Author Topic: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it  (Read 16623 times)

Trudie

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Hi,
I just bought a breadmaker and am going to start (again) baking my own bread.  Most of the time I will probably just use the machine to help with the dough mixing and the first rise, then will bake it in the oven.

I need to learn a few things about the science of bread-making, like "When do you add gluten?"

Most of my flour is King Arthur (the company has an excellent website) and whatever they sell in bulk at Costco.  I buy yeast in bulk from Costco.  I can supplement these purchases with rare flours and additives from my food Co-op.  What flours and recipes have worked for you?

I'm also interested in online or free (cookbooks I can check out at my library) resources on home bread-baking.  I don't want to own another cookbook.  As much as I love them, I always end up looking recipes up online or in a few tried and true cookbooks.

tat96

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2014, 11:30:41 AM »
Great link on NY Times for making super easy bread!! I do it virtually every 48 hours and haven't bought store bread in months!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html?_r=0

The one below is from a book "5 minute Artisan bread" and it shows you how to make their basic loaf.  I do not have the book but I have made this recipe before and it is pretty good. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSOoH686_b8

I have had very little luck with bread machines and now only use mine to make pizza dough and various other doughs.  From your question about "gluten" I believe you are referring to vital wheat gluten and I believe you add that before the water (see youtube video).  It is really crucial when making whole wheat breads because yeast doesn't give as much rise in whole wheat as it does with bread flour or whole wheat. 

Good luck!!  I have had amazing success with these two easy recipes.  Make sure to watch the video in the NY times article.  The NY Times guy also has a lot of other good videos such as how to make Naan bread.

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2014, 12:21:28 PM »
@tat96

I debated the breadmaker for awhile, then decided to get a basic one for mixing dough (at the suggestion of other friends who bake tons of bread.)

Thanks for the links.  The artisan bread cookbook featured in the second link was featured in an episode of "The Splendid Table" with Lynn Rossetto Kasper.

swick

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2014, 06:13:11 PM »
Some of my Fave bread books worth checking out at the Library:

Bread Matters - Why and How to Make your Own - Andrew Whitley. This is a book from the Uk but it delves into all the science behind bread making and also the social, health and economic impact of the factory and industrialized loaf of bread. Worth reading just for the section on the additives that go into bread (and in the US most of our flours)  Lots of good basic recipes as well for pretty much any type of bread.

Home Baking - The artful mix of flour and tradition around the world - Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid. This is a BEAUTIFUL coffee table size hefty book with awesome photography, and a great overview of traditional breads around the world. I've made quite a few recipes from it and all have turned out good.

Flatbreads and Flavors  - A Baker's Atlas - Also  by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.   - A tour of the world by flat breads, some yeasted, some not, they are a great place to start with making breads. The book also has lots of great recipes for sides,spreads, chutney's, things that  go on breads as well as cooking recipes that use the breads.



Paradise

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2014, 06:41:24 AM »
Love breadbaking! We have a Zo and use it frequently for all types of bread and pizza dough. Also use KA flour and bulk yeast from BJs/Costco... I don't add gluten - it is already in the KA flour, in fact, KA has more gluten in it than other all-purpose flours.

One older basic breadmaking cookbook I like - and likely found at a library - is Bread Machine Baking - Perfect Every Time by Lora Brody and Millie Apter (1993). There's a Caramelized Onion Braid recipe in there I make frequently (although not as frequently as family and friends like!). You do the dough in the machine, then finish the bread off in the oven. I've tinkered a bit with their recipe and typically double it - if I'm going to the effort to braid and rise and egg wash, etc., I need to get more than one loaf, since this is usually gobbled right up.

MJT

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2014, 02:08:26 PM »
I second the "5 Minute Artisan Bread" recommendation.

Michael Pollan talks a lot about bread baking in his recent book "Cooked."  He also included a recipe for sourdough bread in the book.  I found a blog post that uses the recipe here:  http://www.imlearninghowtocook.com/?p=519.  I really enjoy the sourdough loaves and I have also used my sourdough starter to make pizza dough and pancakes.

