Why is the bread baked so hard? What should I do if the bread is baked so hard?

As we all know, bread is a popular type of pasta. There are many ways to make it. It tastes soft and delicious, and is loved by people. Many people bake bread at home. Some people bake bread that is hard. So why is the bread baked so hard? Let's take a closer look!

Why is the bread baked so hard?

The bread dough is not kneaded well

Bread must be made with high-gluten flour, and a glove film must be kneaded when kneading the dough. The thickness of the glove film determines the softness of the bread. The first time I made bread, I didn’t have a food processor, so I kneaded the dough by hand. My arms were almost broken, but I still couldn’t see any trace of the glove film. In the end, I decisively gave up and just let it rise, shape, and bake. As expected, the bread I baked could not be described as bread. It could only be said that steamed buns were cooked by baking. The crust was hard, and the internal structure was rough, without layers of softness, and only irregular holes. I didn’t add less when kneading the dough, but I couldn’t taste the taste of bread. This is a typical case of not kneading the dough well.

Therefore, the dough of bread must be kneaded into a glove film, which is not just talk, but a must. If you have a chef machine, you can use it to knead it. If you don't have a chef machine, then knead it by hand. There are many ways to knead the dough, but beating the dough can help it form a film faster.

The bread has been over-proofed

After the kneaded dough has finished rising once, it needs to be shaped and then allowed to rise again. Unlike the first rising, the second rising cannot be too long, otherwise the dough will lose its strength and will not be able to support the fluffy bread. During the second rising, we can look at the dough. When it is still very fluffy, the fluffy dough is very bulgy and smooth. Generally, it is enough to ferment to 1.5 times its size, because it will become fluffy again during the baking process, so don't just rely on rising.

After the first fermentation, the dough needs to be deflated, shaped, and fermented again to allow the dough to produce gas again to support the bulging of the bread. This is the second fermentation. If the second fermentation is over-fermented, you will see that the bread is full of pores of varying sizes, and they will shrink when touched slightly. The bread baked from such dough will be more solid because it does not have the ability to become fluffy again.

What to brush before baking bread

Brushing with egg liquid is the first choice. After the bread is brushed with egg liquid, the crust is relatively hard and the inside is very soft after baking. However, as long as it is cooled at room temperature, the crust will soften again. At this time, it can be put into a fresh-keeping bag and sealed. It will remain soft if eaten within two or three days.

Brush the surface of the bread with butter. Butter is a kind of fat. Brushing the surface with butter will lock the moisture on the surface of the bread and prevent it from being lost. The surface of the bread will be very soft after baking. And the fat will make the surface shiny, so the bread crust brushed with butter will be very smooth and shiny, and also very soft!

Spraying water on the bread crust, spraying a layer of water mist on the bread dough before putting it into the oven will help the bread crust to form a hard crust. The crust is relatively crisp after it comes out of the oven, but after cooling, the crust is relatively tough. Elderly people with poor teeth do not like to eat this kind of bread.

Therefore, few people spray water on the surface of bread unless there is a special need.

Baking time issue

The temperature for baking bread is generally around 180 degrees and the time is about 25 minutes. This is the temperature of my oven and is for reference only.

The temperature and baking time of the oven will also affect the bread. If the temperature is low, the baking time needs to be extended. If the bread is baked for too long, the moisture inside the bread will evaporate, and the bread will become dry and hard, and the taste will be bad; if the temperature is high, the baking time will be shortened, the moisture loss will be less, and the internal structure of the bread will be better. However, bread baked at high temperature may be too dark in color, so we need to set the temperature according to our own oven, and the baking time should be controlled at about 25 minutes, and do not bake it for too long.

How to make bread soft

1. Correct selection of flour

The flour used for making bread is mostly high-gluten flour. It is best to use hard wheat flour with a protein content of more than 12%. Generally, there is a mark on the flour packaging, or you can buy special bread flour.

2. Correct ratio of oil and water

If there is not enough oil and the dough is too hard, add 4-6% oil to lubricate the dough and add an appropriate amount of water to adjust the softness of the dough.

3. Correct operation of stirring

When making sweet bread, the dough should be kneaded to the complete stage, that is, whether it can be stretched and ductile, and can be stretched into a thin film.

4. Normal fermentation

Control the fermentation time well. If the fermentation is too long, the dough will lose its elasticity. If the weather is hot, the fermentation time can be appropriately reduced.

5. Correct plastic surgery technique

After the first fermentation, the gas in the original dough must be expelled and then shaped, and then a second fermentation is carried out. The distance between each semi-finished product should not be too large.

6. Baking temperature

If the bread is over-baked, it will lose moisture, become darker in color, and have a thicker crust. Except for some flaky breads, it usually takes 12-20 minutes to bake the bread, but you must keep a close eye on it to avoid burning it. After it comes out of the oven, brush a little butter on the bread while it is still hot, and then cover it with a kitchen cloth to keep the bread moist and soft.

How to make soft bread

Medium ingredients: 175g high flour, 100g water, 3g yeast, 12g fine sugar

Main dough: 75g high flour, 32g fine sugar, 3g salt, 5g milk powder, 10g light cream, 25g egg liquid, 23g water, 23g butter

practice:

1. Put all the ingredients for the medium dough into the bread machine, knead the mixture for 3-5 minutes, take it out, cover it with plastic wrap, and ferment it at about 26 degrees for 90 minutes;

2. Put all the ingredients of the main dough except butter into the bread bucket, then put in the fermented medium dough, knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is in the basic expansion stage, and a relatively thick film can be pulled out;

3. Add the softened butter and knead until it is fully expanded, that is, you can pull out a very thin film;

4. Take out the dough, divide it into 9 equal portions, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes;

5. Take out a piece of dough, pat the dough to release air, roll it into a rectangle, fold the left and right sides to the middle, roll up the two ends to the middle, turn it over, and put it on the baking tray. Do this for all the dough and ferment it at 28 degrees for 60 minutes.

6. Sieve a layer of flour on the fermented dough and cut it twice crosswise;

7. Preheat the oven in advance, bake on the middle layer at 180 degrees for 12 minutes. After baking, take out and let cool.

Bread making tips

1. The bread must be kneaded into a relatively thin film, so that the finished product can have a fluffy and soft taste;

2. The relaxation time is about 20 minutes. If the relaxation time is not good, you can increase the time appropriately.

3. When you want to ferment the dough for the second time after shaping, you can put it in the oven and use the fermentation function. It is best to put a bowl of hot water in the oven to ensure the humidity. If the oven does not have a fermentation function, you can put it in a warmer place indoors. In that case, it is best to cover it with plastic wrap.