Bread Help

[Bagpuss]

Hi All

Inspired by HFW I've gone and brought myself some bread flour. The only problem is I've never baked bread before and don't know where to start

Can anyone point me in the direction of a useful website to get me started ? Perhaps one which would have some ideas on incorporating some of the excess tommies I'm anticipating if I get the hang of it.

I don't have a breadmaker so will be making by hand

Thanks in advance !

[digthatchick]

Try this one - it's really good. Quick and Easy Wholemeal Loaf

[Alice]

It's worth saving up for a breadmaker Bagpuss - and buy a Panasonic.
Perfect bread, Naan, Pizza everytime.
No, I don't have shares in the company - just lovely bread baked fresh whenever I need it, and no work at all.
Somebody else will give you hints on doing it by hand - Ive kind of got out of the way.
One thing I do remember is keep everything warm - warm the baking bowl, the flour, the kitchen, your hands,the lot - before you start.
Hope you get great bread.

[astroman]

I used to have a bread maker, but I don't bother with it anymore. Doesn't really take much active time at all, just mostly waiting. Only really good thing was the timer so you could have a fresh loaf ready first thing in the morning, without having to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Recipe I use is

500g bread flour (white)
10g salt
10g sugar
15g fresh yeast (Sainsburys bread counter sells 50g of this for 16p)
350g warm water (33% boiled from kettle, 67% from cold tap)

Crumble fresh yeast into dry ingredients in large bowl (like incorporating the butter and flour/sugar when making a crumble). Add water and mix well with spatula until all the flour is incorporated and the consistency is uniform. Keep mixing with spatula until the dough forms a sticky lump which stretches and sticks to the bowl. (I don't bother to knead it anymore) - probably takes around 10 minutes for adding and mixing.

Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for a couple of hours until the dough has doubled in size.

Tip dough out onto a floured chopping board and shape the dough to the required size (to fit loaf tin, flat sheet or a number of rolls). I normally need to flour my hands well as the dough is quite sticky at this point. I tend to flatten the dough and then fold the edges into the centre trying to incorporate some air at this stage.

Cover the dough with a tea towel again and leave for an hour to rise again.

Put in oven at 180C to cook. Loaf takes around 30 minutes. Small rolls probably around 15 minutes. Tip load out onto a wire rack to cool for a while (bottom of loaf should sound hollow when tapped).

[rana]

I second the purchase of a breadmaker - one of the best gadgets in the kitchen.

Your success will vary with the quality of the flour - as a rule of thumb those flours with a higher protien content will produce better bread.

[Hilary B]

The most important thing about making bread by hand is.. it pays to get aggressive with it! The more kneading it gets the better it works (gluten is essential, but it needs waking up as well). I would buy 'bread flour', which is high gluten type. If I am making wholemeal bread, it is wholemeal (you can get real wholemeal breadflour these days), but a lot of people find that it pays to use a mixture.
I think it was Fanny Craddock who recommended thinking of that annoying neighbour who gets on your nerves for whatever reason.....
Bread mixes often contain an 'improver' the usual one is Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) and for using striaght breadflour, if you can get 20mg tablets, dissolving one in the water may help things along.
Basic ratios
1 level teaspoon salt to 1lb flour
½ pint warm water to 1lb flour
½ oz butter or 1 tablespoon oil to 1lb flour
if using fresh yeast, or 'traditional' dried yeast, add it to the warm water, if using 'easyblend' add it to the flour.
Easiest way to get water the right temp, 1 part not-quite-boiling (kettle switched off a couple of mins ago) 2 parts really cold. Better a little cool than too hot (bread WILL work with cold water, it just takes a lot longer to rise).
Get used to making ordinary bread before you start getting creative, after which, the only limit is your imagination!

[Two_Sheds]

another vote for a breadmaker here ... Panasonic

I used to make bread by hand, but life is too short

[julesapple]

The very first time I made bread by hand, it was like Discworld Dwarf Battle Bread. Had I lobbed it, I could have done serious damage.

