There’s nothing better than a loaf of freshly baked bread, jus tout of the oven—and there’s nothing worse than damp, claggy, over salted bread that is barely edible. If you’re struggling to consistently create excellent bread, check that you’re not making any of these common mistakes.
Over Salting The Bread
Many recipes call for salt to help activate the yeast and to ensure a good flavor in the finished bread. However, a slight slip of the hand can result in too much salt, which not only ruins the taste of your bread, it can make the texture too crumbly and weak.
Under Kneading The Bread
Kneading can be a tiring activity, but it needs to be done properly if you want soft, well risen bread. If you don’t knead the bread for long enough, or ensure that the dough is soft and elastic before leaving it to rise, the texture of the cooked loaf is likely to be dense and moist.
Leaving It To Rise Too Long
Most recipes state a rising (or proving) time of about 1 hour. If you leave your bread too long, the dough can dry out, leaving you with a crumbly, tough texture when you take your cooked loaf out of the oven.
