My first bread! [Cooking]
2007 Feb 5
Excellent! I can't really justify this, but people who bake their own bread earn my instant respect. It's been a staple of our diet for so long yet most people (myself included) just routinely pick it up at the grocery store.
Some people take the whole bread thing to the extreme -- I enjoy eavesdropping on the fanatics here: groups.google.com
Good for you then and keep it up! :)
Some people take the whole bread thing to the extreme -- I enjoy eavesdropping on the fanatics here: groups.google.com
Good for you then and keep it up! :)
2007 Feb 6
i brought a bread machine about 3 or 4 years ago and i use it all the time.. it's just great.
Making dough with it is easy and convenient when you're too busy to make it by hand. I'd say i make pizzas once or twice every 2 weeks using it.
:)
I'm still looking for good bread recipes though.. i like the bread very soft.. and with the recipes i have i found the bread too tough.
Making dough with it is easy and convenient when you're too busy to make it by hand. I'd say i make pizzas once or twice every 2 weeks using it.
:)
I'm still looking for good bread recipes though.. i like the bread very soft.. and with the recipes i have i found the bread too tough.
2007 Feb 6
I enjoy making homeade bread. My mother always made homeade bread and I kind of took the art up. My mother's recipe makes four loaves but I use my kitchen aid mixer to make my breads now as the mixer does everything for me:D I made two loaves of white yesterday. I too have used a bread machine for making breads but I love the way true homeade bread gets nice and fluffy.
2007 Feb 6
Wow, that looks gorgeous! I'm doing my first bread as well...and I chose sourdough. I started making it yesterday, but the "starter" alone has to sit for 2 to 4 days before I can finish it, so I can't report on the results yet. I'm going freestyle the dough as well (no mixer). Am I crazy? I hope it turns out. Has anyone made sourdough bread before? Tips are definitely appreciated .
2007 Feb 6
No! You aren't crazy. As long as you follow the directions I don't see a problem. I've never made sourdough but it it's like any other bread just make sure that when you use your yeast if it calls for it or isn't in the starter bread don't exceed a temperature of 105-115f use a candy thermometer if you aren't too sure. Also, I like to let my bread rise in a warm bowl, I usually turn my oven on to the lowest setting with the bowl in it for a minute or two, put the dough into the greased bowl then into the oven with the light on this way you don't get any drafts and it rises nicely. Don't peek till the rising time is done! As far as using a mixer goes, I got mine last Christmas so I always did it by hand! Just more of a work out:) And remember you can never knead it too much. Hope it turns out well hun.
2007 Feb 10
Kneading bread does develop the gluten in the flour (imagine little lego blocks forming to make long strands of gluten which makes the flour stretchy and elastic. When making a crusty French baguette, the goal is to have a very chewy texture, so the extra kneading is crucial. Also, French baguettes are cooked in crazy hot ovens (550F), so that's what gives them they're crusty exterior.
Now, not enough kneading makes lumpy bread, and too much makes a brick of a loaf. The trick is to find the perfect time to knead, so I suggest you find one bread recipe, buy a huge bag of bread flour, and invest some time until you get it right. That's what I did :)
Hope I could help
Now, not enough kneading makes lumpy bread, and too much makes a brick of a loaf. The trick is to find the perfect time to knead, so I suggest you find one bread recipe, buy a huge bag of bread flour, and invest some time until you get it right. That's what I did :)
Hope I could help
2007 Feb 12
I've been a breadmaker for years, both by hand and more recently with a bread machine. We have pretty much resolved never to buy bread again other that baguettes... :D
I did up a tutorial for an easy loaf on another food board:
www.seemecook.com
(If you look at the tutorial, please don't rag me about the dirty oven :D it's been cleaned since, I promise!)
It's kind of an unusual bread recipe in that there is no initial rise in the bowl - just a proofing stage, in the loaf pans, so it cuts about an hour off your prep time. I (and several friends) find it tasty; my hubby thinks it a bit heavy.
