The Most Important Thing You Should Do When Using a Bread Machine

Sneak Preview: Read about this bread-maker tip you should do every time you make bread in your bread machine if you want to make a loaf you are excited to eat and proud to share.

Are you curious about the most important thing you should do when using a bread machine? The tip is, “Take a peek.”

Yep. Open the lid while the machine is running. Keep reading and I’ll show you what to look for, why, and what to do about it.

If you haven’t already been doing this, the quality of the bread you get out of a bread maker will start to improve immediately.

A lot of people buy a bread machine hoping it will magically make the perfect loaf of fresh yeast bread with the press of a button. You might get lucky, and it happens.

Whew! That’s a lot of luck!

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Why is checking the dough an important bread machine tip?

Your bread machine has no brain. It may have a timer and a thermostat, but your bread maker can’t think for itself.

Your bread machine also has no control over altitude, ambient temperature, or the recipe you chose.

Furthermore, the bread maker can’t tell if you read the recipe wrong and added too much liquid. Neither does it recognize when you answered a text and forgot to add that last cup of flour.

Are you are using your bread machine as a mix-knead-rise appliance (like I do)?

Or, do you want your bread machine to also bake the bread?

Either way, this will surely improve your chances of producing good bread.

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Add a tablespoon of liquid (preferably the same as used in the recipe). Give it a chance to mix up for a couple of minutes. Check again. Keep doing this until the dough sticks to the side briefly, then pulls away.

Remember, some doughs need to be quite wet, like a brioche or ciabatta. If you are a beginner, avoid these type of recipes until you have dependable success with a simple loaf.

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Is it safe to open the bread machine lid while it’s running?

Yes. In fact, I highly recommend it. You can correct for many of the possible variables that happen when making bread if you will make this a habit.

Opening the lid during the mixing cycle won’t affect your bread. If you’ve ever tried it, you know that looking through the little window in the lid is futile. It doesn’t give you enough information.

I view this recommendation as permission to open the lid for short periods of time. You can do the same.

The bread-machine safety patrol will be thankful you checked your dough after they eat your fabulous bread.

When should I look?

1. Immediately after you start your machine–check to make sure the paddle(s) is engaged and actually mixing your dough.
   
2. Open the lid and look approximately 15-18 minutes after starting the machine. If you walk by 20 minutes into the cycle, open the lid and evaluate the dough again to see if it is sticking and pulling away as it should.
   
3. Check to see if the dough has risen enough at the end of the DOUGH cycle. Just because the dough cycle has finished doesn’t mean your bread has risen enough to proceed to the next step.

This is one reason baking from beginning to end can be tricky. If the dough hasn’t risen enough, your machine isn’t smart enough to know it.

How do you know when the dough has risen enough?

Use two fingers poked into the dough. If the indentation bounces back, you will know it needs a little more time. If it fills back in slowly, it’s ready to be shaped.

What do I do with the dough if it hasn’t risen enough by the end of the dough cycle?

• Leave it in the machine and let it continue to rise. Set a timer to remind yourself to check again in 15-30 minutes.
• Move the dough (either in the bread machine pan or to another bowl) to a warmer location. This might hasten the rising process.

What do you do if you forgot about the dough and it over-proofed or rose too much?

“Over-proofing happens when the dough has proofed too long and the air bubbles have popped. You’ll know your dough is over-proofed if, when poked, it never springs back. To rescue over-proofed dough, press down on the dough to remove the gas, then reshape and reproof.”

—Baking 101: What Is Proofing? Learn How to Proof Breads and Other Baked Goods

When you should avoid opening the lid

Try not to open the cover in the middle of the proofing period, especially if your kitchen is cold. You don’t want to let heat escape, thus prolonging the rising time.

If you are using your machine to mix, knead, and bake, don’t open the lid during the preheat and baking cycle. You don’t want to lose heat.

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How weighing your flour makes this tip easier:

Weighing flour will prevent the need for so many adjustments. Not measuring the same way the recipe writer did can cause havoc.

For many years I did not weigh the flour in a bread recipe. Most American recipes don’t even specify a weight. Thankfully, that is starting to change.

Some of my bread recipes on this website still don’t show the flour weights. I’m slowly changing that. Meanwhile, this little trick about checking the dough will compensate for most problems that occur due to inaccurate measurement of the flour.

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As with any baking skill, practice makes perfect. Start checking your dough and I predict you’ll be a master bread baker before you know it.

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p.s. If you are new to the bread-machine world and want to increase your chances of success, start with a bread machine mix from the grocery store. Alternatively, use a basic recipe from the manual that came with your bread maker.

Or, try using one of my bread machine recipes formulated for using a bread machine as I do. Start simple with something like pizza dough. Check out this post with over 50 of my tried and tested bread recipes you can make with a bread machine.