Anyone here bake their own bread? Was flicking through my recipe books last night and thought I’d give it a try.
Guess I’ll start with something simple then move onto more interesting things. Any of you got a good recipe for something in a nutty variety*?
*And I don’t mean peanut butter! But going on the cooking tips thread I expect a load of suggestions involving the vile stuff.
are you doing it the old fashioned way, or planning on using some sort of bread machine?
Mrs. CHasR bakes bread all the time, but with the machine.
I do my own bread.
You might like this recipe for a seeded plait.
2 lbs Wholemeal flour
2 lbs White flour
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 Pint milk
4 tablespoons of honey (or 4 tablespoons soft brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon salt
3 ounces butter
4-8 ounces of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds and sesame seeds, according to taste.
Warm the milk to hand heat while you cream the butter into the flour.
Add the honey (or sugar) to the creamed flour. Add the dried yeast to the milk and leave it to quicken for five minutes. As this is happening beat the eggs gently and add to the flour. Add the salt. When the yeast has floated to the top of the milk and is bubbling, add the yeasty milk to the flour mixture, and add the seeds. Knead it until you have a smooth dough.
Place the dough in a warm bowl, gently oil the surface of the dough-ball (so it won’t dry out so quickly) and leave in a warm place for about an hour. My airing cupboard is perfect for this.
After the first rising, knock it back (knead it again, but not so vigorously)
and divide the dough-ball in two. Make three strands of dough from each smaller ball and plait them. Three strands to a plait, so two loaves of three strands. Place each loaf on a greased baking tray and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour again.
You may like to glaze the loaves before putting them in the oven. You can use egg-white, or milk, or water with a little sugar, or whole egg. I tend to use whole egg, as I can never work out what to do with the yolk. Use a pastry-brush to cover the surface and sides of the loaves. Sprinkle the top with poppy-seeds or sesame seeds.
Place the trays in a medium oven (200 C /regulo 6) for twenty minutes. When that time is up, switch the trays top and bottom (if your oven is anything like mine). Cook at the same temperature for another fifteen to twenty minutes. The bread should come away from the tray without effort. I say “should”. Cool the bread on wire racks. If you like a soft crust, cover the bread with a dry tea-towel as it cools, but leave it to the air for a hard crust.
Apply butter and eat.
My wife makes bread using a recipe. I usually get about half the way through recipe and start adding what ever comes to mind. Finer ingredients like corn flour, rhy flour, etc. I’ll simply replace up to a third of the bread flour. Sesame seeds, millet, quinoa, flax, rolled oats and other medium sized additions will be added perhaps up to a half cup. Veggies and fruit like onions raisins, hot peppers are adjusted by how much moisture they add (it’s kind of hit and miss). I rarely add spices, but rosemary, cinnamon and other spices can really change a loaf of bread.
Flat bread, made with just yeast, flour and water is usually thrown together to raise Before going to work on days that we are having kebab for dinner.
One bread that my wife makes from time to time is dill bread, especially when Dill is in season. Oatmeal/mollasses bread is also a nice treat.
This is similar to the dill bread that my wife makes.
Dill Bread.
I’ll look up the recipes later.
Been baking bread by hand for years.
I teach classes at church called - “Anyone Can Bake Bread.”
'Cause if I can, then anyone can 
Here is Master Baker Peter Reinhart’s recipe for Struan:
Enjoy!
pastorkeith
STRUAN
Makes 1 loaf
2 1/2 cups high-gluten bread flour (unbleached, if possible, available at most natural food stores and also in supermarkets, where it is labeled bread flour)
3 tablespoons uncooked polenta (coarse cornmeal)
3 tablespoons rolled oats (or instant oats)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons wheat bran (untoasted if possible)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 1/4 tablespoons active dry yeast dissolved in 4 tablespoons warm water)
3 tablespoons cooked brown rice (this is a small amount – you can make some and freeze the rest for use in your next loaf or make the bread when you have some leftover rice or just omit)
1 1/2 tablespoons honey (non stick spray on your measuring spoon makes the honey slide right off!)
1/3 cup buttermilk (low-fat or whole milk can be substituted)
Approximately 3/4 cup water (room temperature)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional; for the top)
Mixing
Mix all the ingredients, including the salt and yeast, in a large bowl, stirring to distribute. Add the cooked rice, honey and buttermilk, and mix. Then add 1/2 cup of water, reserving the rest for adjustments during kneading. With your hands squeeze the ingredients together until they make a ball, adding more water as needed, until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the dough ball. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and turn the ball out of the bowl and begin kneading. Add additional water or flour as needed.
