Tips for Successful Bread Making

I took this information from Honeyville Farms' SLC Store Manager's handout. And since I work there, I took the liberty of sharing this great information. Vinegar? Who woulda thunk?


Tips for Successful Bread Making

• Always use quality ingredients.

• Proof your yeast, even slightly.

•  Yeast develops best in a dark, moist, slightly warm environment.

Vital Wheat Gluten + Potato Flakes + White Vinegar

Gluten is like the muscles of the bread holding together those air bubbles. Kneading the bread is like flexing or exercising the muscles to make them strong to be able to hold those bubbles without breaking. So kneading doesn't create gluten, it just strengthens it. Because whole wheat is heavier than all-purpose flour and has bran and fiber which have jagged edges that can break the gluten we need to add more muscle into the bread.



Yeast eats sugar and creates air bubbles and gluten strengthens the bubbles.

Use 1 - 2 tbsp. of gluten for every cup of flour in your recipe.



Potato Flakes add starch to protect the air bubbles from popping. It's like adding "Goo" to the gluten bubbles. Use 1/4 c. for every loaf of bread your recipe will make.



White vinegar is an acid and strengthens the gluten bubbles. Some bakers crush a vitamin C table or acidic products for this reason. Use the same amount of vinegar as you use yeast.



~Karin