I did up a tutorial for an easy loaf on another food board:
www.seemecook.com
(If you look at the tutorial, please don't rag me about the dirty oven :D it's been cleaned since, I promise!)
It's kind of an unusual bread recipe in that there is no initial rise in the bowl - just a proofing stage, in the loaf pans, so it cuts about an hour off your prep time. I (and several friends) find it tasty; my hubby thinks it a bit heavy.
2007 Feb 13
Hey Glinda, I've never personally had a problem with over kneading my breads. Doing it by hand is a tuff job so you'll probably never be able to over knead by hand. In my kitchen aid cookbook it says that 2 minutes in the mixer is equivalent to 12 by hand. For basic white breads it says to knead in the mixer for 2 minutes.
When I used to use my mothers recipe for bread and did it by hand I'd knead for 5-6 minutes. I've also found that recipes that call for water and no milk at all rise better, but milk makes a nicer loaf, trick is to scald the milk and let it cool, it seems to help with the rising problem. And I always buy fresh yeast in the packets.
When I used to use my mothers recipe for bread and did it by hand I'd knead for 5-6 minutes. I've also found that recipes that call for water and no milk at all rise better, but milk makes a nicer loaf, trick is to scald the milk and let it cool, it seems to help with the rising problem. And I always buy fresh yeast in the packets.
2007 Mar 1
So here is my next attempt at bread....I used flyfish's recipe from www.seemecook.com. Although, I didn't use all whole wheat flour, I used half whole wheat and half spelt. Plus with the kneading bread, I used all spelt. It was really yummy! Had to limit myself to 3 pieces that night....
2007 Mar 4
I just made bread for the boys yesterday. I used to do it all by hand for years but now I'm lazy and use the kitchen aid. The 275W K.A. was not powerful enough to do 100% whole wheat bread so we recently upgraded to 425W and it chomps right through it!
Something like :
- 2.25 cups liquid (3/4 cup maple syrup, the rest water)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 5.5 - 6 cups flour (2 cups white unbleached, rest whole wheat)
First make your "sponge". 2 cups flour (1 WW, 1 white), all the liquid, 2 tablespoons yeast. Mix well, let rise til double size. Then slowly knead in the rest of your flour. Slow down at a total of 5.5 cups because exactly how much you need depends on ambient conditions.
Makes 2 loaves or 16 rolls or some combination thereof
Bake 400F for 15 minutes then lower to 325 for 20-30 more. Minus 10-15 minutes for rolls.
Something like :
- 2.25 cups liquid (3/4 cup maple syrup, the rest water)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 5.5 - 6 cups flour (2 cups white unbleached, rest whole wheat)
First make your "sponge". 2 cups flour (1 WW, 1 white), all the liquid, 2 tablespoons yeast. Mix well, let rise til double size. Then slowly knead in the rest of your flour. Slow down at a total of 5.5 cups because exactly how much you need depends on ambient conditions.
Makes 2 loaves or 16 rolls or some combination thereof
Bake 400F for 15 minutes then lower to 325 for 20-30 more. Minus 10-15 minutes for rolls.
2007 Mar 6
For the last six months or so, I've been making all of our bread in our breadmaker. It's easy, and I love the timer function so that there is fresh bread for either dinner or breakfast. I haven't had any problems with the bread not tasting good when not fresh but then a loaf of bread doesn't last more than four or five days around here. I use all whole wheat flour in my loaves as well (despite what the recipes call for) and add more water (usually about a 1/4c. for four cups of flour).
I use a cookbook that I received for Christmas a few years back called "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger. I definitely recommend it. The selection of recipes is enormous.
I use a cookbook that I received for Christmas a few years back called "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger. I definitely recommend it. The selection of recipes is enormous.
foodlover
So I went to my yeast jar and looked up a bread to bake on their website...this is a buttermilk bread and I used all whole wheat flour. Nothing like fresh baked homeade bread!