Homemade Bread

[scmhogg]

As an amateur cook, I have tried various recipes to make my own bread. I have had so-so results with my bread machine, olive bread is an exception.

But, I saw a recent America's Test Kitchen show, entitled, "Almost no knead bread".

You cook the bread in a pre-heated dutch oven. The result is a very flavorful round loaf, with a crisp brown crust. My tenth loaf is in the oven right now.

My only disagreement with their recipe involves flouring the board. Use a lot of flour. When the dough has rested 8 to 18 hours, it is very wet and sticky. You need a lot of flour on the board and your hands. My first try was a mess.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/r...4748&iSeason=9

Steve

[catta12]

I do sourdough myself. You can make the bread very sour by letting it set for a long time (a day) or taste like regular bread by baking it sooner.

Here is a good site for recipes:

http://home.teleport.com/~packham/sourdrec.htm

A mixer is nice for making bread but you could maybe convert a paint stirrer on a drill

[pacwind3]

I tried that bread recipe, came out ok. I think it needed more beer and to have the dough sit in the fridge for a day or two.
I used to have a pizza place and we mixed older dough into the fresh rolled dough. You give dough up to a week in the fridge and you'll find some flavor!

[cwsmith]

Interesting, I think. We have one of those bread machines and the bread that comes from it, just isn't all that good and too often is uneven and "doughy" in the middle. I think much of that is due to the humidity and here in NY's southern tier the weather is humid every season but winter. The dough just doesn't raise properly, but then again, I'm no expert and perhaps it's just the recipe's that I've tried or the premixes that we purchase.

I've convinced myself that you've got to be an old codger in order to make good bread and though I'm fast approaching that label, my bread skills are poor, to say the least. I'm concerned that a "bread machine" probably isn't the correct instrument to use. Ridiculous, I suppose.

My grandmother used to make the greatest bread, I remember back in the 50's she used her wood-fired oven and would make a half dozen or so loaves every week. Bread was a hardy part of every meal, including breakfast with it's delicious toast and eggs. Sad thing is that no one in the family retained a recipe. Home-made bread was just an ordinary thing, like water or milk or something. Now, it seems to be a lost art and I'm sort of stuck with that stale, tasteless stuff that has a shelf life that says it's still good for the next three weeks. Good bread is good for very few days at best.

I've got a elderly friend who turned 93 this past June. He still makes his own bread and wouldn't touch a "store-bought" loaf. I've pressed him several times for his recipe, but as yet haven't been successful in getting it. Perhaps I should arm-restle him for it. I'd love to know how to successfully make my own.

So, thanks for the subject post and I'll check out those links that you provided. If I can get Sam's recipe, I'll look up this thread and post what I discover.

Thanks,

CWS

[crokett]

I have a bread machine. Maybe it is the machine but mine makes excellent bread and I love bread. My standards are pretty high. I haven't made any in a long time but I used to make it and bring it to parties, etc. It was always very popular.

[Uncle Cracker]

I can't bake for beans, but I do my share... I eat it...

[chopnhack]

try corn meal? (granules) instead of flour, helps the bottom release easily. My wife makes this one all the time and it is delicious.

[warrenp]

I have been baking various breads for a couple of years. Sometimes it looks great...sometimes not...but it almost always tastes great.

I do the quick bake bread quite a bit, very good, but it takes a bit of the fun out of it.

And no matter how much I mess up the quick bake...it comes out pretty good.

Now...back to the shop!

[Mr__Bill]

I bake bread and the results run the gambit from eatable to almost good. Now what I would really like to master is Baking Powder Biscuit. Mine are never light and fluffy nor do they rise right. If I keep eating my mistakes I'll soon look like the Dough Boy!


Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast

[germdoc]

I got a Sunbeam bread machine on sale at Wal-Mart for $49 or $59, and it has turned out to be a good investment. It takes less than 5 mins. to set up to make French bread, and not too much longer to make pumpernickel rye or olive bread (one of my favorites too).

I would like to make artisinal breads by hand, but then I have enough hobbies already--sometimes I just like to eat!

[pacwind3]

Crocket: what kind is it? I have a sunbeam and honestly, it sucks. seems like either the bread never rises high enough: or it over-rises, spills over the pan, then caves in the middle of the loaf when baking starts.
I will be looking for a new one soon.

[windmill]

Crocket: what kind is it? I have a sunbeam and honestly, it sucks. seems like either the bread never rises high enough: or it over-rises, spills over the pan, then caves in the middle of the loaf when baking starts.
I will be looking for a new one soon.

There is a HUGE difference in bread machines. I have a Panasonic SD-YD250, made 300+ loaves of bread with it, and have not one fail yet (unless you count the one where I forgot to add the water....). I even dropped it off the counter once, the lid broke off but I managed to fix it and it still works perfectly.

Two features to look for:
- Wide pan with non-stick coating (don't wash it in the dishwasher, no matter what the manual says)
- Separate yeast dispenser. This ensures you can put all the stuff in ahead of time, but the yeast won't be added until exactly the right time.

Before the Panasonic, I had a Sunbeam as well. I hated it, I had exactly the same problems as you described.

[cwsmith]

Ours is a "Breadman" which we got in '95. As I recall, breadmachines were all the rage about that time and I think our son gave this one to us for Christmas. It has a little window in the top lid and you have to add the yeast to it. The bread pan is like a little bucket that sits down on the motor shaft.

In the beginning we used it quite a bit, but as mentioned earlier, the results were always mixed, with usually the center of the loaf not being properly baked.

Perhaps its time we took a look at a modern appliance!

Do you folks use those pre-mixed products or do you work from scratch with a recipe?

CWS

[jking]

A good bread machine will make a difference, although, I don't think a yeast dispenser is essential. When you mix bread by hand, usually the yeast goes in at the beginning (artisnal breads can be different). You want a bread machine that has a good selection of cycles and then make sure you use the right one for the recipe you are using. You also want to make sure you are using bread machine yeast (also called quick rise). Regular yeast will not rise fast enough for a bread machine & will cause problems. We have a Breadman bread machine & it makes good bread. Some recipes are better than others, but, make sure if the recipe says to add ingredients in a certain order do it in that order.

That being said, our bread machine sits in a closet. When we want homemade bread or rolls, I make it by hand. I have a couple of favorite recipes, one was my grandmother's recipe, & the other one I'm not sure where my mom got it from. I've discovered grandma's recipe is very versatile & I can add different flours & it still comes out good.

scmhogg, have you tried Test Kitchen's "Overnight Sticky Rolls"? Like many of their recipes, it's a bit more involved, but, definitely worth it. There's a lot of butter in the dough...butter makes everything better.

[jgrobler]

Too often we're too lazy to set up the machine, but we love to make our own bread.

Does anyone have a good gluten-free pumpernickel recipe? My wife can't eat gluten.

Thanks, Johan