Does No One Make Bread Anymore?

[pt_tangles]

Without a bread machine? Mine finally bit the dust this summer, and I have yet to replace it. Today I want to make some nice fresh bread, but I'll be damned if I can find a recipe that doesn't use a bread machine. Does anyone have any favorites that they would like to share?

--Phae

ps - will prolly cross post to a couple cooking comms

Comments

[willowfae.livejournal.com]

We use Jamie Oliver's basic bread recipe which can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_18055,00.html

There are lots of variations and things to add to make different bread like focaccia and ciabatta, but they are all in his books and I can't find it online.

[pt_tangles]

Oh, that sounds so good! Will need more flour than I have to try that one.

--Phae

[matrinka69.livejournal.com]

Traditional White Bread

6-7 cups flour
3 Tbls sugar
1 Tbls salt
2 Tbls shortening (fat of any kind works just fine, I've found.)
2 pkgs yeast (regular or quick acting)
2.25 cups very warm water (120F or so)

I do this in the stand mixer with the dough hooks. You can also work this totally by hand, though it takes some effort to stir it all up then.

Mix about half of the flour with the sugar, salt, fat and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and beat on low for a minute, scraping the sides frequently. Turn up the speed to medium for another minute and beat. Now, start adding the rest of the flour about 1/2 cup at a time until it forms an easy to handle dough.

Turn out onto a well floured board and knead for about 10 minuts, until smooth and elastic. Place into an oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with a warm, damp towel and place in a warm spot out of drafts for an our or until doubled. Punch down and divide in half. Shape into two loaves and place in loaf pans, seam side down. Cover and let rise again until doubled.

If you like, you can freeze the dough at this point.

Bake in a 425F oven for 25-30 minutes, until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Brush with melted butter and cool on a rack.

[matrinka69.livejournal.com]

Variations to the Traditional White Bread recipe:

Pesto Bread: When you are shaping the loaves, spread pesto onto the flattened dough, roll up and then bake. (Pesto recipe is simply olive oil, fresh basil and garlic. Puree until it is a nice, smooth, dark green paste)

Wheat Bread: Replace up to 4 cups of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour.

You can also mix herbs into the dry ingreadients before adding the water.

For cinnamon rolls, roll out the dough, spread with 1/2 cup melted butter, sprinkle heavily with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up tightly and slice off rolls. Lay them in a pan cut side up and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Spread with icing (I like cream cheese icing made of 1lb cream cheese beaten with 1/2 cup sugar and just enough milk to make it easy to spread). You could, I guess, put nuts in there, too, if you like. Pecans would be a good choice.

[pt_tangles]

I used to make sticky buns with my mom when I was a kid. Same basic recipe, isn't it? Except with the sugary/caramel/stuff and nuts on the bottom.

Thank you so much. That bread sounds wonderful.

--Phae

[matrinka69.livejournal.com]

Pretty much that's the same thing. Leave out the cinnamon, put nuts in the bottom of the pan, sticky buns.

It is a great, simple bread recipe that never fails.

[elf]

My husband makes bread from scratch. He doesn't use a recipe, though. (And now would be Not The Right Time to pester him about trying to figure out the proportions and all that.)

I do know that it's really a very simple thing. Flour, water, yeast, salt... everything else is personal variations.

[matrinka69.livejournal.com]

I have the recipe, but yeah, I rarely pull it out when I'm actually baking bread. I have done it so many times that I know what goes in the bowl.

Oh, note that you can use up to half the sugar and only 1 tsp salt in this and it'll come out just fine. I vary the amount of sugar and salt depending on what I'm mixing in or spreading on.

[sarahswampwitch.livejournal.com]

My favorite Bread is from "The Farm's Vegetarian Cookbook" and is a recipe that I used for years and years and years while homesteading, mainly because it worked well when using a wood-fueled oven, plus I needed to bake lots of bread and have consistent results.

The Farm's Whole Wheat Bread
from "The Farm's Vegetarian Cookbook", published 1975 by The Book Publishing Company

Mix together in a small bowl:
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp baking yeast
2 Tbsp sugar or honey or molasses
Stir it gently and then let it sit so the yeast can grow and get all happy and yeasty.
In a large bowl mix:
2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar or honey or molasses or a blend of the three things
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
Mix both bowls together and stir well. Then add 6 cups of UNBLEACHED ORGANIC WHITE flour and stir until lump-less to develop the gluten. Then stir in 4 1/2 cups of WHOLE WHEAT ORGANIC flour. Knead it for about five minutes or until the texture is smooth and even. Put the dough in a bowl and cover it with a wet towel. Put bowl in a warm place to rise until double. Punch it down and form dough into two loaves. Put them in oiled pans, let them rise, covered with the towel. Then bake at 350 degrees until done -- abut 45 minutes in a conventional oven. May take less time if you are using a wood-fueled oven.

Happy baking. :-)

[pt_tangles]

That looks very tastey too! I am gonna have to give all of these a try when I have more flour ;)

Thanks

--Phae

[mariadkins.livejournal.com]

I make my bread by hand. I refuse to even own a bread machine. I've had bread machine bread once - and honestly, I didn't care for it.

[mariadkins.livejournal.com]

I have my great grandmother's recipe. I need to find and unpack the box my recipe box is in, though.

[jalilifer.livejournal.com]

This is the one I use:

http://hillbillyhousewife.com/beginnersbread.htm

Simple and yummy.

[chiska.livejournal.com]

hee hee! I almost posted a recipe, but besides not using a bread machine, I also don't use wheat, so that might just be wierd.

I used to have the most awesome recipe for bread (the wheat kind). It was in an old freebie booklet from a flour mill (I used to live in wheat country). Maybe I can find it.

[pt_tangles]

That would be awsome :)

--Phae