DrJohn

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #6 on: August 16, 2014, 09:43:45 AM »
Ciril Hitz is awesome.  A bit involved sometimes, but check his books out at your local library....

Website also http://www.breadhitz.com/.

Enjoy!

briandougherty

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2014, 10:01:47 AM »
I'm surprised so many of you have bread makers.  I just make my bread in baking pans.  A good mixer can make many parts of the process easier and it's really an easy process.  The only advantage I can see with a bread maker is that you only have to be there once whereas when you mix it yourself you have to mix and knead everything, wait for it to rise, and then shape and bake.  Am I missing out on some big advantage?

We've made white and whole grain loaves and baguettes.  Both were quite good but so far we've only really tried basic things.  Thinking of making brioche soon.
« Last Edit: August 16, 2014, 10:03:40 AM by briandougherty »

swick

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2014, 10:06:02 AM »
Occasionally I think I am missing out too, I just have my stand mixer. I really enjoy the tactile experience of making and shaping bread.

The few times I have used a bread maker I have gotten totally confused by the order you have to put things in and managed to mess it up :)

DrJohn

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2014, 10:11:38 AM »
I have tried using a breadmaker.  The bread texture always turns out more like cake...any tips?  It's OK using the breadmaker to make the dough (e.g. pizza or rolls) and then proving the dough normally, but I'm always disappointed if I use the machine from whole start to end unless I make fruit type breads (which are a bit like cake anyway I suppose). 

It is minimal hassle to use the dough hook on my stand mixer to make dough instead of kneading...

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2014, 02:53:44 PM »
I would try mixing the dough in the breadmaker then baking it in an oven if your loaves are flat.  I would also check the flour you're using.  If you're using whole grain flour it might need some additional gluten to leaven properly.

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #11 on: August 19, 2014, 07:40:33 AM »
So far I've used the bread maker to make dough (excellent) and its own loaf.  The latter was a whole wheat loaf which just tastes bitter and blah.  I even used white whole wheat flour.  We will toast it for sandwiches tonight, then toss it.  That's the thing about bread-making... I think you have to anticipate several fails as part of the learning process.  At least flour is cheap.

Tonight I am going to try an America's Test Kitchen recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread which is made in a more elaborate fashion, but will probably taste much better.

I am not certain that I like whole wheat on its own.  I suspect it tastes much better when mixed with other whole grains.

Zaga

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #12 on: August 19, 2014, 07:55:45 AM »
So far I've used the bread maker to make dough (excellent) and its own loaf.  The latter was a whole wheat loaf which just tastes bitter and blah.  I even used white whole wheat flour.  We will toast it for sandwiches tonight, then toss it.  That's the thing about bread-making... I think you have to anticipate several fails as part of the learning process.  At least flour is cheap.

Tonight I am going to try an America's Test Kitchen recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread which is made in a more elaborate fashion, but will probably taste much better.

I am not certain that I like whole wheat on its own.  I suspect it tastes much better when mixed with other whole grains.
I agree with this completely.  When I make whole wheat bread I always cut it about 50:50 with white flour, both for texture and for taste.

ioseftavi

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #13 on: August 19, 2014, 08:28:59 AM »
I'm surprised so many of you have bread makers.  I just make my bread in baking pans.  A good mixer can make many parts of the process easier and it's really an easy process.  The only advantage I can see with a bread maker is that you only have to be there once whereas when you mix it yourself you have to mix and knead everything, wait for it to rise, and then shape and bake.  Am I missing out on some big advantage?

We've made white and whole grain loaves and baguettes.  Both were quite good but so far we've only really tried basic things.  Thinking of making brioche soon.

Brioche is dead easy!  Just an enriched dough - higher fat content due to more butter.  Baguettes are tougher - we've done them, but to really nail the "crumb", you've got to get the moisture content and shaping right.  Ours have been tasty so far, but definitely not "better than what you get from the bakery" quality.

Occasionally I think I am missing out too, I just have my stand mixer. I really enjoy the tactile experience of making and shaping bread.

The few times I have used a bread maker I have gotten totally confused by the order you have to put things in and managed to mess it up :)

Us too - we have the stand mixer, but no breadmaker.  My prior roommate had one and it appeared to make not-great bread.  It just never seemed to have good ovenspring / rise, and was frequently too dense.

