Bread

[stickleback]

Aira, here's a link to the starter I use. It's far too long to type out! It looks fiddly - but once it's going, it lasts for years - mine is now about 6 or 7 years old!

 

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/2390/firm...r-glezer-recipe

 

 

 

 

Stickleback

[MikeV]

Thanks Alan

 

Yes did miss the butter.

I always use olive oil in the breadmaker - mosty 'cos I'm lazy and it's easier to measure a couple of tablespoonfuls into the mix than try and do the same with butter. Well marg' really. We never buy butter! //Mike

[jake_crew]

Mrs Wonderful uses the Wrights bread mixes from the supermarket 500g bags (funnily enough looks like a small brown flour bag).

 

75p a bag, a number of varieties, just add water and a little elbow grease.

 

Bobs your mothers brother.

[goldtone]

As a qualified baker I can't help butting in.....

 

Its been a while since I made bread at home, but I generally do it by hand, not in a bowl, just on a work surface. Make a well in the middle of the flour, feed the wet ingredients in until you get a dough. Then bang the buggery out of it. The deal is to turn the gluten strands elastically, once they are, you can mould. Need to prove, knock back then prove again generally to get a more developed taste. And to get a crust, put a small bowl of boiling water in the oven for the first ten minutes, then take it out, vent the oven, shut the door and finish it off.

 

I think I'l be doing that at the weekend......flatbread drizzled in olive oil, olives, tomatoes and herbs......get the kids to help me, who needs tv?!

[stickleback]

As a qualified baker I can't help butting in.....

 

. Then bang the buggery out of it. The deal is to turn the gluten strands elastically, once they are, you can mould. Need to prove, knock back then prove again generally to get a more developed taste. And to get a crust, put a small bowl of boiling water in the oven for the first ten minutes, then take it out, vent the oven, shut the door and finish it off.

 

I used to do that too - until I read Dan Lepard'sbook "The Handmade Loaf", and found that lots of bakers seem to do te stretch and fold - which I find works just as well and with a lot less effort. Link to his site

 

http://www.danlepard.com/

 

Give it a go!

 

Stickleback

[Lady Muck]

From this blog

 

I have a magical bread recipe for novices that works every time.

 

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It's so satisfying. It's just a plain white loaf, made by hand. But it works every time and it's ridiculously simple. Here is the recipe.

 

500g white strong bread flour.

7g dried yeast sachet.

1tsp salt

300ml water

3tbsp olive oil. Plus a bit extra.

 

Mix the flour, yeast and salt together in a large bowl. Pour in the water and the olive oil. Mix with wooden spoon until it's together enough to take out of the bowl.

 

Kneed on a floury surface until the dough feels elastic and sooth the the touch, and bounces back slightly when prodded. This should take about ten minutes.

 

Place in a warmish area and leave to rise until doubled in size. This should take approx one hour.

 

Knock back the dough and kneed for a minute or so. Dough will be elastic and bouncy when prodded. Mould the dough into a round-ish shape. Slather the surface with olive oil (this will give a soft, chewy crust).

 

Leave to rise for another hour or so on the tray on which you are going to put it into the oven.

 

Pre-heat oven to 220/200 fan/gas mark 7. Bake dough for 25 - 30 minutes until a nice golden colour.

 

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

 

Ta dah! Seriously, it's the weekend tomorrow, try this recipe. Your friends will be astonished at your baking prowess.

[stickleback]

Have you tried putting it in an UNHEATED oven? It's amazing - just pop in the oven, turn to full heat - and voila! 45 or so minutes later, a perfectly risen, well cooked loaf. I do this always on the boat, as it saves so much in gas.

 

Stickleback

[Lady Muck]

The easy bread recipe I do on gas mark 4, I dunno about you but my vanette oven is like a furnace. I definately don't need a breadmaker ! I also freecycled the rice cooker when I went liveaboard - after lots of trial and error I can now make perfect fluffy rice.

[Paul & Julia]

That's todays baking done...

 

 

 

 

Now to decide if I'm going to be nice enough to take some in to w!rk...

 

Jason

 

Just looked at your mail giving details of the bread recipe from UKTV/something or other. Alas page not available - any chance of talking us through it - sure looks good

[Theo]

Thanks Alan

 

Yes did miss the butter.

 

I use cooking oil, instead.

 

Nick

 

 

Have you tried putting it in an UNHEATED oven? It's amazing - just pop in the oven, turn to full heat - and voila! 45 or so minutes later, a perfectly risen, well cooked loaf. I do this always on the boat, as it saves so much in gas.

 

Stickleback

 

Ah, yes! That is the Elizabeth David way. She advises this because it allows afinal rapid rise before the heat of the oven kills the yeast. Some recipes advise putting the raw dough in an overheated oven leaving it for 20mins and then turning the temperature down. This is supposed rapidly to kill the yeast. Why you should want to do that I fail to see.

 

Nick

[SarahB]

I make my bread and the last recipe I tried was with "smashed" walnuts, fennel seeds and mixed fruit. Delicious but it didn't last long

 

Guess who's going to be baking tomorrow!

[Mick_B]

In a B&B on Achill Island i had brown bread like I've never tasted before. I asked the owner for the recipie and was but have still not tried it. (15 years later)

Maybe some one can give it a go for me. (Don't have an oven at the moment)

 

Brown bread

 

1 lb fine wheaten flour

8 oz course wheaten flour

4 oz white flour

2 teaspoons breadsoda

½ teaspoon salt

1 pint buttermilk

½ pint milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Mix dry ingredients, add liquids, fold into mixture. Bake in two loaf tins for 1 ½ hours at 180oC.

[Yoda]

Effectively brown soda bread. Will give it a try!

[carlt]

I miss my Rayburn. The oven was always at bread making temperature and the slab next to it was perfect for fermenting the wine.

 

It's ironic that I can't fit a Rayburn in the kitchen, now we're in a house but it fitted nicely, in the boat.

[Byeckerslike]

We have had a Panasonic bread maker for over 10 years (recently upgraded to make fruit breads). Not used it on the boat though. It is rated 230V 550 W. All bread makers come with their own recipe book but there are two other books (try Amazon) Electric Bread ISBN 0-9629831-7-9 and More Electric Bread ISBN 0-9629831-6-0. You dont need to use pre-mix but you do have to be accurate when measuring ingredients and use the tsp/tabsp measures they include asmost use american measures. Process time is normally 3, 4 or 5 hours depending on which bread you are making. Lakeland sell a bread improver which adds extra gluten which will lighten a wholemeal loaf if you like a lighter bread. If you can leave your inverter on overnight they normally have a timer and there is nothing nicer than the smell of fresh bread first thing in the morning. They also have a dough mode so you can make croissants, pizza bases, buns etc. finishing in the oven.

 

P

 

I too, have looked into bread making machines, and without doubt the best machines are the one made by Panasonic )

Rob