Kneading by Hand
It will take about 10 to 15 minutes to knead by hand. The dough will change before your eyes, lightening in color, becoming gradually more elastic and evenly grained. The finished dough should be tacky but not sticky, lightly golden, stretchy and elastic rather than porridge-like. When you push the heels of your hands into the dough, it should give way but not tear. If it flakes or crumbles, add a little more water; if it is sticky, sprinkle in more flour.
Fermentation
Clean out and dry the mixing bowl. Wipe the inside of the bowl with a little oil, or mist with vegetable oil pan spray. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap or place the bowl in a plastic bag. Allow the dough to ferment in a warm place for about 90 minutes, or until it has roughly doubled in size (it may take a shorter or longer time, depending on the temperature).
Forming the Loaf
This recipe makes 1 regular-size loaf of bread (about 1 1/2 pounds finished weight). Because the dough is relaxed and supple, and already scaled for one loaf, it can be shaped without first rounding and resting.
Shape the dough into a loaf by pressing it out from the center with the heels of the hands, gently flattening it into a rough rectangle and punching it down, degassing it. Then roll the dough up into a cigar shape, and a seam forms. Tuck the end flaps into the seam, and pinch the seam closed with either your fingers or the edge of your hand, sealing it as best you can. Place the loaf, seam side down, in a greased 9” by 4 1/2” bread pan. Spray the top with water and sprinkle on the poppy seeds. Cover and allow the dough to proof until it crests over the top of the pan, approximately 90 minutes.
Baking and Cooling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (300 degrees if convection). Bake the loaf for approximately 45 to 55 minutes. The loaf should dome nicely and be dark gold. The sides and bottom should be a uniform light golden brown and there should be an audible thwack (or thunk) when you tap the bottom of the loaf. An insta-read thermometer should read 190 degree. If the loaf is dark on the top but too light or soft on the sides and bottom, return the loaf, not in the pan, to the oven, and finish baking it for a few minutes more, until it is thwackable. Bear in mind that the bread will cook much faster once it is removed from the pan, so keep a close eye on it.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack thoroughly, at least 40 minutes, before slicing it.
This is the bread that we serve for communion each week.
I have been baking it for 10 years and it is the most requested bread for bake sales, gifts, etc.
Enjoy!
pastorkeith
OATMEAL WHEAT BREAD
Makes Two Loaves
Combine in a large bowl:
1 cup quick cooking oats ½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup brown sugar 1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons Margarine
Pour 2 cups of boiling water over mixture
Dissolve
1 packet of active dry yeast (not fast rising active dry yeast) in
½ cup of warm (not hot!) water (90 -110 degrees)
When batter is cooled to lukewarm (<115 degrees)
Stir in yeast.
Stir in 5 cups of flour (bread flour or unbleached all purpose)
When dough is stiff enough to handle turned onto floured board and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Dough should be tacky and smooth, not sticky. If too sticky knead in more flour.
Place into a bowl greased with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (about 2 hours).
After the dough doubles, remove it from the container and Divide dough into two pieces. Shape into two loaves by flattening each into a rectangle and rolling it up into a tight cylinder using the short side than sealing the edge by pinching with your fingers or the edge of your hand and place into two greased (with cooking spray) 9x5x3in bread pans. After placing into the greased bread pans, spray the top of the loaf lightly with cooking spray and Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise until they crest the top of bread pan by one inch. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. When dough has crested pans carefully remove plastic wrap and place pans in center of oven.
Bake for 30-40 minutes - my oven takes 34 minutes – the loaves should read 185-190 degrees internally with an instant read thermometer placed into the loaf.
Remove loaves carefully fro the bread pans and Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes (resist the temptation to cut into them early. They are still cooking as they cool).
I have no machine and don’t intend to buy one or any fancy tins or anything (cupboards are full of kitchenware enough). I’m just going to use my oven and the flat trays I already have.
I love baking bread. We have a machine, which doesn’t make great bread but it makes freshly baked pretty decent bread which is still better than most store bought.
One of my favorite non machine breads is Cuban. pretty simple and good.
BTW Chris, 1 cup of Flour in an American Recipe is equal to about 1/4 lb of wholemeal flour, or 1/6 lb of white flour. In my experience. Also, a cup = 1 UK Mug = 1/2 UK Pint. Approximate, but workable.
If you do not have a loaf pan the Dill bread is a bit too soft for leaving on a sheet. The molasses bread would be great though (if you like molasses).
