All, I make my own bread intermittently. Sometimes it is wheat based and other times it is white bread. Wanted to share this recipe from the net for white bread that comes out really wellThe actually effort is the 10 mins of kneading, othewise it is fairly simple. If you guys have other tried and tested bread and pizza crust recips, would be great if you could share. The fresh bread really tastes very good and is worth the little effort.
BeeAmma: I am a breadmaker also. I have been experimenting with it for a lot of years. You are doing the handmade way.....I used to do that but now I either use a breadmachine or I make several loaves and do the kneading with KitchenAid mixer (not mixie). The KitchenAid mixers are so handy and you can also knead chapatti dough with it. I use a recipe wiith less oil and sugar. For the yeast I like to get the bulk yeast from the health food store and then I keep it in a glass bottle in the freezer. If you keep it in the freezer it stays potent for years.
Hi Tina, I have been kneading by hand so far. Recently acquired a Kitchenaid mixer. Have still not figured out how to use it to make bread. What kind of breads do you make for day-to-day consumption? I have only been trying white bread and whole wheat dinner rolls (hand kneading). I am looking for some interesting ideas on other simple breads.
BeeAmma: I am going to start with my most basic recipe that is my fav and tried and true. You can make this either by hand or with mixer. Proof 2 pkg of yeast (I use 2 T bulk yeast) in 1/2 c 115F water with 1 T honey. (you can use sugar but I think that honey works and tastes better.) until bubbly. Combine this to 1 3/4 c warm water and 3 T honey in large bowl or mixer bowl. Add 4 T oil and 1 T salt. The flour will total about 7 1/2 c. and you should make at least 1/2 of it white bread flour. You can make the other half whole wheat or add parts of some others if you want to mix like rye, graham, etc. The initial amount of flour added is about 5 cups so put the heavy flours in first with some white flour to total 5 cups and then add only white until you get the desired consistency. With the mixer you will use the dough hook and start it going and it will initially be a sticky mess but as you add the flour it will get smoother and pull away from the bowl in a mass on the hook. YOu want to knead it about ten mins. The final consistency for temp and consistency should feel like a baby's butt. (That's the test...I didn't make it up.) Let it rise covered with a towel until doubled and punch it down. Turn on oven to preheat to 375F. Divide dough in half and put in two greased bread pans standard 4x9 size. You will make them into smooth loaves like logs. I prefer metal non stick pans to Pyrex. (Pyrex is good for meatloaf!) Cover again with tea towel and rise until it just shows over the rim of the pan. Bake for 35-45 mins until browned. Test doneness by knocking on the loaf like a door...if it sounds hollow it is cooked. You can also take it out of the pan using a mitt and knock the bottom to check. Put on wire racks to cool and make a nice crust. The old farmhouses used to put the racks on the window sills in good weather to use the air flow. Do not eat until almost cool as you can get a stomach ache from hot bread. Do not put in bags until totally cool as it will steam in the bag and get ruined. Here is a list of variations of this recipe: Raisin bread: Use 1/2 c raisins with first flour. Nut bread: Use 1/2 c chopped nuts with first flour. Whole wheat: 3 c whole wheat flour and 1/2 c wheat germ Rye: Use 1/4 c molasses for sweetener and use 3 c rye flour Cinnamon loaf: Roll 1/2 dough into 6x15 oblong and spread with 2 T butter, sprinkle with 1/2 c sugar mixed with 2 T ground cinnamon, then 1/2 c raisins. Roll up tightly starting at narrow end, tuck ends and pinch to seal, put in greased pan seam side down. Health loaf: 1/4 c honey or molasses for sweetener 1 c wheat germ 1/2 c soy flour 1/2 c instant powdered milk sea salt instead of regular salt Be sure to reduce the white flour for each type but amount of flour you are using instead. Using the mixer you can make two loaves of bread in just over two hours. Using the bread machine you get one small loaf in 4 hours. For myself since I live alone, I use the bread machine more now but that being said, often just buy a few English muffins and eat boiled grains instead. Breading making lends itself best to a household with kids and sandwiches and family dinners. Let me know if any of this is confusing.
OMG Tina Thankssss for taking all the effort and responding with the recipes. I will get back with pics of the tried out recipe. We used to eat the store bought bread until recently. Once I tried making it at home, found the taste to be eons better. Freshly baked bread tastes soooooo good. I toast the slices on a griddle with a bit of butter. Then apply some green coriander chutney+ ketchup+ grated cheddar cheese+ cut tomatoes. Last time around, added some boiled 'n' spiced potatoes for filling. There are so many exciting foods and recipes around the world just waiting to be tried out and savoured. I am salivating now....need to go make me a sandwich... Thanks again.
I forgot to mention: when you boil potatoes save that water and use when you are making bread as it will keep it fresh longer. You are welcome for the tips. Yes grilled bread is good but do you also just toast it in the toaster? That is my favorite for breakfast with a little cheese or some cashew butter or peanut butter or jam. Or of course an egg. There is also that breakfast dish where you cut out a round on the slice of bread and grill it but you break an egg in the hole and then cook them together. I never do this but I think kids like the novelty.
Beeamma, I have used a breadmachine and krusteaz bread mix. As my DH read and mastered the instructions for the breadmachine, I never bothered to work it. Of late, we haven't bothered to bake bread at home. Tina thank you for all those bread recipes. Now, I am motivated to bring down the bakingmachine and start baking again.
Sundarusha: Be sure you adjust the quantities for those recipes for the size machine that you have. I have never used the bread mixes as I am too much a cheapskate....you can make from your own stuff much cheaper than the mix.
Tina, perhaps you'd have an answer to my query: most bread recipes from books make two 1/2 or 1 pound loaves. how does one store either the extra dough or the other baked product? will it work well if we simply half the recipe? Latha
Latha: I would not store the dough but if you only need one loaf you can half the recipe. The other option is to freeze the finished loaf you don't want to eat it in next several days. Homemade bread since it has no preservatives will mold more quickly than store breads so many keep it in the fridge during the summer. Fridge storage will dry out the bread faster than freezer storage and what some others do is to slice your finished loaf and freeze it immediately and then use the frozen slices as needed. The rationale for the big recipes is that making bread is a bit of work and best to do a lot at once. In the old days the housewife would have certain days of the week for different tasks (big tasks) and breadmaking was one of those tasks. Depending on the household size she might bake a dozen loaves for use during the week. I have somewhere a vented metal box (large) that was used for bread storage say 100 years ago...the loaves would be stacked and stored in such a container. As the week progressed the bread would be drier and drier and so you see many recipes for using drier bread in western cooking: croutons, bread pudding, bread crumbs, etc. After all that work (and money invested) bread was not wasted if at all possible. Toasting bread also revives slightly dry bread. I saw an old ad once that was quite humorous from the old Communist days in Russia: it was for a new bread reviving invention. Turned out to be a toaster. My above recipes are for the standard loaves (pre Japanese bread makers) and my guess is that they are something like 2 lb loaves. Its hard to beat the taste of homemade bread. A cup of tea and bread and butter and jam ....yum! One of my early memories is coming home from school in the winter and my grandmother would be making homemade applesauce. For my snack before dinner she would give me a slice of buttered bread with that hot applesauce on top. It sure was good!
