What can you tell me about home made bread making?!
can I let it rise longer then the recipe calls for?? ( if I make it and dont get a chance to put it in the oven right away, will it hurt it??
Any recipes you have tried??
Is it healthier then store bread??
Any other tips??
Answers: I want to know everything. does kneading too much or too little make the bread fluffy?
can I let it rise longer then the recipe calls for?? ( if I make it and dont get a chance to put it in the oven right away, will it hurt it??
Any recipes you have tried??
Is it healthier then store bread??
Any other tips??
Kneading the bread too much will make it tough ... kneading it too little can form air pockets. Follow your recipes to the letter.
Rise times depends on your environment. Bread will take longer to rise in the winter than in the summer due to the humidity levels in your home. Sometimes I need to literally double my rise times in the winter.
Betty Crocker & Pillsbury have some great basic bread recipes.
Betty Crocker Yeast Bread Recipes: http://www.bettycrocker.com/search/searc...
Pillsbury Recipes (you will have to sort through them to find yeast recipes): http://www.pillsbury.com/Search/SearchRe...
Yes, it is healthier - since there everything is fresh and the there are no preservatives added. But remember - EVERYTHING IN MODERATION - people tend to eat more homemade bread because it tastes so much better!
Tips:
I lay a piece of saran wrap over my bread when it rises in the winter to prevent a slight crust from forming, especially when I allow it to rise in the oven.
Use the proper flour. Bread flour for most breads - but if it calls for wheat, use wheat, etc.
For a crispier crust, do not use butter or egg before baking - spritz bread with water before baking - 2 minutes into baking, spritz again, wait another 2 minutes, spritz - and spritz one more time 2 minutes later.
GOOD LUCK!
Basic White Bread Recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
2 packages quick acting or active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups scalded milk cooled to about 120°
PREPARATION:
Mix 3 1/2 cups of flour with sugar, salt, shortening and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add very warm milk; beat for about 1 minute. Stir in enough of the remaining flour, a cup or so at a time, until dough is easy to handle.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead, adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place dough in a large buttered mixing bowl. Turn dough over so greased side is up. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place, out of drafts, for about 1 hour, or until doubled. When dough is touched, an indentation will remain.
Punch dough down and divide into two equal portions. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pins into a rectangle about 18x10 inches. Starting at 10-inch edge, roll dough tightly; pinch long seam together. With sides of hands, press each end of loaf; fold ends under loaf. Place loaves, seam side down, in loaf pans (approximately 9 x 5 x 3-inch). Brush each loaf lightly with butter. Cover loosely with clean dish towels and let rise until double, about 35 to 50 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°. Bake loaves on a low rack, so tops of pans are at the center of the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Bread will sound hollow when lightly tapped.
Makes 2 loaves of white bread.
Rustic Italian Bread
INGREDIENTS
1 cup Warm water, 120-130 F.
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 pk Active dry yeat
3 cups All-purpose flour
Cornmeal
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 Egg white, beaten
PREPARATION:
Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast; mix well. Add warm water and oil; mix well. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough for 5 minutes or until smooth. Place dough in bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place ( 80-85 F.) for 30-40 minutes.
Sprinkle ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down dough. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 " long. Place dough on cornmeal-coated sheet. Cover; let rise in warm place for 25 to 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Heat oven to 375 F. With sharp knife, make 1 deep lengthwise slash in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white.
Bake at 375 F. for 25-35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
What you need to know would fill a book. I'd suggest perusing the King Arthur Flour (aka The Baker's Catalog) web site, and read the tab marked *Education*.
Forf your other questions:
~If you need to leave the rising loaf longer than recipe calls for, put it in the fridge to slow down the rising of it. If not, it will rise too much and fall.
~Homemade bread has GOT to be healthier b/c there's no preservatives. You can also use more whole wheat flour than most store-bought breads do, for more fiber and B vitamins. Store in the fridge to prevent early molding.
