"Lore A." > wrote in message
om...
> Hi Dee,
> Sounds like you're not incorporating your water in well enough. If
> you're getting little white lumps in it, the water isn't being
> dispersed evenly. You said when you added more water, it turned into
> the slurry at the bottom of your machine, that's okay, just keep the
> machine going, eventually it will disperse the water into the dough.
> You must be using fresh yeast from the sounds of it, which is the
> best. I would really suggest you take out your yeast from the fridge
> an hour before using it. Let it warm up a bit. Use a thermometer to
> get your water between 100 and 110F, then mix the yeast into the
> water. Then pour it into your dry ingredients. This will make sure
> the yeast get's mixed.
> For most breads, I mix all the dry ingredients and fat together. Then
> I mix the fresh yeast with the water/milk and add it to the dry
> ingredients.
> I find that there are times when you may have to use more water than
> usual. Could be from the weather outside or if you have your home is
> warmer than usual. If you are living at a higher elevation than your
> recipe was invented at, that could be a factor too.
> As for Malt- Malt can be made from wheat, barley and other cereal
> grains. Mostly it is barley in canada and the usa. Diastatic malt is
> an excellent yeast food and has considerable enzymatic activity, which
> increases the production of maltose from starch during fermentation.
> non-diastatic malt is used more for adding sweetness, color and
> flavor.
> Hope that helps. I'm a Pastry Chef, have been baking breads for many
> years now.
> Cheers!
> Lore

Yes, thank you Lore for taking the time to write.
Re
As for Malt- Malt can be made from wheat, barley and other cereal
> grains. Mostly it is barley in canada and the usa. Diastatic malt is
> an excellent yeast food and has considerable enzymatic activity, which
> increases the production of maltose from starch during fermentation.
> non-diastatic malt is used more for adding sweetness, color and
> flavor.

Thanks for the answer to my malt question. I've been trying to find the
answer. I have bought diastatic malt and non-diastatic malt for my staples,
and as I recall when I made bagels twice, I think I used the non-diastatic.

Pastry chef -- oh, you lucky person. I hope for that in my next life.
Dee