I like baking bread, with my bare hands, and an oven that is. I like the texture and smell of the dough to much to let a machine have that fun.
Bread with curraway seed is very nice, I think. Just take the amounts of yeast, flour etc as usual, and a two tablespoons of the seeds. You could enhance the flavour by replacing a handfull of flour with oatmeal.
Garlic, olives and olive oil are nice too to put in the bread. You have to find out for yourself wich amounts you like.
Just use all your imagination. Tomato's are possible too. Just try.
I enjoy baking bread. I don't make loaves in the summer because I prefer not using the oven when it is hot, so summer bread tends to be biscuits. I don't use a bread machine either. I like handling the dough .... and I like eating the dough. Definitely a dough eater. Sometimes I mix just a small bit of dough just to eat.
Yes, the salty taste. mmmm
I never use scales or so. Just mix the amounts I think are OK. The texture and taste of the dough tell me if I did it right.
I'm getting hungry,
There's a bit left of my last loaf, with raisins, lemonzest, cinnamon, AND Almondpaste (Bargain only 20 ct's, I could not resist)
So I'm going to have a slice of it, with some butter....
I also like to make tortillas but they are difficult. I can never seem to roll out the dough in a round shape even though I have a tortilla press. I am not too good at cooking them either.
I make flour tortillas, as I find the preservatives in the commercial product really foul. Corn tortillas are another story. Proper masa isn't available locally, and masa harina just doesn't work for me (I suppose I should get a metate and do the job right).
I never worry about getting them round, just really, really thin, so they puff up nicely and remain flexible. I've found that the best tool for the job is a plain old narrow rolling pin. I just took a 1" hardwood dowel, cut it to length, sanded it well, and finished with a food-safe varnish.
I don't make loaves in the summer because I prefer not using the oven when it is hot, so summer bread tends to be biscuits.
I probably haven't bought a loaf of bread in over two years. I have a nice, big countertop oven and just bake single loaves (easy if you purchase bulk yeast) summer and winter. Of course, it's just me, so one loaf every few days is plenty.
As executor of mum's estate I simply requisitioned her Regal breadmaker.
I bake bread around the holidays but maybe I'll do it more often.
Mix yeast into dough, let yeast convert sugar to ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and carbon dioxide, after dough rises, bake bread to remove ethyl alcohol (boils at 79 degrees Centigrade, water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade, you're baking it even higher than that), and when you get a nice brown crust, remove and let cool. Makes one loaf leavened bread.
Proper masa isn't available locally, and masa harina just doesn't work for me
The reason for that is because probably because proper masa contains lard
A good suggestion is one part lard to every eight parts masa harina. Mix it up briefly in a food processor until just thoroughly combined, and be sure to add a little salt.
when i was on the GFCF diet my mum used to make her own bread she tried to make herby bread and the herbs all sunk to the bottom of the bread lol!
could be how she made it.
i found putting a tray filled with ice under the bread while its baking helps make the bread lighter and more soft because it steams it.
Does anyone know how to substitute one type of yeast for another? Specifically, how much fresh yeast is equivalent to a packet of "easy blend" dried yeast?
The standard U.S. measure is 3/5 oz. av. (17g) compressed fresh yeast per cake. This substitutes for about a tablespoon (15ml), or one packet, of active dry yeast. There's also liquid yeast, but it's not generally available from U.S. retailers, so I don't know much about it.
I've been making some bread with bread mixes. It's a packet that contains all the flour and yeast in appropriate proportions, so you don't have to faff about with weighing scales, and you simply add a measured portion of warm water.
I find the kneading quite calming and therapeutic. I take the mixing bowl into the sitting room and knead while watching television.
And the smell of freshly baked bread oozing through my home... mmmmmmm... lovely...
I usually use a simple bread recipe when I make it.
Water, Unbleached White Flour, Sugar, Salt, Yeast.
Salt will retard the yeast. Sugar, obviously feeds it. I have also substituted Malta Goya in place of part of the water and sugar needed, this will produce a brownish malt flavored bread.
I have also substituted Semolina Flour, and sometimes Whole wheat flour for the white flour.
If making Rye bread, I use a lot of Rye flour, plus also use Malta Goya inplace of some of the flour and sugar. --I also add Caraway seeds.
When making it, I first pour warm water, (or the malt drink mixture and warm water) into a bwol, then add the sugar and salt, and stir until these are dissolved. Then I add the yeast and stir until it is dissolved, and let the mixture sit for 15/30 minutes, then I start adding the flour, a few cups at first and stir this with a whisk, until the dough is of a runny paste consistency. Then I mix by hand adding flour gradually until a proper doughy consistancy has been reached. I covera bread board with flour to prevent sticking, and then I knead this some more to develop the gluten.
I wash and dry the large mixing bowl that I started the process with, oil it slightly, and put the ball of dough in it, then cover it with plastic wrap and a heavy towel, and put the bowl in a fairly warm spot, usually on to of the heating oven, and let the mexture rise for 45 min/ to an hour.
After the dough has risen, I punch it down, and form it into either one or two long loaves, place them on a grease cookie sheet and bake them for 45 Min at 325.
Another thing that I have done, is to let the dough 'cold rise' for several of days in the refrigerator. When I do this, I let the dough reach room temperature before using, then punch the dough down and let it rise a second time before baking.
The extended cold rising will change the texture of the bread, as well as the flavor, as the yeast has been able to metabolise more of the sugars into alcohol.
Interesting that the recipe specifies "all-purpose or bread flour" - that seems contradictory, as by definition bread flour is only designed for that purpose. I'm assuming this is the same as what's called "strong flour" in the UK.
I don't know what "strong flour" is, however, bread flour in the US usually contains a high percentage of hard winter wheat and barley, while 'All Purpose' flour cantains a greater percentage of soft wheat. Cake Flour, OTOH, has a high percentage of soft wheat.
I can't have gluten and the only gluten free bread I really like is from a shop where I live that makes it fresh every day.
I'd really like to find a good recipe for gluten free bread and have a go at making my own.
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Salt will retard the yeast. Sugar, obviously feeds it. I have also substituted Malta Goya in place of part of the water and sugar needed, this will produce a brownish malt flavored bread.
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When making it, I first pour warm water, (or the malt drink mixture and warm water) into a bwol, then add the sugar and salt, and stir until these are dissolved. Then I add the yeast and stir until it is dissolved, and let the mixture sit for 15/30 minutes, then I start adding the flour, a few cups at first and stir this with a whisk, until the dough is of a runny paste consistency. Then I mix by hand adding flour gradually until a proper doughy consistancy has been reached. I covera bread board with flour to prevent sticking, and then I knead this some more to develop the gluten.
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Because of salt retarding the yeast and sugar feeding it I mix the salt with the flour and only put sugar an yeast in the warm water. The salt will be 'diluted' by the flour when it comes into contact with the yeast. And the yeast can feed on the sugar without the salt interfering.
Could using a metal bowl affect yeast growth? I usually try to use glass or plastic bowls to mix and rise the dough. Some bread ingredients can react with the metal and the taste will be affected.
I've always used stainless steel which to my knowlege imparts no flavors as it is nonreactant. Furthermore, the mixing crucibles used in commercial bakeries are also made from stainless steel.