Our current favorite recipe is this one from YouTube.  Very simple but yields awesome sandwich bread for the amount of effort required.  I do 1 cup breadflour and 2 cups AP flour.  I think some of the comments I read said you can use whole grain flour for a portion, but I haven't tried that yet.

Cressida

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #14 on: August 19, 2014, 11:36:49 PM »
Tonight I am going to try an America's Test Kitchen recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread which is made in a more elaborate fashion, but will probably taste much better.

Let us know how it turns out! I have an ATK subscription and I'm on my own quest for a good whole wheat loaf.

Zette

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #15 on: August 20, 2014, 07:30:28 PM »
I like the high-end "artisan" loves in the deli section of the grocery, with a very firm, thin, crispy crust and large air pockets in the interior.  Has anyone had luck reproducing this style at home?  (Bread machines tend to make loaves that are squishy like sandwich bread.)

dragoncar

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #16 on: August 20, 2014, 10:28:45 PM »
MIchael Pollan's new book Cooked has a whole section on bread.  He hangs out with the guy who runs Tartine (famous bakery in SFO) and others, and also goes to a Wonder Bread factory for the contrast.  And he learns to make his own natural sourdough.  It's a fun read (as is the rest of the book).

Does he go to Acme?  I frickin' love Acme, it's my kryptonite.  Luckily, you have to work pretty hard to get it.

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #17 on: August 21, 2014, 11:27:04 AM »
The breadmaking experiments have continued...

I made the "no-knead" recipe posted above twice.  Both were good, but the second was better.  The first time I followed the NYT/Bittman approach to the letter.  The second time I followed the recipe from America's Test Kitchen, which has a couple of alterations including adding beer and vinegar to the dough.  I thought the second loaf was more flavorful and a better shape.

I needed a dough to form an outer "pocket" for something akin to a calzone.  Used the recipe in the book, but used my breadmaker on the dough cycle to do it.  Perfecto (and I still took a two hour nap without having to fuss with the dough.)

Experiment #3 was a whole wheat loaf formed and baked in my breadmaker.  Total crap.  It's feeding the birds.

Experiment #4 is coming soon -- it's a whole wheat sandwich loaf from ATK that involves soaking whole wheat and adding some things to the bread to soften it and sweeten it.  Sounds a little complicated ...

Thank god for my co-op where I can buy certain flours and ingredients in small quantities.  There's nothing more annoying than just needing a little bit of something for a loaf!

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #18 on: August 21, 2014, 11:28:23 AM »
Can anyone here recommend a good bread recipe in which I could use kalamata olives?  Perhaps something focaccia like?  I have a whole humongous jar of them from Costco (but I do love them!)

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #19 on: August 21, 2014, 05:06:34 PM »
Peter Reinhart has written a bread-baking book which follows many of the same principles.  Yeah - Pollan is cool.  I heard him give a live talk once.  I couldn't adopt his total lifestyle (time issues) but I think his food rules were pretty brilliant because I have remembered them.  "Don't fuel your body and your car" at the same place.  "Don't eat it if you can't pronounce it..." 

dragoncar

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #20 on: August 21, 2014, 11:17:48 PM »
Peter Reinhart has written a bread-baking book which follows many of the same principles.  Yeah - Pollan is cool.  I heard him give a live talk once.  I couldn't adopt his total lifestyle (time issues) but I think his food rules were pretty brilliant because I have remembered them.  "Don't fuel your body and your car" at the same place.  "Don't eat it if you can't pronounce it..."

So don't eat French food, but since I took a chemistry class I can eat most junk food.  Sounds reasonable!

DaKini

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #21 on: August 22, 2014, 04:01:22 AM »
Quote
I'm surprised so many of you have bread makers.
I'm too. I never had one and never had the need for one.
I just prepare my dough and put it in the oven once its ready.

RelaxedGal

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #22 on: August 25, 2014, 08:32:55 AM »
I'm surprised so many of you have bread makers.  I just make my bread in baking pans.  A good mixer can make many parts of the process easier and it's really an easy process.  The only advantage I can see with a bread maker is that you only have to be there once whereas when you mix it yourself you have to mix and knead everything, wait for it to rise, and then shape and bake.  Am I missing out on some big advantage?

