Baking Your Bread In The Oven

TIME FOR BAKING AND CARE OF BREAD IN OVEN.--The time required for baking bread and the care it should receive in the oven are also important matters to know. How long the bread should bake depends on the size of the loaf. Under proper oven temperature, a small loaf, or one made with 1 cupful of liquid, ought to bake in from 50 minutes to 1 hour, while a large loaf requires from 1-1/2 to 2 hours. As has been explained, the loaf should begin to brown, or have its crust formed, in about 15 minutes after it is placed in the oven, and the baking should proceed rather slowly.

To get the best results in baking, the pans should be placed so that the air in the oven will circulate freely around them. If they are so placed that the loaves touch each other or the sides of the oven, the loaves will rise unevenly and consequently will be unsightly in shape, like those shown in Figs. 14 and 15. If the loaves rise higher on one side than on the other, even when the pans are properly placed, it is evident that the heat is greater in that place than in the other parts of the oven and the loaves should therefore be changed to another position. Proper care given to bread while baking will produce loaves that are an even brown on the bottom, sides, and top and that shrink from the sides of the pan.

CARE OF BREAD AFTER BAKING.--As soon as the bread has baked sufficiently, take it from the oven, remove the loaves from the pans, and place them to cool where the air may circulate freely around them. A bread rack, or cake cooler,is very satisfactory for this purpose, but if such a device is not available, the loaves may be placed across the edges of the empty pans so that nearly the entire surface is exposed. Whichever plan is adopted, it should be remembered that the bread must be carefully protected from dust and flies. Bread should never be permitted to remain in the pans after it has been baked nor to cool on a flat surface; neither should the loaves be wrapped while they are warm, because the moisture will collect on the surface and the bread will not keep so well.

After the loaves have become sufficiently cool, place them in the receptacle in which they are to be kept. This should have been previously washed and dried and then allowed to stand in the sunshine, so as to be free from mold or any substance that will taint or otherwise injure the bread. After the loaves have been put into it, keep it well covered and allow no stale crumbs nor pieces of bread to collect. To keep such a receptacle in good condition, it should be scalded and dried every 2 or 3 days.