Well I have two slices toasted with homemade damson jam...Not bad but it took a bout 10min a slice to eat. My jaw is still saw.
But the horses loved it. I think they thought they were getting more Breakfast than normal cos it took them so long to chew it.
Bread maker
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
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valmarg
Hi again Nog
I think Beccy would be the most uninspiring breadmaker a-going. She seems to want you to run before you can walk.
She makes breadmaking so complicated. An amateur would want basics, rather than complication. The white bread recipe I posted was a relatively easy to make loaf.
I can only assume that her entry has been revised, insofaras she poo-pooed my method of oiling the bowl, and turning the dough in the oil, and covering the bowl with clingfilm), as opposed to squirting the dough with water, while the dough was allowed to rise.
She stated that 'if a crust formed on the dough, spray it with water, etc. The information I have is that if you have a dry crust on your dough, what you also have is dead yeast.
I am most certainly not an expert when it comes to making bread.
One thing I am is a very enthusiastic amateur.
If you read Elizabeth David's "English Bread and Yeast Cookery" you would find that the only ingredients needed for a loaf of bread are, flour, salt, yeast and water. Having made a loaf to this recipe, I found it a bit bland, and did not keep well.
The addition of butter/cream/milk, to a loaf helps its keeping qualities.
As stated above, I am an enthusiastic amateur when it comes to breadmaking.
If it works for you keep doing it!
valmarg
I think Beccy would be the most uninspiring breadmaker a-going. She seems to want you to run before you can walk.
She makes breadmaking so complicated. An amateur would want basics, rather than complication. The white bread recipe I posted was a relatively easy to make loaf.
I can only assume that her entry has been revised, insofaras she poo-pooed my method of oiling the bowl, and turning the dough in the oil, and covering the bowl with clingfilm), as opposed to squirting the dough with water, while the dough was allowed to rise.
She stated that 'if a crust formed on the dough, spray it with water, etc. The information I have is that if you have a dry crust on your dough, what you also have is dead yeast.
I am most certainly not an expert when it comes to making bread.
One thing I am is a very enthusiastic amateur.
If you read Elizabeth David's "English Bread and Yeast Cookery" you would find that the only ingredients needed for a loaf of bread are, flour, salt, yeast and water. Having made a loaf to this recipe, I found it a bit bland, and did not keep well.
The addition of butter/cream/milk, to a loaf helps its keeping qualities.
As stated above, I am an enthusiastic amateur when it comes to breadmaking.
If it works for you keep doing it!
valmarg
Well Valmarg, that is what I would call an example of unnecessary sniping.
If you want credentials I have inspired at least a dozen people that I know of to take up bread making, most of whom have made it part of their routine, some for a weekly treat, others providing all their own bread. And most of my early inspiration came from Elizabeth Davids book. But I guess if you found her bread bland you wouldn't like mine as I use about half the salt she did. However I do think her methods allow the full flavour of the flours to come through. I did not 'poo-poo' your method, I merely described mine, which after trying various methods I find easiest. In general I do not find I have a problem with the skin of the dough drying out, probably a function of a slow rise in a cool place. If dry yeast was dead you couldn't reconstitute and use dried yeast.
I am not trying to make bread making complicated, far from it, it is one of those areas in which people are often put off by over prescriptive recipes, when actually you can do it lots of different ways. The worst that will happen is you have extra bird (or horse) food. The ingredients do not have to be expensive and if you pop something like a rice pudding to cook in the bottom of the oven you can even defray the cost of the gas.
The point is that there are a lot of different ways of making bread, which produce a lot of different kinds of bread. Nog and anyone else interested should experiment until they find what suits them.
ps To illustrate, one of the best things I do for my OH is make crusty white bread, remove the crusts (so I can make a summer pudding or whatever) and give the crusts to him!
If you want credentials I have inspired at least a dozen people that I know of to take up bread making, most of whom have made it part of their routine, some for a weekly treat, others providing all their own bread. And most of my early inspiration came from Elizabeth Davids book. But I guess if you found her bread bland you wouldn't like mine as I use about half the salt she did. However I do think her methods allow the full flavour of the flours to come through. I did not 'poo-poo' your method, I merely described mine, which after trying various methods I find easiest. In general I do not find I have a problem with the skin of the dough drying out, probably a function of a slow rise in a cool place. If dry yeast was dead you couldn't reconstitute and use dried yeast.
I am not trying to make bread making complicated, far from it, it is one of those areas in which people are often put off by over prescriptive recipes, when actually you can do it lots of different ways. The worst that will happen is you have extra bird (or horse) food. The ingredients do not have to be expensive and if you pop something like a rice pudding to cook in the bottom of the oven you can even defray the cost of the gas.
The point is that there are a lot of different ways of making bread, which produce a lot of different kinds of bread. Nog and anyone else interested should experiment until they find what suits them.
ps To illustrate, one of the best things I do for my OH is make crusty white bread, remove the crusts (so I can make a summer pudding or whatever) and give the crusts to him!
Hello all, I'm new to this forum and to Kitchen Garden (at the mo we don't even have a garden but that is soon to change).
My partner & I love our bread machine and he also makes his own bread by hand. They're both very good and we chuck all sorts of stuff in there to see what will happen. I prefer the breadmaker because our cats find it harder to get into than the bowl near the radiator....
