Making bread??

[Dixiedoodle]

I have to admit I LOVE bread.. Not that white stuff they sell at the groc. store but I love stuff like Arnold's Oat-nut bread!!

I thought I would try my hand at making my own bread, purchased pans, pizza board, great flour and the book--- " Artisan Bread in 5 min. a day" I tried three different loaves and hate them all.. So, I went to my favorite used book store and purchased Bernard Clayton's "New Complete Book of Breads Revised and Expanded".. for 2$.

I came home and started marking the recipes that sounded wonderful..

So, tell me how do you make bread? What's your favorite recipe? What tips can you give to a newbie? What items are essential for great breads??? Should I just purchase a bread machine and be done with it????

Thank you for any/all ideas-help..Dixie

 

[Farmfresh]

The answer to your bread machine question is YES! However buy smart!

Over a period of a couple of years my friend and I have bought about 7 or 8 bread machines - all either brand new or in perfect shape and many with box and paperwork - for around $5.00 each!! Start watching at your local Goodwill and Thrift stores. This is one of those items that the "normal" people get and give for gifts and then NEVER use.

Like dehydrators they take up space and are never used ... by "normal" folks. We SSers us the dickens out of them. I use mine a lot just to do the kneading for me, then I transfer the dough out into a real bread pan, make my rolls or what ever.

I think a beginner SHOULD learn (while waiting for that perfect machine) to make bread by hand. That way you can get a real feel for the dough.

The nice thing about baking is that you can eat all of your mistakes! Also those same "normal" people that are throwing out the bread machines are totally IMPRESSED if you can make a loaf of bread. It is almost like magic to them.

 

[ORChick]

I think it is very important for a beginner to find a rcipe for a good, basic loaf, and work on mastering that first. No doubt your bread books have such a loaf; if not there than find a book in the library (Beard on Bread is a good one, among many others). Its fun to think about your own artisan loaves, or speciality breads, but until you have the basics you are quite possibly just wasting flour. Bread is, basically, just flour, yeast, and water - with innumerable changes to that theme. But you need the basics first. And just because you don't like commercial white breads is no reason not to start with a homemade white. First off, it will taste immeasurably better than supermarket white. And second, it is hard to go wrong. White flour is just about bound to produce something edible when mixed with yeast and water. When you have the basic loaf mastered then you will have the experience to vary that with different flours, and different techniques to get a loaf that pleases you more.
Picasso did some pretty wild things with his art, and these made him famous. But, before all that, he learned how to draw.
Get the basics; everything else is just add ons to that.

 

[2dream]

You probably don't even need to buy a book. Somewhere here (probably in the recipe section) is a thread about making bread with lots of recipes. I don't have time to look it up right now (got to go to work). But I do know there are a lot of bread makers here who have recipes posted.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

my buddy is a master bread maker - really he has the touch! so i asked him to send me his 'recipe' and this is what he sent. its amazing:

OK - so I take 1c buttermilk or yogurt and 1 c water and 2 c whole wheat flour and mix them together and let them sit somewhere warmish overnight - or up to 24 hours. In the morning I put it in the (brand new) Cuisinart with a scant 2t salt and a t or so of dry yeast. Waz it up for about 2 seconds then add 4 c white flour and mix it - might need a little more water. Knead to a count of 60. Let it rise in a bowl. Punch down and roll out 3 baguettes or two batards or one big peasanty kinda loaf. Let proof and bake in a HOT (400-425) oven until the crust is nice and brown.
------------------------

i dont have a Cuisinart so i just do it old school with a big spoon and then knead it on a floured surface. and i needed a hotter oven... almost 450* for the best results.

i felt like i was missing something so i checked out this - and its really really helpful:

http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2008/05/02/baguettes-do-try-this-at-home/

last - i tried to read books that are all 'scientific-y' about bread making but they all put me to sleep. so what i learned from my own experience was not to make a big production about making bread, just 'fuss around with it' most of the day, and have it as a 'background' activity instead of focusing my whole day on a couple of loaves of bread.

sorry you didnt like the 5 mins a day technique - we use it for pizza dough and its easy easy easy.

good luck!

 

[Beekissed]

I don't use a bread machine and I love making bread. I also love the Arnold's sandwich thins~discovered those recently. This is what we have been doing for years now but after finding the "thins" I've started to roll out my bread dough and cut it out in a consistent round shape with the help of a soup bowl.

Now I have Arnold's sandwich thins and my WV flatbread all "rolled" into one!

I grind my own wheat, add ground flax seed, work it by hand and love the rhythm and feel of making bread. I don't even like the thought of a bread machine.....it feels like someone replaced my mother with a machine.... What would granny think?

I can see where it would come in handy for busy lives though!

 

[keljonma]

I got my like new bread machine for $7 at a local auction the year I broke my right wrist fishing. I just use it for mixing and kneading. Then I remove the dough to bake in the oven.

I like that I can have two loaves of one sort of dough being kneaded in the bread machine while I have two loaves of another recipe going in the bowl by hand.

 

[farmerlor]

I'm another one who loves my bread machine and I've never baked a loaf of bread in it, it's used for mixing dough-period. My personal favorite is a nice loaf of french bread or pizza dough of course but some of the wheat and honey breads are wondrous.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Another bread machine fan over here, but like the others, I only use it for kneading. With RA, I'm not will to risk a flare up by kneading. Bake in the oven. I recently started the artisan bread, but find it too crusty for me but the kids like it.

 

[Dace]

I have a bread machine and I do not like it. Like Bee, I like to feel my dough and be more involved

I am not sure what you did not like about the 5 minute bread, it is really simple and easy. I make a increase my dough by 50% to give my family 3 loaves. It is really easy to just pull out some dough, let it rise and cook. Perhaps you could explain what it was that you did not like and we can better advise you.

I also love making regular style breads. It takes a little practice to recognize when your dough has reached the right consistency, so just know that it will take a few times before you find your comfort zone.

What type of bread is it that you are trying to achieve? Crusty French type or more softer sandwich style?