WEKIGAI LoafNest User manual

LoafNest Community
Let us be the part of revolution, let us make healthy
artisan bread at home, everyday! Share your
feedback, ideas and ask questions with the LoafNest
community here: https://wekigai.eu/loafnest
Who we are
We are a small family owned and run company based
in the Netherlands. We love creating products that
make lives a bit easier, happier and healthier.
Questions? Comments?
We would love to hear from you.
Zandkrab 22
5658AD Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://wekigai.eu
Instructions in other languages
We are constantly working to make this user manual
available in other languages. Please visit our website
to know more.
LoafNest User Manual v 2.1 September 2021
User Manual
Download your free LoafNest Recipe eBook from:
https://wekigai.eu

Safety Warnings
•To avoid risk of injury, always use both hands
to lift LoafNest lid (top part of the casserole).
Do not lift the LoafNest lid with one hand.
•To avoid risk of injury, when you are lifting
the complete LoafNest unit please make sure
to hold all four handles firmly. When moving
complete LoafNest in and out of the oven
always make sure that you have a grip on all
four handles and holding LoafNest firmly.
•Always prepare sufficient heat resistant clear
area in advance to place LoafNest, before
moving hot LoafNest out of the oven.
•To move LoafNest to and from a hot oven
always use good quality oven gloves or mitts
covering your hands.
•Do not try to open or close LoafNest lid while
it is inside oven to minimize the risk of burning
from the walls of the oven.
•Allow LoafNest Casserole to cool in a place
that is not accessible by children and where
you would not accidentally touch it.
•Do not let young children handle LoafNest
due to burn risk and risk of heavy weight
falling over body parts.
•Stop using LoafNest Liner if you notice signs of
damage exposing glass fibers.
Welcome!
Congratulations on having your LoafNest! We would
like to welcome you to the amazing world of LoafNest
Artisan Bread baking. We trust that LoafNest helps
you to make beautiful bread at home more often. We
hope that you will have a tasty, healthy, flavorful
bread everyday.
Before First Use
Before the first use, wash LoafNest Casserole and Liner
either in a dishwasher or by hands with warm soapy
water rinsing it thoroughly. Dry with a clean lint-free
cloth or paper towel. This is to ensure hygiene and to
remove any dirt or dust left over from storage and
transportation.
Your First Loaf
We would like your first LoafNest loaf to be a super
hit! Just follow these tips to ensure a great first loaf.
Weigh your ingredients, especially flour and water.
We cannot emphasize this enough. Volume
measurements are just not consistent enough for good
breadmaking. Choose the flour that is marked for
bread making, that has at least 11% protein
content. Do not choose all-purpose flour or bread
mixes. Make sure your instant yeast is not very old. If
you are using your own starter, please make sure that
it is good.
Go with a conservative recipe for your first loaf. We
recommend you start with the basic white loaf
recipe using the LoafNest Flow below. You can
advance to more adventurous recipes as you build
your confidence and found your rhythm for baking
bread often with LoafNest.
The LoafNest Flow
The LoafNest is not just a product, it comes with its
own process to make things easy and reliable. We call
it the LoafNest Flow. We created the LoafNest flow,
for making the easiest artisan bread without touching
the flour with your hands. No cleaning up of the mess
afterwards.
Here is the LoafNest with the example of a simple
white loaf. Start with this recipe for your first loaf.

Ingredients:
Flour: 500 g (17.5 oz)
Water: 400 g (14 oz)
Salt: 8 g (1.25 tsp) (10 g for extra flavor)
Instant Dry Yeast: 0.5 g (0.25 tsp)
What you will need: An accurate kitchen weighing
scale, a large bowl to mix and raise the dough
(recommended size: 3 to 5 liter / 3 to 5 quart), a fork
to mix the dough and a spatula to scrape and pour
the dough and an electric or gas oven for baking.
1. Mix
In a large bowl, mix salt and
yeast into water until fully
dissolved. Add in flour and mix
until all flour is wet and there
are no dry lumps. It is not
necessary to mix excessively or
to knead. The dough will have
a relatively thin consistency
compared to traditional bread
dough.
2. Raise
Cover the bowl with cling film
or large lid to prevent drying.
Leave it to raise at room
temperature for 12-18 hours.
The dough is ready to bake
when the volume has
doubled, the dough is full of
bubbles and has a sour
yeast/alcohol smell.
3. Pre-Heat
Pre-heat the LoafNest Casserole
in the oven for at least 45
minutes at 230 C (450 F). Do
not pre-heat the silicone Liner.
4. Pour
Use high quality heat resistant
oven gloves or mitts. Take the
pre-heated Casserole gripping
all four handles firmly and set it
on a heat resistant, stable
surface. Open the lid holding
two handles and place it aside
on a heat resistant stable
surface. Place the Liner in the
bottom unit of Casserole. Scrape
in the raised dough into the
Liner and close the Casserole lid
until top and bottom half align.
The lid need not fit snugly.
5. Bake
Place the closed Casserole
back into the oven gripping all
four handles firmly. Bake at
230 C (450 F) for 45 minutes
(up to 60 minutes depending
on your preference). You may
choose to bake the loaf for last
10 minutes without the
casserole for an extra crunchy
and browned crust. Take the
LoafNest out of the oven and
take out the Liner with the
loaf. Peel off the Liner gently
while your gloves are still on,
and let the bread cool a bit
before you cut it.
6. Enjoy
Enjoy the loaf! With a bit of
butter for the first time may
be! Appreciate the texture,
beauty and the taste of your
elegant bread!

