Bread Baking...

[Stephen]

Yes. I bake bread. My family buys no bread from the store. Every week I make about 15 mini loaves of bread...we eat a ton...and I usually end up giving some out in an attempt to be charitable. I recently had a lady ask if she could buy bread from me every week!

I have picked up a library of bread baking books from thrift stores...and there is one that stands supreme over them all....it is....

BREAD WINNERS! Man I love that book. It has breads from all cultures...and it tells a story of the people who bake them. It may sound lame...but it is so interesting! It is a pleasure to read...and really excites a person to get trying the process out. It is great for beginners or experienced people.

Here it is...crazy cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Winners-Sup ... 167&sr=1-1

[ROB GIBBSEN]

yum yum yum........bread

[p51-mustang]

we make it in our zojirushi bread maker, nothing simpler and cheap too!

[Proud 2b Peculiar]

My husband loves to bake bread too. I book marked that book so that sometime I can get it for him.

[Stephen]

mustang...you're missing out on the joy of hand kneading! I like getting back to basics...and punching the dough! Still...at least you're making it...even if it is mechanically helped.

Charity...that is good to hear. It makes sense with your husbands close ties to wheat...that he would bake bread!

[tick]

I too enjoy the homemade bread. Interesting thing is when you make bread there is some 4 or 5 odd ingredients used. Ever read the ingredients in store bought? more like 30 or so ingredients(many of which i can't pronounce).

And yea, pounding the dough can definitely relieve some stress!

[ChelC]

I'll have to check it out. The hand kneading is a stress reliever, I love it. In fact I'm so obnoxious about my love for it that my hubby rolls his eyes at me when I make him feel how fabulous the texture of the dough is, which I do constantly. I do have a bread machine that I use in July and August when I can't take turning on the oven, and I feel so dejected when I take out that square loaf with a big hole in the bottom.

I've tried lots of recipes and my favorite is still one from an old ward cookbook in the bake sale days, called "Building Fund Bread" it's basically a light wheat bread, and nothing beats it with butter and honey.

[ChelC]

Crazy cheap was right! I just ordered it. I'm always on a baking frenzy in the fall anyway. This will not help one bit!

You've got me thinking about bread now and I just recalled a sourdough that I haven't made in ages. Time to get a starter going.

2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups of starter
2 tsp. salt
4 - 5 cups bread flour

I like mine with an uneven texture so after the dough is prepared and well kneaded I place it in a floured bowl, cover it with plastic and let it rise. When it's risen, I dump it onto a lined sheet or stone sprinkled with cornmeal and slash diamonds into the top and let it rest just long enough to preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with a pan of water inside. 15 minutes into baking, drop the temperature down to 350 until it's done.

Building Fund Bread
5 cups warm water
5 tsp. yeast
1 cup brown sugar
6 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp. salt
6 cups whole wheat flour
6 cups white flour (I use bread flour, but it turns out fine with all purpose)

You know the rest. 350 degrees. This makes 4 good sized loaves.

[tick]

Building Fund Bread
5 cups warm water
5 tsp. yeast
1 cup brown sugar
6 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp. salt
6 cups whole wheat flour
6 cups white flour (I use bread flour, but it turns out fine with all purpose)

You know the rest. 350 degrees. This makes 4 good sized loaves.

Thanks - I'll give it a try. Sounds good.

We just got a bread maker two days ago, its the only way I can get my wife to bake bread... So I have still not experienced an odd, ugly shaped loaf with a hole in the bottom...

[Stephen]

Great job ordering the book Chelc. I can't imagine you being disappointed.

I'll have to try out the recipe you use.

Here is one that I developed that I make for the Preschool...

Helping Hands Bread


I triple this recipe every time I make it. I like to use small loaf pans. They are a good size for preschoolers, they fit nicely into a toaster, and they bake quicker than big loaves! I have tried a variety of seeds mixed into the bread…and many of the kids will sit there and pick them out! I have found that the flax seeds are small enough where they don’t even try…or they have gotten used to them.

2 1/2 cups warm water (not too hot)
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3 cups wheat flour
3 cups unbleached white flour
1 stick softened butter
Dash of healthy oil (optional…I use flax)
Flax seed (optional)
1 teaspoon salt

1. Fill large mixing bowl with warm water. Stir in honey, brown sugar, and yeast. Wait for it to get foamy. I place it in the sink with warm water underneath.
2. Stir in rolled oats and half of the flour. Let sit for about 45 minutes to rise. Should double in size.
3. Stir in the remaining flour, salt, softened butter, and optional ingredients. Knead roughly….seriously…punch it…whack it…slap it! Do this for about 7 minutes until dough is no longer wet but smooth. This may take adding several more cups of flour depending on how much flax oil was put in…humidity…etc.
4. Punch down and shape into rolls or loaves and allow it to double in size again before baking. At this point…if you have the time…the other option is to let it rise again. I put it in one big ball back into the big mixing bowl in the sink with warm water.)
5. Bake at 375 until brown and crusty on top.
6. If the bread gets too brown on top and they are not cooked all the way through…place tin foil on top.
7. Allow for them to cool on drying racks then store.

[ChelC]

That sounds good. I do like oats in bread so I'll have to try it out. Also, I'm sure you could sub honey for the brown sugar in the recipe I posted and it would turn out great that way too. I never thought of flaxseed, do you toast or grind it or just put them in whole and raw?

You'll have to let me know the favorites from the book, it shipped today so I'm anxiously awaiting it. I made the building fund bread last night after I put the kids to bed early... too much nervous energy with my husband out of town. Today is his birthday!

Now if I can just find some more egg recipes... I've been giving a lot of our eggs away, we can't keep up with our hens. I wanted extra to give away, but we're getting about 3 1/2 dozen a week and only about half are laying yet.