Don't Make These Common Bread Baking Mistakes!

One thing you can count on when you are cooking at home is that you will eventually make a mistake. It will probably be a big one and it will ruin both your day and your recipe. Many bakers, especially beginners, miss a step when they are trying to bake bread at home. I'm going to list here, the 7 most common bread baking mistakes that you're probably making, or might make if you're not forewarned, and what you can do about them. A good rule, not only for baking bread for for all of your cooking and baking attempts, is to follow the recipe!

Mistake 1

When the salt is forgotten to be added to the whole wheat bread dough, by far the most common bread baking mistake is. This results in very bland bread, and even effects the rising of the dough. Making your whole wheat bread flat on top. The best solution for this is to use a post it note as a reminder to yourself, to add the salt to the whole wheat bread dough. You can stick the post it note where ever you're most likely to see it (fridge, recipe book, etc.).

Mistake 2.

The second most common mistake is when the whole wheat bread dough is allowed to over rise, which leads to it falling. When the whole wheat bread dough is forgotten about, this usually happens. And with so much going on our lives, who doesn't forget things like this now and then? Don't fret, there is a solution: If the whole wheat bread is already in the bread pans when it over rises simply use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the excess dough off the sides of the unbaked loaves. Separate and roll this dough into a few small balls of dough. Allow them to rise 20 minutes to 30 minutes on a good quality cookie or baking sheet, and then bake them on 350 Fahrenheit, for 15 to 20 minutes as whole wheat rolls. Allow the whole wheat bread dough to rise for about 15 to 20 more minutes before baking if it is extremely flat on top. Another solution to help you keep from forgetting about your bread, is to use a timer which will beep loudly after the selected time period is up. Using a timer can also help stop other whole wheat bread baking catastrophes from happening.

Mistake 3.

It is easy to accidentally make the water a bit too hot when you heat up your water to put your yeast in. This mistake will kill the yeast and your bread will not rise. The easiest way to avoid this from ruining your day is for you invest in a cooking thermometer and use it to get an accurate reading of the water temperature. Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 4. Fear not if the recipe you use makes too much dough for your family's needs and you worry that the extra bread will grow stale before you use it. It is perfectly safe to refrigerate unused dough for a few days and allow the whole wheat bread dough to finish it's rising time once you get it out to use it. You can use a freezer or plastic bag or plastic wrap over bowls that contain your whole wheat bread dough, to store it in your fridge and still prevent oxidation.

Mistake 5.

Burned bread. Yup, nothing tastes worse than whole wheat bread which is black as charcoal. To avoid this, be sure you follow baking temperatures and times strictly. When it's time to remove your whole wheat bread from the oven, and again use a timer to remind yourself. Remember that gas ovens and electric ovens vary in their temperatures. , if you're using an electric oven you should bake almost all pastries on 350 Fahrenheit. A convection oven will bake bread and pastries a bit faster. Sometimes a recipe will call for you to start baking a loaf of bread on a higher temperature, but will also usually tell you to turn the heat down after a certain amount of time.

Mistake 6.

Mistakenly or purposefully using the wrong type of flour. The only way to get good results is by using whole wheat flour to bake your bread if you are baking whole wheat bread. There are different recipes for all the different types of bread and they all use one specific flour for each recipe. Don't try any substitution hoping that by adding rye flour for instance, you will actually turn a whole wheat bread recipe into rye bread.

Mistake 7.

Last but not least there is the problem of air bubbles (also called "pockets") which create large holes inside the whole wheat bread, after it's done baking. The best solution for this is to pinch any such bubbles whenever you see them in your whole wheat bread dough, before you bake it. This will immediately deflate the bubble.