LoafNest in Your Rhythm
We designed LoafNest method to fit bread making
into busy daily schedules. Here are some tips on how
you could make LoafNest bread making fit your
schedule.
Find a trigger in your existing schedule to find a 2-3
minutes time (for example, after dinner, before going
to bed, before leaving to work etc.). Use this trigger to
mix the dough.
Find a space of 45-90 minutes in your current schedule
when you can be home. You may be busy doing other
chores at the same time. Use this time for pre-heating
and baking.
Between these two time slots, the dough can raise.
The ideal raise time for the dough with LoafNest
recipe is 12-18 hours. But this method is quite forgiving
for a bit shorter or longer raise times. Use this to make
it to well fit your schedule.
If you need shorter raise times to fit your schedule, use
2-4 times the amount of yeast in the basic recipe. You
could also try mixing flour with 2 lukewarm (not hot)
water and keeping the dough to raise in a warm (not
hot) place for shorter raise time. This way, you could
have a dough ready to bake in a few hours.
If you need longer raising times, reduce the amount of
yeast. You can also try to use ice-water to mix the
dough or keep the dough to raise in a refrigerator for
a part of the raise to slow it down.
If your oven has a programming function, put it to use.
Place the LoafNest Casserole in the oven and program
it so that LoafNest is pre-heated and ready for you to
bake at a desired time, for example when you wake
up or when you return home in the evening. Do not
pre-heat the Liner. With some tweaking of yeast and
temperatures and perhaps using your programmable
features of your oven, we are sure you will find a way
to make bread at home in a schedule that fits you
well.
Creative Tips
LoafNest makes creative bread making possible for
the experienced and for the beginners. For easy and
quick creative options, here are some ideas for what
you can change in the LoafNest Method at each step.
Mixing Ingredients:
•Try mixing whole wheat and white flours in
different proportions
•Add different flours like Spelt, Barley, Rye
•If you have a sourdough starter, use it instead
of yeast. We recommend using 150-180g of
starter for 350g of flour for a LoafNest loaf.
•Add seeds and grains like flax, oats, sunflower
seeds
•Add dairy or vegetable puree/juices to
supplement water
•Add shredded or chopped veggies like carrot,
beetroot, spinach
•Add dry fruit like raisins, chopped dates,
apricots, figs
•Add whole or chopped nuts like almonds,
cashew or peanuts
Raising:
Experiment with shorter and longer raise times and
temperatures. Different raise times give different
flavor profiles.
Pre-heating:
Try using programming functions of your oven if
available, to preheat the LoafNest Casserole to
minimize the waiting time.
Baking:
•As with options for mixing ingredients, you
can try mixing up various things into your
dough just before pouring it in.
•After pouring the dough, before closing the
lid, try topping up the loaf with seeds like
sesame or sunflower seeds. Just plain flour,
semolina, wheat bran, or cornmeal also give a
nice artisan look to the loaf. Shredded cheese
works great as a topping too and so do dry
herbs and spices
•Experiment with slightly higher or lower
baking temperatures. Loaves that have sugar
or sweet ingredients benefit from a lower
baking temperature.
•Experiment with longer or shorter baking
times. Longer you bake, the thicker will be
your crust.
•After first 30-40 minutes, continue baking
only the loaf (without the LoafNest lid) for

