Making bread

[bowten]

Still up I see.

[bizzard]

Still up I see.

Yes, been ashore for a loaf.

[by'eck]

Does anyone make bread? I do, although cheat by using a bread machine! Anyway, I have always struggled to make a light multigrain loaf. They taste good but are heavy! They also don't keep well. So I recently tried a flour improver - its just Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) diluted in some flour (since only a tiny amount of Vit C is required. What a difference - my brown / wholemeal / multigrain loaves are now light as a feather (and of course much bigger!). And they seem to keep much better. I would recommend anyone to try it.

 

Just seen the thread. Yes have the same issue although no problem with white loaf bread mix.

 

Thanks for the tip will look out for some.

[rubblequeen]

Is bread making a male thing? All the threads are signed as "male" apart from one who only wanted to call by and pick up a loaf. And yes I make the bread in our house, thanks for the tips certainly take them on board, literally. But how do I stop my wife from pouncing on it as soon as it's made, wouldn't mind but she can't slice bread and it ends up as a squashed mess. I'm not allowed to slice it as she says my hands are always covered in oil - can't see that matters as we always have brown bread.

Oh the trials of life

[Grace and Favour]

Is bread making a male thing? All the threads are signed as "male" apart from one who only wanted to call by and pick up a loaf. And yes I make the bread in our house, thanks for the tips certainly take them on board, literally. But how do I stop my wife from pouncing on it as soon as it's made, wouldn't mind but she can't slice bread and it ends up as a squashed mess. I'm not allowed to slice it as she says my hands are always covered in oil - can't see that matters as we always have brown bread.

Oh the trials of life

 

You could always start making Pumpernickel - (a really dark German Rye bread) - she could never ever tell if you'd used oily hands on that!!

 

(and I've noticed that the majority of lasses don't cut the bread straight either - it's nearly always cut on a compound bevel, with the top edge of the loaf slanting to the left, and with a marked undercut as well! (Is it the opposite angles for left-handers?)

[lewisericeric]

Thanks all for the foodie tips.

 

I made some traditional Cornish pasties ealier today, unbelievably yummy and blown away at the success of my first attempt. Made our own mince beef and veg pie the other day as well, this home cooking is really nice and we know exactly what's going in to the food. Just brilliant, First attempt at Soda Bread tomorrow I think. Lynn will be baking her first hand made loaf tomorrow as well, It's risen lovely so will hopefully be ok.

 

 

 

Wow, looks amazing Julian! Makes us one!?

[Ex- Member]

Wow, looks amazing Julian! Makes us one!?

 

It was really nice, it's such a basic simple receipe. I also use suet pastry very simple to mix and gives a lovely shortcrust pastry.

 

Lynn's bread she baked todat hasn't come off to well, A bit too heavy alhough it rose lovely overnight. She's now making some cheese scones which I adore with cold butter.

Edited February 3, 2013 by Julynian

[Guest]

It was really nice, it's such a basic simple receipe. I also use suet pastry very simple to mix and gives a lovely shortcrust pastry.

 

Lynn's bread she baked todat hasn't come off to well, A bit too heavy alhough it rose lovely overnight. She's now making some cheese scones which I adore with cold butter.

 

This was my first effort at home baked bread - even in the bread maker it came out an 'unusual' shape for some reason - tasted OK though.

 

 

Second effort (a wholemeal) was a much better shape -

 

[ditchcrawler]

Does anyone make bread? I do, although cheat by using a bread machine! Anyway, I have always struggled to make a light multigrain loaf. They taste good but are heavy! They also don't keep well. So I recently tried a flour improver - its just Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) diluted in some flour (since only a tiny amount of Vit C is required. What a difference - my brown / wholemeal / multigrain loaves are now light as a feather (and of course much bigger!). And they seem to keep much better. I would recommend anyone to try it.

According to my misses the yeast she uses has vitamin C in it already.

[lewisericeric]

This was my first effort at home baked bread - even in the bread maker it came out an 'unusual' shape for some reason - tasted OK though.

 

 

Second effort (a wholemeal) was a much better shape -

 

That bread looks good Martin!

[Ex- Member]

That bread looks good Martin!

