Stay at home ...

Fishing A Learning Experience, Pass it On.
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… means that I cannot go to my favorite bakery ( which is closed for the time being ) for bread …

… and that I have more time than usual to find interesting things on YouTube.

A couple weeks ago I ran across some videos on making bread, something that I had considered several times over the years but never got around to. Partly because I really like the bread from the bakery that I have been patronizing for about fifteen years.

Most of the videos demo-d breadmaking that was a bit, or more, beyond what I was intersted in taking on.

Then I ran across “Artisanbreadwithsteve”, and in particular his “turbo” bread which can be made with most any flour ( or so I understand from watching a number of his videos ). Steve’s “turbo” bread uses only three ingredients - yeast, salt, and flour - plus water and takes only about 20-30 minutes of actual prep time, not including time for the dough to “proof” a couple times and 40 minutes baking time. Start to finish, this is about a 3 to 3.5 hour stay at home project.

So far, I’ve done one loaf using bread flour and one loaf using half bread flour and half whole wheat. Both turned out just dandy, and were much less expensive than the bakery breads, or even store bought breads, we usually have.

You can find quite the variety of breads and bread products ( read rolls and pizza crust for openers ) by searching “artisanbreadwithsteve” on the YouTube search feature. Even if you don’t have to stay home, you might enjoy a bit more of the time you spend there.

John

2

John,

Nothing quite like the small of a fresh loaf of bread coming out of the oven, slice off the heal and slather on the butter, my oh my.

Unfortunately, over here none of the stores have any flour.

I do have the butter however. :slight_smile:

Larry —sagefisher—

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I hve been making bread using this recipe from Joe Valencic for many years. [LEFT][FONT=Verdana][/LEFT][/FONT][LEFT]The only bad loaf I have gotten was when I believe I forgot to add the yeast.
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http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/whatscooking/cookin090808.php

4

Making bread is really therapeutic. Try a cup of rolled oats in with the flour.

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There is nothing like a piece of warm homemade bread covered with butter.

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Most anything is improved when smothered with butter, or gravy.
Dave

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Joe’s recipe is similar but his specifies all purpose flour and takes quite a bit longer to complete.

Bread flour results in a more substantial and tastier bread, at least to my taste buds, than all purpose flour breads. The half bread flour and half whole wheat flour combination make for a really tasty bread, and I’m eager to get on with a whole wheat only version as soon as the half and half loaf is gone.

Next, after the whole wheat version, are going to be variations adding oats and various seeds. Might even get to something similar to my favorite bread from my regular bakery.

John

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All of you have got ME started now. Made my first two loaves of bread yesterday. And they were GOOD ha ha ha

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One of my favorite variatons on the basic bread recipe is to cover the top of the loaf with shredded cheese before baking. Home made cheese bread doesn’t last long.

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Very surprised that so many people bake their own bread. I bought bread maker and make Wheat, rye, and White.
One very BIG problem now, NO YEAST

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I tried it one time, but my wife quick put a stop to it.:frowning:

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If no yeast then make Unleavened bread!!!

Larry —sagefisher—

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I baked the half bread flour and half whole wheat flour loaf on either 4-24 or 4-25.

As usual, I left the bread out on the kitchen counter, which served as a good experiment on how long it would last without going bad.

The answer, in this case, is five or six days, as evidenced by the start of mold detected this morning.:cry:

I didn’t have any mold issue on the first loaf ( bread flour only ) but I don’t know how long it was between baking and finishing that loaf.

For future reference, if you are not going to finish a loaf in a matter of days, it might be well to freeze half the loaf to avoid spoilage.

John

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I baked the half bread flour and half whole wheat flour loaf on either 4-24 or 4-25.

As usual, I left the bread out on the kitchen counter, which served as a good experiment on how long it would last without going bad.

The answer, in this case, is six or seven days, as evidenced by the start of mold detected this morning.:cry:

I didn’t have any mold issue on the first loaf ( bread flour only ) but I don’t know how long it was between baking and finishing that loaf.

For future reference, if you are not going to finish a loaf in a matter of days, it might be well to freeze half the loaf to avoid spoilage.

John

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Maybe some raisins or apricots?

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You’ll have to find a FAR better type of mold for any home-made bread around here…life expectancy of a warm loaf is hours, not days. :wink:
…lee s.

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… requiring no yeast.

A while back, I ran across an oatmeal cake recipe which makes an oatmeal cake enhanced with raisins, cranberries, and apricots. The raisin and cranberry flavors do tend to get lost in the mix, but the apricots really stand out.

You can search YouTube for “Easy and healthy oatmeal cake recipe” by The Cooking Foodie.

The recipe includes honey, which I decided not to use, and coconut oil, for which I substituted canola oil. The prep time is about 30 minutes and the baking time is about 40 minutes. The recipe makes 8 reasonably sized servings.

I spun off the original to make what I call a Chockleberry version. Left out the original fruits and substituted dark chocolate chips and wild huckleberries left over from last summers picking. Delicious - and really healthy.

John

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I’ve been making bread for about 15 years. I made a sourdough starter about 10 years ago and do most of my bread as sourdough (wild yeasted) now. Sourdough takes longer from beginning to end, but no more hands on time. I’ve pretty much gotten to the point that I rarely buy bread. I make a 75% whole wheat sourdough loaf every week for sandwiches and toast. I make a crusty sourdough loaf for eating with soups or stews. I also make pizza crusts, bread sticks, focaccia, cinnamon rolls.

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John -

Your 75% whole wheat sour dough loaf would be a real treat. Do you have any good tips on how to “start”, maintain, and use the sourdough starter ??

John

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Bread baking is a lot like fly fishing or fly tying in that it’s basically pretty simple, but it tends to be shrouded in it’s own unique, and perhaps mysterious, language. Sourdough take a little more patience and planning, but is not really any harder than regular yeast bread.

I’ve been through a number of bread books, but the one that I would recommend for beginning sourdough baking is the following. It includes instructions for creating and maintaining a starter and good recipes for many styles of sourdough loaves.
https://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Sourdough-Made-Simple-Handcrafted/dp/1624144292.

My “75% whole wheat sourdough loaf” is adapted from another recipe in this book:

Mix:
360g whole wheat flour
120g bread flour
9g salt
9g vital wheat gluten
30g vegetable oil
30g sugar
150g sourdough starter
300g warm tap water

Rest 45m
Stretch and fold, rest 15m – repeat 3 times
Rest 6-8 hours
Shape in oiled loaf pan
Rest 1-2 hours
Slash
Bake 40m at 375F