into your bake

Now you’re ready to bring your loaf to life. Don’t remove your dough from the oven after proving – simply select Bread Baking, set to 220°C, turn the steam injection levels on your VarioSteam right up, and bake for 30 minutes. The increased moisture produces a soft, delicate crumb with a glossy crust – giving you perfect bread every time.

To find out more about our added steam function, click here.

Let it rest

It can be tempting to tuck right into a loaf out the oven, but cutting the bread when it’s cooled for around 20 minutes makes for a much cleaner slice. But if you just can’t resist, we understand…

Looking for recipes? Here are our favourites

Banana bread
https://theneffkitchen.com.au/recipes_techniques/banana-bread/

Cheesy pull apart bread
https://theneffkitchen.com.au/recipes_techniques/cheesy-pull-apart-bread/

Crusty bread
https://theneffkitchen.com.au/recipes_techniques/crusty-homemade-bread/

Baking bread made easy