Our current favourites are Marmite bread - if anybody would like a recipe I'm only too happy to pass it on. Putting chilli oil in is also lovely and different types of seeds e.g. hemp and sunflower make for very tasty loaves. Also coarsley ground black pepper.
The bread machine was bought as a novelty 'the latest thing' gift but we use it regularly and haven't bought a sliced loaf for about a year now. We don't even like supermarket/bakery crusty loaves anymore. Also use it to make pasta dough and pizza dough!
My partner & I love our bread machine and he also makes his own bread by hand. They're both very good and we chuck all sorts of stuff in there to see what will happen. I prefer the breadmaker because our cats find it harder to get into than the bowl near the radiator....
Our current favourites are Marmite bread - if anybody would like a recipe I'm only too happy to pass it on. Putting chilli oil in is also lovely and different types of seeds e.g. hemp and sunflower make for very tasty loaves. Also coarsley ground black pepper.
The bread machine was bought as a novelty 'the latest thing' gift but we use it regularly and haven't bought a sliced loaf for about a year now. We don't even like supermarket/bakery crusty loaves anymore. Also use it to make pasta dough and pizza dough!
Welcome Franksmum. Don't be deterred by the altercation above - it's a rare occurrence. I'm sure lots of people would like to see the recipe posted.
I started breadmaking using a machine but now my husband bakes it all by hand and constantly adds to his repertoire. He finds it quicker to make without the machine and the crust is better cooked in an oven. He doesn't use the fan oven though - only the standard one, and he has a slab of granite on the shelf and the tins/trays go onto that (for a better bottom crust!),
Friends have started asking him to provide breads for them and he always makes a selection for our Village Hall "do's".
He's always looking for new recipes, which he tries out to the letter first time, then makes adjustments. His favourite bakers are Paul Hollywood and Dan Lepard, both of whom have written excellent books.
The only problem is - it's too nice to refuse and my waistline is already bigger than it should be!
I started breadmaking using a machine but now my husband bakes it all by hand and constantly adds to his repertoire. He finds it quicker to make without the machine and the crust is better cooked in an oven. He doesn't use the fan oven though - only the standard one, and he has a slab of granite on the shelf and the tins/trays go onto that (for a better bottom crust!),
Friends have started asking him to provide breads for them and he always makes a selection for our Village Hall "do's".
He's always looking for new recipes, which he tries out to the letter first time, then makes adjustments. His favourite bakers are Paul Hollywood and Dan Lepard, both of whom have written excellent books.
The only problem is - it's too nice to refuse and my waistline is already bigger than it should be!
Hello Tigger
Like your husband we've found the crust on bread machine loaves can be a bit too soft, especially on a white. What I do is to pop it into a hot oven at gas mk 6 (electric ?°)for about 10 minutes immediately it comes out of the machine so as to get a really good old-fashioned crust on it.
John
Like your husband we've found the crust on bread machine loaves can be a bit too soft, especially on a white. What I do is to pop it into a hot oven at gas mk 6 (electric ?°)for about 10 minutes immediately it comes out of the machine so as to get a really good old-fashioned crust on it.
John
Interestingly my new range (electric) has the heating elements from the top and bottom of the oven and the loaves produced in it are markedly different to my old oven with heating from both sides. I get a better crust top and bottom which I suppose to a degree is logical? The new oven is 23" wide and I can make French Bread by baking diagonally and since somebody brought me a 25Kg pack of flour back from France I have been having a field-day.
JB.
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oldherbaceous
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Johnboy it must be torture for all your neighbous, with the smell of that gorgeous bread cooking, i don't think there is a nicer smell than freshly baked bread. Keep on baking.
Kind regards a drooling Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
Kind regards a drooling Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
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Guest
According to a TV programme I saw commercial french sticks are made in special ovens that have steam put into them during the cooking. This may well be the important key to getting really crusty bread. I have a recipe for a flat 'checkered' loaf that has the oven very hot and then demands you spray the bread with water three times while it's baking. It does end up being very crusty.
Hi Tigger,
I couldn't really explain why they turn out rather authentic but I suspect there is French Flour and French Flour. I was making a Lemon Merangue Pie for my grandson at the same time and bunged in the egg yolks in with the liquid but that they didnt seem to taste that much different to the previous ones.
I use butter as the fat content and they are baked at high temperature. I actually bought some Baggettes a couple of weeks ago supposedly made with genuine French Dough and I really though mine were better than those. I spent a year in France on my work placement from Uni back in the 70's and very sadly missed the bread when I came home.
Sadly I have now used all the flour up or I would send you some.
I couldn't really explain why they turn out rather authentic but I suspect there is French Flour and French Flour. I was making a Lemon Merangue Pie for my grandson at the same time and bunged in the egg yolks in with the liquid but that they didnt seem to taste that much different to the previous ones.
I use butter as the fat content and they are baked at high temperature. I actually bought some Baggettes a couple of weeks ago supposedly made with genuine French Dough and I really though mine were better than those. I spent a year in France on my work placement from Uni back in the 70's and very sadly missed the bread when I came home.
Sadly I have now used all the flour up or I would send you some.
JB.