 

 

 

Same results Lynn used to get in her breadmaker, lovely bread as well but it was best eaten tthe same or next day, ok for ttoast on day 2 though. As the loaves are quite small they tend to get eaten anyway. hey make good bread pudding to when stale.

 

Supermarket bread and modern breads now contain lots of fat to keep the bread fresh, there's more sugar in it too to cover up the taste of additional fats and chemicals to keep it fresh. Making your own is much better and if you need to keep sugar content lower you can witthout adversly affecting the tase too much.

[Barry]

I had the same as the OP when making a wholemeal multi-seeded loaf - heavy dense bread.

 

Anyway I've ordered and received pure vitamin C powder and the loaf I made with it is much much better

 

 

 

 

I had a problem with the amount to use. How much, exactly, is "a pinch"

 

Then I remembered I have a set of those plastic measuring cups going from the largest, "one cup" to the smallest "one pinch"

 

 

 

Sorted!

[Grace and Favour]

I had the same as the OP when making a wholemeal multi-seeded loaf - heavy dense bread.

 

Anyway I've ordered and received pure vitamin C powder and the loaf I made with it is much much better

 

 

 

 

I had a problem with the amount to use. How much, exactly, is "a pinch"

 

Then I remembered I have a set of those plastic measuring cups going from the largest, "one cup" to the smallest "one pinch"

 

 

 

Sorted!

 

A "pinch' is just a "nick' I think

[ditchcrawler]

I had the same as the OP when making a wholemeal multi-seeded loaf - heavy dense bread.

 

Anyway I've ordered and received pure vitamin C powder and the loaf I made with it is much much better

 

 

 

 

I had a problem with the amount to use. How much, exactly, is "a pinch"

 

Then I remembered I have a set of those plastic measuring cups going from the largest, "one cup" to the smallest "one pinch"

 

 

 

Sorted!

Allison's easy bake yeast contains vitamin C allready so the amount required must be much less than the smallest measuring cup, see http://www.allinsonflour.co.uk/products/easy-bake-yeast.html

[bizzard]

Its worth experimenting with different flavoured breads. A pinch of mixed herbs, Sage or curry powder ect in the mix for the savoury taste to eat with cheese for example, Oh and with the 'Punch Puran spicy seeds' sprinkled on top. A pinch of custard powder for a faint Vanilla taste is very nice too for say Banana sandwiches.

I always knead by hand for a long time and my wholemeal bread is only slightly heavier than white bread without additives.

[nicknorman]

According to my misses the yeast she uses has vitamin C in it already.

Yes, as do some bread flours. However I think the point is that the best amount of Vit C depends on the type of flour / bread. Probably what is in the yeast is sufficient for white bread, but insufficient for wholemeal, multigrain etc. Anyway, if the latter types of loaves are coming out alright for you, there is no point in changing anything! But for me, extra Vit C made a huge improvement.

[Ex- Member]

Well I made my first attempt at some Soda Bread earlier, out of the oven now and looking good.

 

This recipe is with buttermilk. Crust is crispy & light, just waiting for it to cool. Hopefully the middle is ok

 

 

I used this recipe from Hugh "whats his name" Channel 4

 

http://www.channel4....da-bread-recipe

 

 

 

ETA

 

Just given the soda bread a try, really really nice bread full of flavour and lovely crust, I can’t believe how easy this is. Looks like it’ll make great toast too. I’ll see how long it stays fresh.Lynn’s also been on the net and apparently there’s even easier recipes for bread than this one. Beer bread is very popular and just 3 ingredients and simples to make.

 

13 oz self raising flour

 

3 tbl spoon sugar

 

330ml bottle of any beer even lager or cider.

 

Mix ingredients.

 

Bake 180 gas 4 for 50 to 60 minutes.

 

So that’s the next baking job on my list. People are adding all sorts to their beer bread to add different flavours and textures. This site also has some great simple recipes many ideal for cooking on boats.

