Bread Machine (11 page)

When 4 hours are up, open the bread machine lid; the sponge starter will have swollen and be bubbly, and will have a pleasant fermented smell that will waft up to your nose. You don’t need to do anything to the sponge. Remove the pan from the machine.

To make the dough, add the ingredients as listed for the dough. Place the exact amount of water (reserving 2 table spoons if your environment is very humid), the sugar, and the butter pieces in the pan on top of the sponge (here the sugar is added with the liquid ingredients).
If you are using a Welbilt machine, add 2 additional tablespoons of liquid to this recipe
. Then add the dry ingredients: the flour (reserving 2 tablespoons), gluten, and salt, in that order.

Measure and add the yeast on top of the dry ingredients (or into the yeast dispenser after you close the lid in Step 11, if your machine so requires). Wipe the edge of the pan around the rim clean.

Replace the bread pan in the machine, and click it into place on the bottom of the oven floor. Fold down the handle, close the lid, and plug in the machine. The display surface will light up and there will be a beep.

Program for the Basic cycle. If applicable, press the loaf control button and select the size loaf. Press the setting for the desired crust color. Use the medium setting the first time you make this loaf. (You can adjust it the next time you make it, if need be.)

Push the On or Start button to begin the mixing and kneading process. Clean up the work area, leaving the measuring spoons and the reserved 2 tablespoons of water and of flour. Place a plastic spatula on the counter for testing the dough.

During the first 5 to 10 minutes into kneading, open the lid and check the consistency of the dough. Using the spatula, push the dough around, checking in the corners to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated into the dough ball. Feel the dough ball with your fingers. Some machines stop when you open the lid; others keep running. If the machine is running, you need to exercise caution to avoid the moving kneading blade, but you will become comfortable with this. Use your fingers to touch and press the dough. It should form a smooth, elastic dough ball. If the dough is sticking to the sides and bottom of the pan, sprinkle in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, while the machine is kneading. If it is lumpy and not holding together, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time. This is a very important step!

The machine will do the rest of the work. It is okay to lift the lid and look inside during the entire kneading and initial rising phases (even if you have a viewing window, it may fog up), just leave the machine alone during Rise 3 and Bake. You will notice that this dough has a stronger yeasty aroma than a straight dough.

Set a cooling rack on the counter. When the baking cycle ends, you will hear the beep. Press Stop/Reset if your machine has automatically gone into a Cool Down/Keep Warm mode, unplug the machine, and, using heavy oven mitts to hold the handle, carefully remove the pan by pulling it up and out of the hot machine. If your bread pan is thin, set it on the cooling rack and let it stand for 5 minutes to allow the bread to contract slightly from the sides of the pan. Otherwise, remove the bread from the pan immediately by turning the pan upside down and shaking it a few times to release the loaf. Make sure the handle is out of the way so the loaf is not damaged by hitting it as it comes out of the pan. If it does not slide right out, run your rubber spatula around the edges and shake the pan again to dislodge the loaf. If the blade comes off the shaft with the loaf and is still embedded in the bottom of it, remove it by prying it loose with a bamboo chopstick or the handle of a heat-resistant plastic spatula.

Place the loaf upright on the rack to cool to room temperature before slicing. (Remember that bread technically does not finish baking until it has cooled and the excess moisture created during baking is evaporated, so it will slice and taste different when warm than when cool.)