Bread makers help?

Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
1,060
Likes
108
Location
Monson, MA
Feedback: 5 / 0 / 0
As I have read for survival and food stuffs, you should practice what you plan to do. So, today I thought I would make bread. Nothing fancy the first time out, but I do have questions. First, here is the recipe...

Amish White Bread

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

My questions,

Step 1. I let it proof until it looked like the head on a pint of Guinness. I thought that looked right. Is it?

Step 2. I did the mixing and kneading for about 5 minute. I covered it and let it sit for an hour. It did look like it rose, but no where near double. I did a quick search on the internet. There was a site that said if the recipe has alot of sugar or the place I set it to rise is too cold it might not rise. It gave a suggestion of getting it to rise in the oven. That worked, but it took about 2 hours. My house is cool (~65 degrees). Is 2/3 cup of sugar enough to affect the rise?

At the moment it's back in the oven, in the loaf pans, rising again. I started this about 5:30pm, it's now 10:50pm. I'm in no rush, but is this normal?

Thanks
 
As I have read for survival and food stuffs, you should practice what you plan to do. So, today I thought I would make bread. Nothing fancy the first time out, but I do have questions. First, here is the recipe...



My questions,

Step 1. I let it proof until it looked like the head on a pint of Guinness. I thought that looked right. Is it?

Step 2. I did the mixing and kneading for about 5 minute. I covered it and let it sit for an hour. It did look like it rose, but no where near double. I did a quick search on the internet. There was a site that said if the recipe has alot of sugar or the place I set it to rise is too cold it might not rise. It gave a suggestion of getting it to rise in the oven. That worked, but it took about 2 hours. My house is cool (~65 degrees). Is 2/3 cup of sugar enough to affect the rise?

At the moment it's back in the oven, in the loaf pans, rising again. I started this about 5:30pm, it's now 10:50pm. I'm in no rush, but is this normal?

Thanks

Sounds like it proofed OK. I have a problem getting dough to rise in winter. It has to be warm. Even a draft can spoil the rise. Even covered, you need a warm place to rise it.

Kneading is something of an art. For most breads, 5 minutes in the stand mixer is plenty, but more time is required if I knead by hand ... as much as ten minutes. Kneading promotes the formation of gluten, which binds the dough together. I usually knead until the dough pulls cleanly away from the mixing bowl or cutting board. Under-kneaded dough may rise poorly. You don't get the bubbly pockets forming as well if the dough isn't kneaded enough.

Finally ... I don't think I've ever made a bread with that much sugar.

Hmm ... In any event, your dough took too long to rise. Did it taste OK? Sometimes you get a beery or yeasty taste.
 
Did it taste OK? Sometimes you get a beery or yeasty taste.

Wow, it's sweet. Very tasty. Not yeasty at all. Alittle heavier than store bought. It's going to make a nice toast with a little butter in the morning.

I probably didn't knead it enough. It took over an hour for the second rise. About 7 hours start to finish.

bread.jpg
 
Last edited:
This time of year I put my bread dough to rise on the back of the pellet stove. It works.[laugh] My kitchen usually isn't warm enough to have bread dough rise. It's a bit cooler than the rest of the house, but once I start cooking it heats up.
Homemade bread does not last very long here.
I am going to be trying a molasses/caraway bread.
 
Wow, it's sweet. Very tasty. Not yeasty at all. Alittle heavier than store bought. It's going to make a nice toast with a little butter in the morning.

I probably didn't knead it enough. It took over an hour for the second rise. About 7 hours start to finish.

bread.jpg

Looks good - keep working at it and soon you will get the "touch" and know whether it comes out as expected.
 
That looks like some good bread ... a little dense. I've been striving for a bread with a large crumb, like a baguette, but I can't do it. I've had a few breads come out not so good, but they make excellent HM bread crumbs.

Chech out the artisan breads (click on "Bread Scans")
 
That looks like some good bread ... a little dense. I've been striving for a bread with a large crumb, like a baguette, but I can't do it. I've had a few breads come out not so good, but they make excellent HM bread crumbs.