A couple recipes I've made successfully:
Yeast Foldover Rolls
1 package of yeast
3 T. melted butter flavored Crisco
1 cup buttermilk, at room temp
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. BS
1 t. BP
2 cups flour (White Lily if you have it)
Butter
Dissolve the yeast in the buttermilk while you sift the dry ingredients together.
Add dry ingredients to the yeast mixture, and mix thoroughly.
ROLL out about 1 inch thick.
SPREAD dough with softened or melted butter.
CUT out with a biscuit cutter and fold over.
PLACE in a well greased baking pan and then brush the tops with melted butter.
LET RISE for one hour in a warm place.
BAKE in moderately hot oven for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.
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Wonderful White Bread
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 package (1 tablespoon) rapid-rise dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar or honey
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 egg whites, divided and slightly beaten
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
In a small saucepan, heat the milk with butter over low heat just until the butter melts. Remove from heat and add to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Proof the yeast by adding it to the warm milk and butter. Add the sugar and stir gently to dissolve. Let stand 3 minutes until foam appears. This indicates the yeast is active.
Turn mixer on low and gradually add the flour. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and add the salt and 1 egg white. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is no longer sticky, about 10 minutes.
Turn the dough onto the work surface and knead for a minute or so by hand. Knead by folding the dough over itself and pushing out with the heel of your hands, not down. Rotate the dough and repeat. The dough is properly kneaded when you can pull it and it stretches without breaking. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise over a gas pilot light on the stovetop or in another warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Test the dough by pressing 2 fingers into it. If indents remain, the dough is adequately risen.
Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. The act of turning out the dough naturally deflates the gas, so there is no need to aggressively punch it down. Handle the dough gently, overworking the gluten at this point will produce a dense loaf that is difficult to shape. *To form a loaf, pat the dough into a rectangle, fold the long sides to the middle then fold under the ends. Pinch the seams closed and place in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, seam side down. Make sure the dough touches all sides of the pan.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise a second time for 20 minutes or until the top of the dough is nearly level with the top of the loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, place a large pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Bring 3 cups water to a boil on the stove. Pour the hot water into the preheated pan to create a steam bath for the bread. This will make a crisp crust.
Slash dough down the middle of the loaf with a sharp knife to allow the steam to escape during baking. Brush the top with remaining beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the bread for 30 to 40 minutes until crust is golden and internal temperature reads 195oF when checked with an instant read thermometer. The bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Immediately remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a rack.
* Variation: To make Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread: after the first rise, press the dough out to a rectangle, sprinkle surface with cinnamon and raisins to cover. Roll up like a jellyroll, pinch the seams closed and continue as directed in the recipe.
--Tyler Florence
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EASY YEAST ROLLS
2 cups of warm water
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
? cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
5 cups flour
5 Tbsp. soft butter
In a large bowl, combine water and yeast. In another bowl, combine sugar, salt, and egg. Add to yeast mixture, then add 2? cups flour, mixing well. Then add the rest of the flour and soft butter, mixing well.
Set bowl out with cloth over the top for dough to rise. Punch down and then put in a container in fridge. When you want some rolls take the dough out and roll balls and put in pan as many as you like (leaving the rest in the fridge). Cover the pan and let rise for an hour. Bake at 350oF until golden.
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No-Knead Bread (make ahead)
Yield: one 1? lb loaf
3 cups bread flour (can use up to ? cup whole wheat flour in place of an equivalent amount of white flour)
1/4 tsp instant yeast
3/4 Tbsp kosher salt
1? cups warm water
Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel…something that can go into a 450F oven.)
1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.
2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you’ve got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.
3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, dump wobbly dough into pot. Doesn’t matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210oF. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350oF oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good, soft butter.
im sure plenty of other posters will tell youabout more common recipies but here is my perfect 3 minute flat bed
all you need is
1 mixing bowle
1 frying pan (dont worry we aint frying anything)
some self raising flour
1 teaspoon of salt
and some water
just shove your flour and salt into your bowl and slowley stir in the water untill you get a stiff dough then simply roll it out in reasonable sized pieses and pop em in the hot pan turning occasionaly!
great as an acompniment to a meal with a sauce and good for trying to impress a date when u cook for em at home