Our bread machine is used 95% of the time for pizza dough.  Put the ingredients in before work on "time delay" and the dough is ready to be shaped when I get home. 

I'll have to look up the America's test Kitchen recipe.  We recipe that we like in the bread machine, but it has a thick chewy crust and makes a dense loaf.  I want light and soft like bread aisle bread, so we usually buy our bread (the Freihofer 100% whole wheat, if anyone has a clone bread machine recipe).  Thick and chewy makes nice dinner rolls though :-)

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #23 on: August 25, 2014, 08:37:51 AM »
We have never liked the squishy steamed bread machine bread.  I got quite good at the NYT no-knead bread which is super fast, cheap and easy to make.  You do require the right cooking pot for it and it uses a lot of energy to run the oven for a while.  Environmentally speaking, and possibly even cost-wise, you are better off buying nice bread from the cheapest place you can find and/or reducing your bread consumption, which is what we do.

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #24 on: August 25, 2014, 08:41:37 AM »
I like my bread maker for mixing dough, but don't have much success baking in it.

The bread recipes in America's Test Kitchen, "The Science of Good Cooking" cookbook are excellent.  They have a no-knead recipe like the NYT recipes, only with a couple of additions that make it more flavorful.  They also have a whole wheat sandwich bread recipe that's excellent -- it's moist and sweet.  I'm continuing to work my way through the cookbook.


2ndTimer

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #25 on: August 25, 2014, 04:54:43 PM »
In my life as a breadmaker, I have occasionally had a batch that didn't rise.  I have found that an excellent way to salvage it is to slather it with pizza ingredients and pretend I had been making pizza all along.

hyla

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #26 on: August 25, 2014, 05:26:28 PM »
Can anyone here recommend a good bread recipe in which I could use kalamata olives?  Perhaps something focaccia like?  I have a whole humongous jar of them from Costco (but I do love them!)

Make a sort of paste or tapenade with chopped olives, rosemary, and olive oil.  Then, make some whole wheat dough (whatever recipe you like), let it do the first rise, roll it out to about 9 x 13", spread the olive paste all over it, roll it up in a pinwheel to make a loaf and put it in a loaf pan, let it rise the second time, then bake however your wheat bread recipe says to.

Also, for online recipes, I'm a huge fan of the recipes on the King Arthur website.  They've always come out well for me.

I use the previously mentioned new york times no knead recipe - the long rise and bake in a casserole is brilliant - but I knead the dough.  Kneading takes 5 minutes, and improves the texture considerably.

Zaga

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #27 on: August 26, 2014, 06:33:31 AM »
In my life as a breadmaker, I have occasionally had a batch that didn't rise.  I have found that an excellent way to salvage it is to slather it with pizza ingredients and pretend I had been making pizza all along.
Brilliant!

Another thing I have done is to make little flat disks about 1" around and deep fry them in about an inch of oil in a small pan.  Then eat them plain, dipped in honey, or rolled in cinnamon sugar.  They are like donuts :-)

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #28 on: August 26, 2014, 08:04:14 AM »
How long does homemade bread last for?  I imagine not very long given the preservatives.  I'm interested in replacing storebought bread, but my husband relies on his for sandwiches throughout the week -- not sure how he could make sandwiches out of frozen bread, if you have to freeze it for it to last? 

ioseftavi

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #29 on: August 26, 2014, 08:11:34 AM »
How long does homemade bread last for?  I imagine not very long given the preservatives.  I'm interested in replacing storebought bread, but my husband relies on his for sandwiches throughout the week -- not sure how he could make sandwiches out of frozen bread, if you have to freeze it for it to last?

Don't freeze it if you think you can use it within 4-5 days.  Wrap once in cling wrap.  Wrap again in aluminum foil.  Leave it on the counter or in a cabinet, whatever.  Re-use the same clingwrap/foil as you go through the loaf if you want to be environmentally conscious. 