 

 

www.allrecipes.co.uk easy beer bread

 

 

Edited February 10, 2013 by Julynian

[lewisericeric]

Glad the soda bread came out well Julian , its not one you can get wrong though to be honest, really simple and that's why I love it! Haha

 

I got THIS the other day (the pic is about half way down the page) and I'm gonna give it a go tomorrow. I was intrigued because of the addition of the ascorbic acid which some of you were saying really helps the bread rise. It'll be interesting if this loaf turns out like a 'shop bought' if you know what I mean - nice and fluffy and light etc

 

All it contains is the flour, yeast and acid so its it like I'm full on cheating when it comes to making my own bread!

[tree]

thanks for that recipe I make my own bread as its a good way I find of getting rid of a bit of stress and you end up with something yummy to eat. My 'saplings' always used to say that Mammas bread filled them up and it lasted so much longer than shop bought and it makes the boat/house smell really nice

[Ex- Member]

Yeah the soda bread is easy as is beer bread. Lynn made a gig Granny cake ttoday, just had a wedgs. Wow absolutely gorgeous, a really nice crunchy crumbly crust with lovely soft fluffy inside with loads of mixed fruit. I really can't believe how good this tastes, makes similar cake from supermarkets taste like sweet soggy cardboard.

 

More soda bread on the go also.

 

Also I've noticed I'm not as hungry as I usually am. I'm eating so much less and seem to need smaller portions. I made Some home made beef & onion pies I made a few weeks ago. I made 3 pies all around the same size. the first ones I wafted down no problem now a few weeks on I couldn't eat the whole pie.

 

It seems that smaller portions of home cooked food are as filling as larger portions of processed food. We're into our 4th week of home cooked food, Lynn makes a lovely Leek & Potao soup, and lentil soup. Chicken soup is next on the list which she hasn't made for ages but is lovely. We're hardly eating any processed food now and I'm sure it's making me feel more active.

 

 

ETA oh she took a photo

 

 

Edited February 15, 2013 by Julynian

[lewisericeric]

It's all the preservatives! I've said it for years. People need to stop eating this cr@p....obesity isn't caused by butter or the fat off a steak....it's the processed rubbish people keep pushing in.

 

It's our goal as well to try and start making stuff from scratch as much as possible and avoid all this ready made stuff - even more so with this horse meat scare

[Ex- Member]

It's all the preservatives! I've said it for years. People need to stop eating this cr@p....obesity isn't caused by butter or the fat off a steak....it's the processed rubbish people keep pushing in.

 

It's our goal as well to try and start making stuff from scratch as much as possible and avoid all this ready made stuff - even more so with this horse meat scare

 

obesity isn't caused by butter or the fat off a steak

 

 

Have to agree Eric I can't recall anyone being overweight we we were kids, and Bread and dripping was as regular a snack as crisps are today. We started to shop in supermarkets around 1980 when I was 20 I used to eat like a horse but staid a regular 15 stone, then 5 years of supermarket food and sunnenly at 25yo I'm 21 stone along with many other friends and family. Doesn' take a genuis to come tto a conclusion

[ditchcrawler]

Have to agree Eric I can't recall anyone being overweight we we were kids, and Bread and dripping was as regular a snack as crisps are today. We started to shop in supermarkets around 1980 when I was 20 I used to eat like a horse but staid a regular 15 stone, then 5 years of supermarket food and sunnenly at 25yo I'm 21 stone along with many other friends and family. Doesn' take a genuis to come tto a conclusion

When I was 20 I didn't stand still and well under 15 stone, today I stand still a lot. That my have a bearing on things.

[Grace and Favour]

Have to agree Eric I can't recall anyone being overweight we we were kids, and Bread and dripping was as regular a snack as crisps are today. We started to shop in supermarkets around 1980 when I was 20 I used to eat like a horse but staid a regular 15 stone, then 5 years of supermarket food and sunnenly at 25yo I'm 21 stone along with many other friends and family. Doesn' take a genuis to come tto a conclusion

 

Did you discover beer?

[roggie]

I often make beer bread - sometimes with cider as well. Nice twist if you add dried fruit - or better still soak in beer then add. I also add some baking powder. Don't leave to prove. I try to use the oven as little as possible and cook on the top if I can... wonder how much gas gets used at mark 5 for 45 minutes...