Makes 2 loaves
Oatmeal molasses bread
In 1 1/2c (~3.5dl) Water cook 1c (~2.5dl) cut or rolled oats with 1 tablespoon (15ml) butter. Cook it like you would breakfast.
Let it cool. If it feels hot dropped on the wrist, it is too hot.
Mix 1/4 C (~0.6dl) warm water with yeast (about two to three tablespoons or 30-45 ml), and a pinch of sugar. Let it rest for around five minutes.
Mix the two well, and slowly add as much flour until it is moist, but not sticky. (~3 1/2-4c or ~7-10dl)
Kneed, pushing almost parallel to the board fore 10+ minutes until smooth ant elastic.
Place in a bowl and let rise until twice it’s volume.
Split dough into two, and kneed into balls. Let them rest for 30 minutes and form into two round loaves. Grease a cooking sheet, and when the loaves have rested form them into 2 round loaves of bread (place any seams on the bottom), loosely cover with greased plastic wrap, and let them double in volume~1 hour.
Heat the oven to 375F (191C)for 40-45 minutes.
Sorry if the conversions are really rough.
This is why we never went metric. It was impossible. Everyone HAD “one cup” measures–lots of them–but nobody had “1/2 pint” measures.
I’m afraid to ask what you use for tablespoons.
Hi
Metric pints?
Regards,
Owen Morgan
Yacht Magic
Anchored in the lagoon, St Maarten
My new blog.
Click here for my latest reported position. (Use the satellite view.)
All I can tell you is that a UK tablespoon does not contain the same volume as a US tablespoon. I’m not sure which way Canada goes, but I suspect they use the US tablespoon. I once went through absolutely every recipe unit I could think of, for the differences between US & UK.
The tablespoon was the point at which I gave up.
It was a delight when I found that a normal UK Mug for tea or coffee contained a half-pint, and was more or less equivalent to an American cup.
But here comes the killer. An equally useful measurement to me is the Chinese teacup: 400ml. That’s what I use for measuring out my porridge.
PastorKeith’s oat-bread recipe looks good. I do two different oat-bread recipes. One is a spoon bread. My wife likes it, but it’s too sweet for my taste. The only problem with oat-bread is it tends to be crumbly.
I haven’t the foggiest what molasses is/are.
Cheers for the recipes folks, keep em coming!
Do I need to go out and buy unsalted cooking butter/margerine or can I just use the normal olive oil margerine I usually buy?
Sorry, I believe in the UK it may be called treacle. It is a thick syrup by-product from the processing of the sugarcane.
I occasionally make my own bread but nobody’s annoyed me lately so I haven’t felt the need to do some serious kneading.
Tablespoon= UK 15 ml, US14.79 ml, Australia 20 ml. I think that we have a spoon set that is based on the 15 ml standards (so it is not uncommon in the US to use the UK standard) and cannot say that I have seen much of a difference in that ~1.4% difference.
I usually omit salt from all of my recipes and always buy unsalted butter. Most recipes do not specify, and most people buy salted butter, It doesn’t make any real difference that I can tell. In theory, adding a bit of salt to the water while the yeast is being dissolved helps the yeast, but I have not noticed any real difference in how it raises.
Test it by using it to fry something. If it fizzles away to nothing and leaves a funny deposit in the pan, then use something else. If it fries fine, then use it without a qualm. If whatever you’ve fried tastes funny, then maybe not, but it’s up to you.
PastorKeith specifies margarine. I’d always use butter, given a choice. And the small amount of salt used in salted butter makes very little difference to a bread recipe.
Molasses means syrup. Heavy Molasses means treacle.
Thanks for the units ID. They may assist someone else. I’ve made my own enquiries, and come to my own conclusions. Recipes are guidelines, not rules, and recipes in foreign units must be interpreted with some imagination.
You all know about the no-knead technique that Mark Bittman wrote about last year in the New York Times, right? You use a very wet dough and a minimal amount of yeast, and give it a very long first rise. The yeast do all the gluten development for you. The results are all out of proportion to the amount of effort involved; you could almost make it by accident. It does take some of the fun out of breadmaking, though. Article here, recipe here.
Not bread, but I make the best veggie pakoras and samosas I’ve ever encountered - especially the pakoras, if I do say so meself.
I should have a go at bread too. I love bread.
The wife swears that the cultivation and preparation of the potato is the pinnacle of human achievement. I reckon it is bread (and pakoras, obviously).
We agree to differ, but actually I am right and Mrs Buddhu is, on this one occasion, mistaken.
Please don’t tell her I said that.