Chech out the artisan breads (click on "Bread Scans")
I purchased some Artisan Flour from the King Arthur Flour web site.
It makes very tasty bread. I also tried their Italian Flour for bread and a pizza dough. It gives a nice, distinct flavor. I've also made bread using regular flour and bread flour. I've had several degrees of success using each kind. You can get some good baking tips at the KA web site. I have a bread machine that I use for kneading as I have arthritis in my hands and the bread machine saves me a lot of effort. I've used the bread machine for baking as well. Artisan loaves, I always bake in the regular oven.
To the OP: Your loaves look great! A nice bowl of stew would complement the bread nicely. There's nothing like a good sandwich on homemade bread. Enjoy.
Best Regards.
 
That looks like some good bread ... a little dense. I've been striving for a bread with a large crumb, like a baguette, but I can't do it. I've had a few breads come out not so good, but they make excellent HM bread crumbs.

This is the most consistent bread recipe I use, and the bread quality is excellent with very large crumb and nice texture, similar to a baguette or ciabatta. For ultimate simplicity I have tried skipping steps 2 and 3 below, and just dumping the dough into the pot. It works fine. Make the dough on the wetter side for more crunch on the crust and larger crumb.

NO-KNEAD BREAD
New York Times, Nov. 8, 2006

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
 
This is the most consistent bread recipe I use, and the bread quality is excellent with very large crumb and nice texture, similar to a baguette or ciabatta. For ultimate simplicity I have tried skipping steps 2 and 3 below, and just dumping the dough into the pot. It works fine. Make the dough on the wetter side for more crunch on the crust and larger crumb.
I've been making this for a while now and it makes great bread. I've upped the amount of flour and water for larger loafs.

4 cups Flour
2 cups Water (room temp or colder)
1/2 teaspoon normal yeast (1/3 teaspoon instant yeast)
2 teaspoons salt (sometime 3)

I've also used one cup of whole wheat flour in place of one of the normal cups of flour

This is what most of my loafs look like (stock web images, not mine):
32.jpg


389341090_a3c6f60915.jpg


Here is the video:
NO KNEAD BREAD

Good break your teeth bread, I love it.
 
I've been making bread since about 1970, mostly in kitchens way below the temperature that recipe writers are used to. I generally don't worry too much about the how much the bread appears to rise. This attitude does not make for bread perfection, but it's all quite edible.

I do think that bread flour is well worth something extra. The percent extra is alot, but still it's only a buck or so. I've been using Gold Medal bread (or bread machine) flour, but in the last year our Stop & Shop had not had ANY bread flour on a reliable basis. I really don't understand why not.

If you are taking up breadmaking as a survival skill, you probably want to look into sour dough. Plus, my uncle (who was a great empiricist) made bread with yeast caught "from the wild", i.e. the air in his back yard.
 
About 30 years ago I used to bake bread. I'd do 3 loaves at a time. Now you gotta remember I had 5 kids. So, the minute the loaves came out of the oven there was a rush for the kitchen. Even Mom came right out to try the bread out. Well, those three loaves usually became about 1/2 of a loaf in 15 minutes. There's nothing that tastes better than fresh, hot bread right from the oven and slathered with butter. I guess I should have made 6 loaves at a time so we'd have some for later.
 
About 30 years ago I used to bake bread. I'd do 3 loaves at a time. Now you gotta remember I had 5 kids. So, the minute the loaves came out of the oven there was a rush for the kitchen. Even Mom came right out to try the bread out. Well, those three loaves usually became about 1/2 of a loaf in 15 minutes. There's nothing that tastes better than fresh, hot bread right from the oven and slathered with butter. I guess I should have made 6 loaves at a time so we'd have some for later.
[laugh] Around here it is fresh homemade bread with butter and homemade jelly.
They never last long.[laugh]
 
About 30 years ago I used to bake bread. I'd do 3 loaves at a time. Now you gotta remember I had 5 kids. So, the minute the loaves came out of the oven there was a rush for the kitchen. Even Mom came right out to try the bread out. Well, those three loaves usually became about 1/2 of a loaf in 15 minutes. There's nothing that tastes better than fresh, hot bread right from the oven and slathered with butter. I guess I should have made 6 loaves at a time so we'd have some for later.