We've started making bread once per week, and the loaf doesn't go stale in 4-5 days if you wrap it up nicely after each time that you cut it and leave it at room temp.

swick

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #30 on: August 26, 2014, 08:16:06 AM »
How long does homemade bread last for?  I imagine not very long given the preservatives.  I'm interested in replacing storebought bread, but my husband relies on his for sandwiches throughout the week -- not sure how he could make sandwiches out of frozen bread, if you have to freeze it for it to last?

 A loaf of fresh bread usually lasts 3-4 days easy. If you add some honey when you make bread, it lasts for quite a bit longer - natural preservative.

 Also, you can freeze bread with no big noticeable loss of quality. I read somewhere (sorry can't remember where) that it is like aging the bread an extra day. So if you cool and slice the day you bake and freeze it it should be fine then you can take out slices as needed for sandwiches. Take them out when you first get up and they should be thawed in15-20 min.

Alternately, you can freeze the whole loaf and take it out of the freezer the night before. 

Or, there is a forum poster who makes their sandwiches ahead of time (PB & J) or basic meat and cheese and freezes them made up - then packs any fresh additions like lettuce and other veggies separate to put on the sandwich that is thawed by lunch. I haven't tried it yet, but they do sell "Uncrustables" which are basically prepared and frozen PB&J so I think it would work?

Zaga

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #31 on: August 29, 2014, 06:00:37 AM »
How long does homemade bread last for?  I imagine not very long given the preservatives.  I'm interested in replacing storebought bread, but my husband relies on his for sandwiches throughout the week -- not sure how he could make sandwiches out of frozen bread, if you have to freeze it for it to last?
I find my bread lasts about 4 days before it starts to smell a bit off.  I live in a very damp area, mold is always a concern.

So when I make bread I cut half of the loaf off and put it in the freezer.  When I use up the last of the bread that is out I take the rest of the loaf out of the freezer.  It thaws very quickly, then I just slice off what I need from there.

Sometimes I actually make 2 loaves at once and freeze 1.5 loaves.

worms

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #32 on: August 31, 2014, 01:48:36 PM »
...and sourdough breads last longer still, so once-a-week bread making is perfectly do-able.

briandougherty

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #33 on: August 31, 2014, 08:48:34 PM »
I'm surprised so many of you have bread makers.  I just make my bread in baking pans.  A good mixer can make many parts of the process easier and it's really an easy process.  The only advantage I can see with a bread maker is that you only have to be there once whereas when you mix it yourself you have to mix and knead everything, wait for it to rise, and then shape and bake.  Am I missing out on some big advantage?

We've made white and whole grain loaves and baguettes.  Both were quite good but so far we've only really tried basic things.  Thinking of making brioche soon.

Brioche is dead easy!  Just an enriched dough - higher fat content due to more butter.  Baguettes are tougher - we've done them, but to really nail the "crumb", you've got to get the moisture content and shaping right.  Ours have been tasty so far, but definitely not "better than what you get from the bakery" quality.

I don't know if visually this will be a meaningful distinction but, our store baguettes always look [urhttp://gling.com/site_media/recipephotos/Sliced_French_Bread_Loaves.jpg]like this[/url] while what we made looks like this. What we make is worse than the baguettes I got at bakeries in France (but probably better than what I would get at supermarkets) but better than supermarket bread here and good bakery bread is quite expensive at $3.50.

Trudie

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #34 on: September 15, 2014, 11:14:41 AM »
Does anyone make pizza crust dough and freeze it?  I made two batches in my bread-maker on my day off and threw them into a freezer bag.  I haven't pulled them out and baked them yet.  I assume I'll just let them thaw and rise on the kitchen counter all day.

happy

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #35 on: September 16, 2014, 03:43:23 AM »
Quote
Or, there is a forum poster who makes their sandwiches ahead of time (PB & J) or basic meat and cheese and freezes them made up - then packs any fresh additions like lettuce and other veggies separate to put on the sandwich that is thawed by lunch. I haven't tried it yet, but they do sell "Uncrustables" which are basically prepared and frozen PB&J so I think it would work?

I make my kids lunches on the weekend and freeze them - you get to know what will freeze and what won't. PB, vegemite, jam, honey, meat, cheese..

