Mastering the Dough Cycle on Your Bread Machine

Steve Nubie January 19, 2015 Blog

If you’ve been using your bread machine to bake bread you’ve no doubt discovered the range and breadth of great breads you can make. But you don’t have to go through the whole baking cycle with your bread machine. You can remove the dough after the kneading and/or first rise and do some very creative and wonderful things. You can make dinner rolls, long French bread loafs, hamburger and hot dog buns, pretzels, pizza, even Holiday favorites like braided Challah bread.

Why your Dough Needs to be Kneaded

The great thing about a bread machine is that it easily handles one of the most tedious and critical steps in bread making: kneading the dough. If you’ve ever made bread by hand you know that the kneading process is both physically demanding and time consuming. It’s also a bit of mess as you continue to dust with flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Your bread machine makes this process easy. What you need to know is when the kneading process and rising process is complete. Sometimes there are audible beeps and most times there will be a cycle or setting on your brad machine for dough only. Once your dough is kneaded you can either let it rise in the machine or take it out to manage the rise yourself.

Let it Rise

The best way to allow any dough to rise once it’s out of the machine is to cover is with some plastic wrap on a baking tray and let it rest for 30 to 40 minutes. But before you let your dough rise for the first or second time you need to work it into the shape you want.

Shaping the Dough

Once you have your dough-ball in hand you need to consider what you are going to bake in your oven. The recipes sometimes vary so you may already have an idea, but many basic rolls and buns use the same fundamental recipe. If you’re making hamburger buns you’ll want to cut off a piece of dough and shape it into a bun shape. You do this by folding the dough under itself until your have a piece of dough that resembles a bun. Remember, it will rise to 2 or 3 times its size. You can use the same approach with less dough to make dinner rolls.

If you are making a hot dog bun for a hot dog or sausage you’ll want to pull the dough into a long shape and again fold it under itself until it resembles a long, bun shape. This too will rise to 2 to 3 times its original size.

French bread is traditionally long and thin. Roll the dough ball with two hands into a tube shape and pull it into shape with the dough distributed as evenly as possible across the loaf and let rise. You can top any of the rolls, buns or loaves with sesame seeds, poppy seeds or other toppings such as cheese or grilled onions. This is something that’s a bit difficult to do in a bread machine.

Pizza dough is easy and obvious. Just roll out the dough with a dusted rolling pin and pull into shape. I’ll often make a double or triple batch of pizza dough to have on hand. It keeps in the refrigerator up to a week if it’s wrapped in plastic wrap. If you want to whip up a pizza just cut off a chunk of dough, but let it rest for about 30 to 40 minutes until it gets up to room temperature and rises a bit. If you roll out the dough when it’s still cold it will continue to contract to a smaller size no matter how much you roll and stretch it. Put it on a baking sheet dusted with corn meal or sprayed with a vegetable oil spray and you’re ready to top it.

Something else that people like about shaping and baking their bread in the oven is the various shapes they can achieve. Many bread machines produce a tall, vertical loaf. Just as many leave a hole in the bottom where the kneading paddles have baked into the finished bread. If you want to control the size and shape of your loaf, the dough cycle is the way to go. You could even take your dough ball and stretch it into a traditional bread pan and bake that in the oven if you want the traditional loaf shape you get at a grocery store.

There are other variations, but here are some recipes and tips for using the dough cycle and finishing your bread in a conventional oven:

Recipes:

French Bread and French Breadsticks Recipe:

(Makes one 2-pound loaf)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups of water (80°F/27°C)
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Select the Dough course or remove the dough before the baking cycle begins for any of the other courses. Shape the dough on a baking pan into an elongated shape and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 to 40 minutes. Cut diagonal slits in the top and glaze with 2 tablespoons of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. In an oven preheated to 400°F/205°C bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top turns a golden brown.

For bread sticks, roll out the dough on a flour dusted surface into a 14″ square. Cut the dough into 18 long strips. Brush with melted butter and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese if you like. Twist the strips a few times and let rise on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap for 25 to 30 minutes. Removed the plastic wrap and bake at 400°F/205°C for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Dinner Rolls and Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns Recipes:

(Makes 24 rolls or 12 buns)

INGREDIENTS:

1 egg at room temperature plus enough water to equal 1 1/3 cups. Water should be at 80°F/27°C.
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Select dough course. Once the dough cycle is complete place on a lightly floured surface and cut into 24 equal pieces for dinner rolls, or 12 equal pieces for buns. Shape into either a long, bun shape for hot dogs or a round shape for hamburgers. Dinner rolls can be slightly elongated similar to an egg shape. Cover the shaped dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and bake for 12 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Pizza Dough Recipe:

(1 thick crust or 2 thin crusts)

INGREDIENTS:

1 2/3 cups of water at 80°F/27°C
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp dry milk
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Select Pizza Dough Course or the basic dough course. When cycle is complete place on a lightly floured surface. If making two thin crusts, divided in half. For one thick crust begin to roll out the dough with a flour dusted rolling pin and push and pull dough into shape raising the edges. Spread a pizza sauce over the top (this could be as simple as a canned tomato sauce) and sprinkle with your toppings. Bake in a preheated oven set at 425°F/218°C for 20 minutes or until crust is a golden brown. You can top your pizza with just about anything so experiment and have fun.

Soft Pretzels Recipe:

(Makes 16 pretzels)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups of water at 80°F/27°C
1 egg yolk at room temperature
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS:

Select dough course. When dough cycle is complete remove dough to a lightly floured surface and cut dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece with both hands to form a 16-inch rope of dough. Fold the dough into a pretzel shape. To do this, cross the ends of the rope to make a loop and twist the crossed ends once and fold across the loop. You might have to practice a bit, but when you get the pretzel shape you’ll recognize it. Place on a greased baking sheet and brush with a glaze of 1 egg white and 1 tbsp of water beaten together. Top with coarse sea salt and/or parmesan cheese or whatever toppings you like. Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F/190°C for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.

Conclusion

These are good, fundamental recipes to get some experience with how the dough cycle can open up your baking creativity. Your recipe book for your machine may have more or you can continue to visit our website as we add more ideas to make all of your home bread making great.color: #7e5d50;

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Steve Nubie

Steve Nubie has been writing professionally for 38 years. He is a Chef and has traveled across Asia and Europe studying language, culture and cuisine. He instructs culinary classes in the Culinary School at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and has written extensively on cuisine, cooking, diet and nutrition. He is a published author of 10 books including a cookbook and continues to write on subjects related to culinary trends.

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