That's a familiar story. I've got one boy who has been a bread-and-butter kid his whole life. He's waiting by the oven door for that bread to come out, and then he sits and watches it cool on the rack. The wife and me aren't much better.

The first loaf never lasts long enough to cool to room temperature. Bread and beer are surely gifts from God. [grin]
 
Whenever I try to make bread it turns out terrible. Bakin has never been my specialty. You should be proud if that pic was your first loaf.

Or maybe I'm just that bad ,lol.
 
I first tried baking our own bread about 4 years ago, and wasn't particularly satisfied with the results. It also seemed like a lot of damn work; weighing flour, starting yeast, taking temperatures, avoiding drafts. This no knead bread piqued my interest, so I gave it a shot, using the 4 cup recipe in post #9, and following directions in post #8, although I only let it rise for ~60 minutes in step 3. I also added a little extra yeast, since the packet in the fridge had a use by date of Sep 2005 [shocked] Here are the results

attachment.php
attachment.php


It looks great, has great crust, but the interior is a little on the rubbery side. Tastes fine, especially with butter, but the texture is a little off-putting. Any suggestions for the next attempt?

One step closer to being prepared for the apocalypse [wink]
 

Attachments

  • Bread_1.jpg
    Bread_1.jpg
    29.9 KB · Views: 45
  • Bread_2.jpg
    Bread_2.jpg
    24.1 KB · Views: 45
You need more water, it should be closer to 50% liquid to the dry ingred. to get a lighter, faster rising bread, Also, you need more than 65 deg., I put my oven on, set the bowl on it and cover with a damp towel because any "skin" that forms on the top of the dough will keep it from moving.
 
This is my new pet project for learning to be more self-sufficient in these odd times. Plus, who doesn't love the smell and taste of fresh bread?
I am gathering equipment/ingredients/recipes currently.
 
Practice,

Also, as Sky says, it's not like a lot of other kitchen operations. Yeast is gonna do its thing, in its own time.

MsHappy got a bread proofer last Xmas - it's an Euro design, and folds up for storage, but assembled, it's about 18 x 20 x 12. Set the temp, and it creates a micro-climate on your counter. Cuts down on the variables.

It worked well for Pandemic Sourdough, but I prefer ethnic food, so she makes white bread for me.

This is uber-simple

 
I've been looking for Bread Flour, but can only find All-Purpose in larger bags (25#, 50#) May have something to do with shortages... [rofl]

I think that even though I would prefer Bread Flour, learning how to adapt a good recipe for what is available is key.


 
Last edited:
I've been looking for Bread Flour, but can only find All-Purpose in larger bags (25#, 50#) May have something to do with shortages... [rofl]

I think that even though I would prefer Bread Flour, learning how to adapt a good recipe for what is available is key.
Call customer service at Sysco and ask for the cash account. You can buy a bag of flour for short money. King Arthur bread flour in stock.
 
Thanks Michael! I was not aware that Sysco would sell like that. I have a long history using Sysco as a food service supplier back when I cooked for a living.
Drivers were always great.

Thanks for the invaluable resource tip! [smile]
~Enbloc


1633464335631.png
 
I've been looking for Bread Flour, but can only find All-Purpose in larger bags (25#, 50#) May have something to do with shortages... [rofl]

I think that even though I would prefer Bread Flour, learning how to adapt a good recipe for what is available is key.


I almost positive you can order King Arthur bread flour on line from them directly on their website
 
I really started enjoying making my own bread starting last year with the start of covid. I found this place online:

Prepared Pantry

The only difference is that I have a bread making machine so instead of doing the kneading by hand I let the machine do it. I keep a nice supply of their bread mixes at home all the time. All of the mixes can be done by hand and they include instructions for hand making the bread.
 
Back
Top Bottom