Bread preparation is very sensitive to temperature
and humidity conditions. In case of high heat, use
liquids that are cooler than usual. Likewise, if it is cold,
it may be necessary to warm up the water or milk
(never exceeding 35°C). Any liquid used should be
tepid, about 20 to 25°C (except for Super Fast Bread
which should be 35 to 40°C max.).
It can also sometimes be useful to check the state
of the dough during the second kneading: it should
form an even ball which comes away easily from the
walls of the pan.
> if not all of the flour has been blended into the
dough, add a little more water,
> if the dough is too wet and sticks to the sides, you
may need to add a little flour.
Such corrections should be undertaken very gradually
(no more than 1 tablespoon at a time) and wait to
see if there is an improvement before continuing.
A common error is to think that adding more yeast
will make the bread rise more. Too much yeast
makes the structure of the bread more fragile and it
will rise a lot and then fall while baking. You can deter-
mine the state of the dough just before baking by
touching it lightly with your fingertips: the dough
should be slightly resistant and the fingerprint should
disappear little by little.
small cubes, dried and active to be rehydrated or
dried and instant. Fresh yeast is sold in supermarkets
(bakery or fresh produce departments), but you can
also buy fresh yeast from your local baker’s. In its
fresh or instant dried form, yeast should be added
directly to the baking pan of your breadmaker with
the other ingredients. Remember to crumble the
fresh yeast with your fingers to make it dissolve more
easily. Only active dried yeast (in small granules)
must be mixed with a little tepid water before use.
Choose a temperature close to 37°C, less and it will
not rise as well, more will make it lose its rising power.
Keep to the stated amounts and remember to mul-
tiply the quantities if you use fresh yeast (see equiva-
lents chart below).
Equivalents in quantity/weight between dried yeast
and fresh yeast:
ADDITIVES (OLIVES, BACON PIECES, ETC.): you can
add a personal touch to your recipes by adding
whatever ingredients you want, taking care:
> to add following the beep for additional ingre-
dients, especially those that are fragile such as
dried fruit,
> to add the most solid grains (such as linseed or
sesame) at the start of the kneading process to
facilitate use of the machine (delayed starting, for
example),
> to thoroughly drain moist ingredients (olives),
> to lightly flour fatty ingredients for better blending,
> not to add too large a quantity of additional
ingredients, especially cheese, fresh fruit and fresh
vegetables, as they can affect the development
of the dough,
> to finely chop nuts as they can cut through the
loaf structure and reduce the cooked height.
Dried yeast (in tsp.)
1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 4,5 5
Fresh yeast (in g)
9 13 18 22 25 31 36 40 45
PRACTICAL ADVICE
depending on the type of flour used. Depending on
the quality of the flour, baking results may also vary.
Keep flour in a hermetically sealed container, as
flour reacts to fluctuations in atmospheric conditions,
absorbing moisture or losing it. Use “strong flour”,
“bread flour” or “baker’s flour” rather than standard
flour. Adding oats, bran, wheat germ, rye or whole
grains to the bread dough will give a smaller, heavier
loaf of bread.
Using T55 flour is recommended unless otherwise
specified in the recipe. Our recipes are optimised
for the use of standard T55 flour. If you are using
special flour blends for bread, brioche or rolls, do
not exceed 1 kg of dough in total.
Sifting the flour also affects the results: the more the
flour is whole (i.e. the more of the outer envelope of
the wheat it contains), the less the dough will rise and
the denser the bread. You can also find ready-to-use
bread preparations on the market. Follow the manu-
facturer’s instructions when using these preparations.
Usually, the choice of the programme will depend
on the preparation used. For example: Wholemeal
bread - Programme 3.
SUGAR: use white sugar, brown sugar or honey. Do
not use unrefined sugar or lumps. Sugar acts as food
for the yeast, gives the bread its good taste and
improves browning of the crust. Artificial sweeteners
cannot be substituted for sugar as the yeast will not
react with them.
SALT: salt gives taste to food and regulates the
yeast’s activity. It should not come into contact with
the yeast. Thanks to salt, the dough is firm, compact
and does not rise too quickly. It also improves the
structure of the dough. Use ordinary table salt. Do
not use coarse salt or salt substitutes.
YEAST: baker’s yeast exists in several forms: fresh in
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