I started using a bread maker 2 years ago for the whole bread making process - mixing/baking. I use a bread mix (just add water and yeast) which I buy in 10kg lots. Its cheaper than buying baker's flour separately in my supermarket. It works fine,  and I probably bake 2-3loaves a week. The only down side is that I actually haven't learnt how to make bread!  Just recently had some spare time to experiment making the dough in the bread maker, then making rolls and baking in oven. Actually handling the dough  is a whole new experience.

Zaga

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #36 on: September 17, 2014, 08:58:25 AM »
Does anyone make pizza crust dough and freeze it?  I made two batches in my bread-maker on my day off and threw them into a freezer bag.  I haven't pulled them out and baked them yet.  I assume I'll just let them thaw and rise on the kitchen counter all day.
What I have done is make crusts and partially bake them, then freeze that.  It works very well.  I think what you did will also work well, as long as you give it enough time to warm up to room temp.

swick

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #37 on: September 17, 2014, 12:01:41 PM »
I freeze pizza dough all the time, roll it in a ball, pop it in a freezer bag and squish out all the air. When I want to make Pizza, I pop the ball into a greased bowl, cover and let it thaw and have another rise on the counter.

Gerard

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #38 on: September 17, 2014, 04:27:03 PM »
I make a version of the Lahey/Bittman/NYT no-knead recipe, with a very long rise (about 18 hours... luckily I live somewhere cool). I don't bother with a second rise, or the flouring and cloth bits that some people do. Just preheat the pot and lid in the oven, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the wet sticky mess into the pot and pop on the lid. I calculate my per-loaf cost at about 65 cents (I buy flour in large bags from costco).

wrt lasting power, it's so damn good that I'm usually through a 750-gram loaf in a couple of days. But even if you do have some stale stuff, stale good bread is much more useful (as crumbs, rusks, or stuffing) than stale factory bread.

wrt whole wheat and flavour, the long rising really brings out a bunch more esters (flavour compounds) -- malty, toasty, molasses-y -- and avoids that cardboardy supermarket whole wheat taste. I bet it would be even better with some add-ins like molasses or bean puree or olives or something, but I'm still at the it-ain't-broke stage.

wrt wasted oven-heating energy, I usually bake on days when the house could use a little warming up, and if I have my act together I bake/roast something else in the oven afterward.

expatartist

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #39 on: September 17, 2014, 08:09:41 PM »
Excellent recipe ideas, everyone! Now things are getting colder it's a good time to make bread.

2ndTimer

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #40 on: September 19, 2014, 10:20:39 AM »
I routinely make four loaves at a time.  Keep one or two out depending of how fast it's disappearing and freeze the others in plastic bags. It never stays in the freezer for more than a week so I can't say how this would work in the long term.

flashpacker

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #41 on: September 19, 2014, 09:16:25 PM »
I moved countries and had to give up my machine, but I used to make pizza dough all the time. I liked to make it with 100% spelt flour. Cinnamon and sultana bread in the bread maker is also delish!

HP

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #42 on: September 27, 2014, 05:12:07 PM »
So here's the deal with gluten. It's the protein that binds the bread together. Gluten has to be "developed" which happens through kneading and rising. Having too wet or too dry dough will inhibit the process as well.

You should not have to add gluten unless you are using a GF flour (and usually people only use those because they can't eat gluten, and use stuff like xanthan gum or guar gum to hold it together instead.) If your dough is not rising enough or is too "tough" or too crumbly, you should consider your leavening amount or quality, how much you are kneading it, and for how long it is rising, and whether you have too much or too little water. I mean, you could add more gluten if you want, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not strictly necessary for any flour that naturally contains gluten, even if it's 100% whole wheat.