next 10-20 minutes to get extra crunchy crust.
You may lower the temperature if your
loaves burn.
Troubleshooting
If you are new to baking, here are some possible
problems you may expect and here are some possible
reasons and solutions to them.
My loaf is dense, undercooked or gummy
•Your dough has too much water or fluids.
Reduce the amount of water in steps of 20 ml
until you achieve desired consistency of the
crumb.
•Your baking temperature is too low or baking
time is too short. Increase the baking
temperature or time or both.
•You are cutting the loaf too soon after
baking. Allow the loaf to cool fully before
cutting.
•Your dough has over-proofed. Try to bake
around the point when the dough has risen to
its highest.
•You are using a too weak flour. Always use a
flour with high protein content specifically
marked for bread making.
My dough did not raise
•Make sure you do not use hot water to mix
the dough.
•Yeast is not active. Purchase a fresh batch of
yeast.
•The dough was at a very cool place. Yeast
prefer warmth. Raise the dough in warmer
place.
My loaf collapsed
•You might be using a weak flour. Make sure
you are using strong bread flour. Check that it
has at least 11% percent protein content.
•You might be using too much fluids. Reduce
the amount of water. If you are using other
fluids or wet ingredients (like vegetables)
remember that they contain a lot of moisture
and reduce the water amount suitably.
My crumb is too hard or dry
•You might be using too little water. Increase
the amount of water or fluids in the recipe.
•You might be baking too long. Reduce
baking time.
•You might be baking at too high a
temperature. Reduce your baking
temperature.
•You might not be closing LoafNest properly.
Make sure the lid aligns well with the base
and that the Liner sits in between the top and
the base.
My loaf did not get a crunchy crust
•You might have a fatty or sugar rich
ingredients. Dough with fat or sugar do not
get a crunchy crust. Try to eliminate the
source of fat or sugar if you prefer a crunchier
crust.
My bread goes stale
•You might be storing it in the fridge.
Refrigerator accelerates staling. Never store
your loaf in the fridge. If you need to preserve
a loaf, wrap it in a waterproof film and store
it in the freezer.
•You might be storing the loaf too long. Since
homemade bread does not have
preservatives and additives, it will start to go
stale. Make sure you consume your loaf within
1 - 2 days of making it. Store it in the freezer if
you intend to consume it much later.
My toasted or grilled slices do not brown well
You might be toasting fresh bread. Fresh breads do
not toast that well. Use old bread (1 - 2 days) to make
toasts or grilled sandwiches.
Specifications
Outer size: approximately 30 cm x 15.5 cm x 14.5 cm
(12 inch x 6 inch x 5.75 inch).
Inner size and loaf size: 23 cm (9 inch) long, 14.5 cm
(6 inch) wide and 13.5 cm (5.5 inch) tall. The actual
loaf will have same length and width and height
between 4-5.5 inches depending on the recipe.
Weight: Approximately 4.7 kg (10.4 lbs.)
Color: Pantone Blue 286C with a gradient shade of
Pantone Light Blue 0821C. [Colors are approximated]
for the Casserole and black color for Liner.
Casserole: Thick cast iron. Colored glossy enamel
coated on outside. Black matte enamel inside.

Liner: Glass fiber weave coated with food grade oven
safe silicone; temperature resistant up to 260 C (500
F).
Use, Cleaning and care
Instructions
Using your LoafNest
•LoafNest Casserole and Liner are designed to
work with each other with the intended
purpose of baking bread.
•LoafNest Casserole (without the Liner) could
be used as a normal cast iron casserole for
other cooking uses like baking, sautéing, slow
cooking, braising, grilling etc.
•Casserole is suitable for use on domestic
cooking heat sources like gas, electric hob,
induction hob, oven, wood fire and barbecue,
except in microwave as it is metallic.
•Please follow the care instructions while using
LoafNest.
•LoafNest Casserole and Liner are not
intended for commercial use.
Cleaning your LoafNest
•LoafNest Casserole and Liner are dishwasher
safe.
•If you use hand cleaning, use mild dish soap
and a wet sponge to clean LoafNest
Casserole.
•For persisting stains, soak the Casserole for an
hour in soapy water and scrub the stain with
non-scratching nylon scrubber.
•For hand cleaning of silicone Liner, use mild
soap and gently scrub the Liner with sponge
or brush.
•If food is stuck or burned into the Liner, you
might soak it in warm soapy water for 30
minutes to 1 hour.
•To minimize rusting of non-enameled areas
(lip of the Casserole) avoid long exposure to
moisture. If a spot of rust appears (this is
perfectly safe), apply a thin layer of cooking
oil and wipe it with a kitchen towel.
Caring for your LoafNest
•For the best possible durability and function
out of your LoafNest, please follow these
recommendations.
•Do not use sharp objects like knives either
with LoafNest Casserole or Liner. Sharp
objects can damage the enamel of the
Casserole and damage silicone Liner to expose
glass fibers.
•To minimize the chance of chipping of
enamel, do not use metallic utensils with
LoafNest Casserole. It is recommended to use
wooden, silicone or heat-resistant plastic
utensils.
•To avoid chipping of enamel, avoid bumping
the Casserole against other objects in the
kitchen.
•Never use the boost function on induction
with Casserole. If using Casserole on a stove
for other purposes than baking bread, avoid
use of high heat setting to avoid cracking of
enamel or cast iron.
•Never heat the empty Casserole on a stove
top.
•Do not use the Liner on other heat sources
apart from an oven.
•To prolong usable life of the Liner
•Do not excessively fold, bend or twist the Liner
•Minimize exposure to oil and fats. If used in a
recipe with oil or fats, clean well immediately
after use.
•Keep the Liner dry.
•Store the Liner upside down on a flat surface.
•Do not store the Liner crumpled, folded,
twisted or crushed.
•Do not cut the Liner.
•Do not use the Liner near naked flame.