The second time, I had everything ready to go, and my ex-stepmother-in-law (oh yes, the worst combination, MinL/wicked-stepmother cross) had telephoned to be nasty. She did it so well, that I was furious and took it all out on my bread dough! Result? Perfect bread!

So, I suppose the horrible madam had her uses!

Jules

PS See thread on 'Butter' for the perfect homemade accompaniment to freshly baked bread!

[shirlthegirl43]

I agree a breadmaker is a good investment, however, I do sometimes choose to make bread by hand (a brilliant way to get rid of frustration) and then I usually buy flour with a recipe on the side - they have been written to get the best result from that flour.

If I want bread in a hurry, I use the victoriafoods white bread mix from Morrisons - just add water and bash it to bits!

[Flummery]

I deliberately don't have a bread maker. I like to feel 'in touch' with my bread. Having said that, once the arthritic knuckles got going I couldn't knead 'aggressively' enough so I use a Kenwood Chef for that. I use a powdered 'instant' yeast and I allow 2 rises - even though these things say you can skip a stage. I think the texture's better with a second rise.

You can incorporate just about anything. Yesterday I made 'Stromboli' - after the first rise I rolled out the dough and spread it with pesto, sundried toms and grated mozzarella. It's a meal in itself.

If you buy a dried yeast use the recipe on the back of the packet. I have a whole big book on bread making. To be honest, 99% are the same but the additions or the shape vary according to traditions or culture. I always add a splash of olive oil - many older recipes say to rub in an ounce or two of lard. This is to stop the bread drying out too fast. I prefer the texture and flavour if olive oil is used but you could use a vegetable oil too.

Best of all, don't panic - remember to breathe and enjoy it!

[Bren In Pots]

Like the others have said have a go at plain bread before tackling the fancy stuff.
I bake bread every 5 or 6 days using this recipe with some help from the dough hook on my Kenwood chef it takes out all the boring kneading bits.

My scales are old shop lbs weight ones so for me its :-
1oz fresh yeast in
30 oz hand hot water
then add 3lb bread flour,
1oz white fat/or oil,
and nearly a tablespoon salt.

Give it 3 mins in the Kenwood then put it somewhere to prove for a hour-ish then its back in the Kenwood for 2 more mins.
Shape into either 26, 3oz rolls or 5 loaves (I've got some old Hovis bread tins) and leave for a second proving of about 30 mins.

Then bake in the oven at around 220c until the bread sounds hollow when tapped. flip onto a wire rack and cover with a tea towel thats only because I don't like hard crusts.

[rana]

Give it 3 mins in the Kenwood then put it somewhere to prove for a hour-ish then its back in the Kenwood for 2 more mins.
Shape into either 26, 3oz rolls or 5 loaves (I've got some old Hovis bread tins) and leave for a second proving of about 30 mins.

You must have an industrial scale Kenwood (or is it the V8 version off of top gear). I find it hard to believe you can get the gluten working with such short kneeding times.

[Bren In Pots]

My Chefs a 901 I bought it second hand about 25 year ago and I've use that same recipe ever since, its never failed me. It might be down to the bread flour I buy it from a local corn merchant that mill their own.

[Lemon]

I bake bread every 5 or 6 days using this recipe with some help from the dough hook on my Kenwood chef it takes out all the boring kneading bits..............

...........Shape into either 26, 3oz rolls or 5 loaves (I've got some old Hovis bread tins) and leave for a second proving of about 30 mins.

That's a lot of loaves Bren! I understand you bake every week, but how long does the bread stay fresh for? I thought home-made bread didn't keep as well as the supermarket sliced stuff (preservatives, improvers and the like in them)?

[Bagpuss]

Wow what a fab response, thank you all.

I have to confess that the outlaw mil to be is not too awful, but I'm sure my pesky neighbour's barking dog will provide enough to get me kneeding hard !

Am I right to think that in the resting stage, the t-towel needs to be wet / damp?

The stromboli sounds fab, if I master the basic then I may have to pinch that idea !

Following on from Lemon (and at the risk of making myself sounds like a complete plumb), am I right to think that the sliced hombaked loaf is ok to freeze ?