FOUR TIPS FOR BETTER BREAD MAKING

A pastor and teacher who founded Living Epistles Ministries in 1988, Sheila R. Vitale oversees the publisher’s operations and contributes a wealth of material to the works it releases. Though she now rarely cooks, Sheila Vitale has experience in baking her own bread from scratch. Here are some useful tips for those who want to make better homemade bread.

1. Keep ingredients at room temperature before use and measure them precisely using cups or a scale. If using cups, avoid heaping by using a knife to level the ingredient with the rim of the cup.

2. Don’t knead your dough immediately after mixing. Instead, leave it to stand for about 10 minutes before you start the process.

3. If you find your bread starts to brown more than you would like in the oven, cover it using a tent of aluminum foil, which shields the loaf from the heat and allows for more even browning.

4. To check that the bread is done, tap the bread lightly and listen for a hollow sound.