I am baking a loaf of bread now

Marie5656

Marie5656

SF VIP
Location
Batavia, NY
Many years ago we got a bread machine as a Christmas gift. I used it often. But, of late I could not find the mixes for it. I could use it to bake from scratch, but I figured, the machine is just too darn clunky to drag out every time I want to bake.

So today, I figured, what the heck. I am baking a loaf right now...in the oven. Meant doing the flour and yeast, kneading it, letting it rise, punching it down, rising again, and now it is in the oven. Not sure if it will be perfect, but it will be bread.
 

I use my bread machine several times most weeks, letting it do the mixing, kneading and rising. I don't like to bake in mine (because it doesn't brown the top of the loaf), but I use the dough setting so it does the hard work and saves my hands.
 
Just received my annual gift from my best friend Dottie in Center, Tx. Wonderful fresh pumpkin bread and banana bread!!!
 

I don't have a bread-maker either...I just make my bread by hand. Yesterday I made Sundried tomato and parmesan bread...yummmmmy.... the bonus always of course, is that the house smells delicious for the rest of the day...
 
Well, it turned out OK for my first try without using the machine. Though I could use some advice from those with more experience. I feel part of the problem was it did not rise enough, even though I kept it covered a bit longer than recipe said. Where do you put your dough so it is warm enough to rise well? Also, the beginning part, where you have to put the yeast in warm water for a bit, I may not have kept it long enough.
But it tasted good..so said my husband. Ha Ha.

It did not brown a lot...but it was Italian bread, so maybe it is supposed to be lighter? Any helpful hints will be welcome.
 
Making bread is a winter activity for us. We 'cheat' and use an old Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook to do the kneading. Agree with the great smell. We're fine with just the smell of the warm yeast. We like the 'heavy', whole grain breads with some added seeds. It would be healthy if we wouldn't eat the loaf in a few days!
 
Baking yeast breads is like magic and so much fun.

I bake bread and buns and it is such a great rewarding pastime.

The smell of fresh baked bread just lifts the spirits.

And the nice thing about it. You can shape the bread into small loaves, big loaves, hamburger buns, hot dog buns.
 

Attachments

  • buns.jpg
    buns.jpg
    77.2 KB · Views: 31
I use the Kitchen Aid mixer to do the kneading also. I turn the oven on at the lowest temperature, when it reaches that temp I turn it off, leave the door open for a bit. Put a towel on the rack and put the bowl of dough on the towel with another towel on top. It raises perfectly. I repeat this for the second raising. I then take the pans out and carefully put them on the top of my stove and heat the oven to the proper temp to bake the bread. I use my bread maker for my gluten free bread because it is a bit better than store bought and not as expensive. What I don't like about the bread maker is the hole in the bottom of the loaf from the mixer blade. I'm the only one eating the gluten free bread so it isn't a problem.
 
I'm so impressed with all the bread bakers we have with us. I don't remember ever making my own bread except in my early 20's. Sourdough is my favorite. It's really hard to find true sourdough bread made from a culture. The difference in the sour taste is quite pronounced.
 
I too, had a breadmaker years and years ago . The prepared packaged mixes often cost more than a loaf of baked bread, so I made my own batches per the recipes in the manufacturer's booklet. The breads were great! Even a French loaf. It was a vertical pan.

After about a year, the loaves became short. Fresher ingredients didn't make any difference. I think the machine's temperature mechanism was going, so I threw it out. It was a cheap Walmart unit.

I'm not one to knead dough- it hurts my hands, don't have a dough hook, so that was the end.

But- I found a recipe for a batter bread on a public TV station they called "English Muffin Bread" and it's good. When toasted it does taste just like English muffins. Saw another rustic type no-knead bread on YouTube.
 
Marie5656 said:
.... Also, the beginning part, where you have to put the yeast in warm water for a bit, I may not have kept it long enough.
Click to expand...
^^^ That's what I used to do wrong. It used to be hit or miss with bread for me. I now wait until the yeast starts to foam up in the bowl. If it doesn't, it may be a little old, or the water not warm enough.

I've never had any luck with the yeast you just add in the flour. The dough was just a little too stiff (dry) with the recipe I was using, and I don't worry about adding a little more yeast than the recipe calls for, either. It doesn't seem to hurt the flavor. I prefer rolls fluffy with a crust. LOL!

Caution, your results may vary. Ha!
 
I was looking through recipes to make bread in my bread machine. I am noticing some call for bread flour. How is that different from all purpose flour? I have a bag of all purpose flour on hand...can I use that up first? Also, they call for bread machine yeast. I can buy that, but is there a difference?
 
I always use King Arthur bread flour. It has more gluten in it which bread needs. Once in awhile I have had regular flour left and have even mixed it with the bread flour. I didn't have a problem but the bread just didn't raise as much but it was delicious. I use regular yeast and have no idea why they make bread machine yeast.
 
Ruth, bread machine yeast is a rapid rise product that does not need to be dissolved in water to begin the rising process prior to adding to the flour mixture. I understand the grains of bread machine yeast are finer and a little ascorbic acid has been added to make it work more efficiently. I don't use it because I couldn't see enough difference to bother.

I have two kinds of yeast in my freezer, both of them SAF. One is Red Instant and the other is Gold Instant (which is better for sweet doughs).
 
I have a bread machine also, and sometimes make my own bread in it. I have not done that for a while; but I have been thinking that I should make another loaf because i do enjoy it when I have the fresh homemade bread.
Lately, I have been using some of those little high-fiber flatbreads with flaxmeal in them; so today, I decided to try making my own flatbread.
I found a youtube recipe that only uses a mashed (boiled) sweet potato and some flour. Instead of the plain white flour it showed on the video, I used whole wheat flour and also added some flax and chia seeds that I had ground up in the blender.
Mine did not turn out as pretty of a color as the pictured ones did; but they taste good and should be pretty healthy for me to eat.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top