Does Pure Water Make for Better Bread? (2024)

FAQs

Does Pure Water Make for Better Bread? ›

Some baking books and experts claim that bread rises and tastes better when dough is made using high-quality water—which usually means filtered, distilled, or deionized water that contains very few dissolved solids.

Soft water has less than 50 ppm, while hard water has over 200 ppm. Generally, water of medium hardness, with about 100 to 150 ppm of minerals, is best suited to bread baking. The minerals in water provide food for the yeast, and therefore can benefit fermentation.

As the dough is kneaded, the proteins form longer and stronger strands of gluten. The gluten strands trap air bubbles, which give the bread its structure and rise. A higher water content will allow for more gluten development, which will result in a more airy crumb.

The addition of moisture, both on the surface of the dough and in the oven itself, prolongs the time that the crust takes to solidify. This, in turn, allows the dough to expand until the yeast has done its job without causing the crust to split and crack open at weak points.

Water Comparison Test for Bread Making

Some baking books and experts claim that bread rises and tastes better when dough is made using high-quality water—which usually means filtered, distilled, or deionized water that contains very few dissolved solids.

Liquid—Milk and water are the usual liquids used in breads. All forms of milk—fresh, evaporated, or dry—can be used with good results. Evaporated milk needs only to be diluted for use (half evaporated milk, half water). Dry milk can be mixed with dry ingredients for speedy mixing operation.

Add Milk

To make your bread soft and fluffy, another trick used by commercial bakers is replacing water with milk. Milk has fats which make bread softer.

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

Why do bakers spray water on bread? ›

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

With steam in the oven for the first 10-15 minutes of the bake the crust of the loaf will stay moist and the loaf will be able to expand. Steam will also improve the colour of the crust helping with the caramelisation and developing a darker crust colour.

Using milk instead of water in your yeasted bread is an easy way to add a touch of sweetness, making it ideal for challah, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and hot dog buns.

Fat. If you're looking to ramp up the taste of your favorite bread recipe, we recommend adding a bit of fat. A fat like butter, olive oil or coconut oil in small quantities will help your bread achieve a higher rise and it will also boost its flavor by tenfold.

Oven not hot Overmixing. enough or dough too stiff. Coarse or uneven grain Too much leavening, not Insufficient beating of Improper make-up, enough liquid, or eggs. Too much or not excessive water or improper mixing.

Homemade bread contains no chemicals, artificial additives, preservatives, or enzymes. These are often used in store-bought bread to make them stay fresher for longer and enhance the taste.

Water: For best results, use tap water that is heated to 110 – 115 degrees Fahrenheit and use a thermometer. Any temperature between 75 degrees and 130 degrees should work, but yeast dies at 138 degrees. Some recipes use milk instead of water to proof yeast, so just follow your recipe.

Ideally you want to feed your starter with one of the following water choices: Clean Spring Water. Bottled Water (but read the source of it) Filtered Tap Water (jug filter, fridge filter or house filter)

You can use bottled water in your recipes, though it can contain contaminants from plastic. Or you can keep your tap water in an open-air container for at least 24 hours, allowing the chlorine to escape. Or, you can simply use filtered water to save precious time and alleviate any of the guesswork.

For the bread to rise it needs warmth, ideally about 22-25C (75F-78F) or so. If you put hot water in the mix it can kill or slow the yeast down, and the bread will rise poorly, if at all. If you use cold water, it will mean the yeast will also rise slowly.