I make a simple whole wheat bread all the time. Flour, water, salt, leavening (Costco yeast ftw!), and fat. A sweetener like honey if I feel like it. I dump it all in, beat it to death in my stand mixer, cover it so it doesn't dry out, and let it rise for hours (punching it down every once in a while is nice too, if you're around). I have mixed it in the morning, and left it alone until before dinner, with fabulous, fluffy, non-crumbly results. It's not fru-fru but it's simple and hassle free, and, I think, quite mustachian. ;)

Eric

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #43 on: October 01, 2014, 06:46:33 PM »
Great link on NY Times for making super easy bread!! I do it virtually every 48 hours and haven't bought store bread in months!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html?_r=0

Good luck!!  I have had amazing success with these two easy recipes.  Make sure to watch the video in the NY times article.  The NY Times guy also has a lot of other good videos such as how to make Naan bread.

OMG!  This bread is AMAZING!!  I made it last weekend.  The first time I've ever made any kind of bread.  It's equivalent to a $6 loaf at a real bakery.  The crust is thick and chewy and the inside is spongy just like it's supposed to be.  And I just used whatever cheap all purpose flour that I had on hand.  Definitely not the fancy stuff.  I'm so happy with this!  I have another batch ready to go in the oven tonight.  It's just so easy, I can't believe how good it is.  Thanks for posting.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2014, 06:48:31 PM by Eric »

Gerard

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #44 on: October 02, 2014, 06:18:11 AM »
Yeah, that NYT Jim Lahey bread is really good and easy. Like they say in the article, the long rising time sort of auto-corrects for all the finicky things bakers usually worry about.

Eric, try it with whole wheat flour if you get a chance. You get an even more complex flavour, kind of malty and molasses-y, and nothing like the wet-cardboard vibe that makes people think they don't like whole wheat bread.

RelaxedGal

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #45 on: October 02, 2014, 06:44:07 AM »
What I have done is make crusts and partially bake them, then freeze that.  It works very well.  I think what you did will also work well, as long as you give it enough time to warm up to room temp.

Same here.  I make a 2 pound(?) batch of pizza dough, divide it in 3, make 1 pizza for dinner and pre-bake the other 2 crusts for easy future dinners.  Each pizza is large enough for 2 adults to share.  I do buy the extra large ziploc bags (2 gallon?) because they won't fit in normal gallon bags.  I put them both in the same bag, with parchment paper in between so they don't freeze together.

I haven't tried freezing dough because I have a bread machine.  If I was going to think far enough ahead to defrost dough, I'd just put another batch in the bread machine.  That only takes an hour and a half to be ready.

fallstoclimb

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #46 on: October 02, 2014, 06:59:06 AM »
How does this pre-bake work?  Do you fully bake it or stop early?  And then how do you defrost?  When I make dough I usually freeze the uncooked ball of dough and do have to plan ahead a day for defrosting...

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #47 on: October 02, 2014, 09:35:13 AM »
Yeah, that NYT Jim Lahey bread is really good and easy. Like they say in the article, the long rising time sort of auto-corrects for all the finicky things bakers usually worry about.

Eric, try it with whole wheat flour if you get a chance. You get an even more complex flavour, kind of malty and molasses-y, and nothing like the wet-cardboard vibe that makes people think they don't like whole wheat bread.

I finally have a batch rising.  I had active dry yeast, but from what I read that shouldn't matter.  For whole wheat it's just a 100% substitution?

Zaga

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #48 on: October 02, 2014, 09:54:19 AM »
How does this pre-bake work?  Do you fully bake it or stop early?  And then how do you defrost?  When I make dough I usually freeze the uncooked ball of dough and do have to plan ahead a day for defrosting...
I bake the plain crust until it is just barely done, but not browned at all.  Then I freeze in a freezer bag.

When I want to use it I leave it frozen, all the sauce and toppings, then pop it right into the oven while it is still somewhat frozen.  I don't use a pan, doing it this way I can bake right on the rack and have the bottom come out quite nice.  Generally I bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes.

This way there's no planning ahead needed, I don't have the pre-thaw anything out.  Which is pretty much necessary, cause I'm not great at planning when we will have pizza.

Gerard

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Re: Home Breadbaking for newbies -- the food science and art of it
« Reply #49 on: October 05, 2014, 11:27:13 AM »
  For whole wheat it's just a 100% substitution?

Yup. Great thing about whole wheat flour is that it sort of self-regulates if you put in a little too much or too little water. A bit like compost for your dough.

 

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