Any Home Bakers Here?

[jknox1982]

This was my day...I made rye bread. Yep, that's it, all day for 1 loaf. Surprisingly, it turned out decent, not the best bread ever made but it was the best rye bread I've made so far. We tried a slice tonight and with the 1st bite, I'm thinking "hey, not horrible, it finally rose, it's not dry and doesn't have that bitter taste some ryes do". DH's 1st words were "hey, you didn't put any caraway seeds in it"...that's when he was almost clobbered with the baking sheet.

I'll post the recipe tomorrow along with the adjustments I made to get an edible loaf of rye. I'll probably try this one again. And yes, there will be caraway seeds in it DH!

my Grandfather was a lover of rye bread but he always refused to eat caraway seeds so I never became a fan but I would love to be able to make rye because to me the best toast is rye and ruban sandwich's are my favorite

 

[wyoDreamer]

I only eat rye in Rueben Sandwiches.

 

[N F C]

Finnish Rye Bread (1 loaf)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/4 Cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
3 tsp instant potato flakes
1 Tab packed brown sugar
1 Tab vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 Cup rye flour
1 1/2 - 2 Cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
softened butter

Dissolve instant potato flakes in warm water.
Mix yeast, sugar, potato water & 1 Cup rye flour, let sit 30 minutes.
Add oil, salt, all-purpose flour, vital wheat gluten & caraway seeds.
Mix until dough is easy to handle.
Turn onto surface lightly floured with remaining 1/4 Cup rye flour.
Cover & let rest 5 minutes.
Knead until smooth & elastic, about 5 minutes.
Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up.
Cover & let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched.
Shape into round loaf.
Place on parchment paper covered sheet.
Cover & let rise until doubled again, about 1 hour.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake loaf 40-50 minutes until sounds hollow when thumped (or 190 degrees internally)
Brush top with butter immediately after removing from oven
Cool on wire rack.

The changes I made to the original recipe were:
- included vital wheat gluten (thanks WyoDreamer)
- will include caraway seeds next time (per DH's request)

Issue with loaf yesterday:
- bread barely rose after the 1st 1 hour rise time (or the 2nd hour or the 3rd hour) so I turned the dough onto a surface floured with all purpose flour, made a well in the center and added 1 tsp of yeast that I dissolved in 1/4 Cup of warm water. Then I kneaded it to mix in the additional yeast, added more all purpose flour to take the stickiness out but not too much flour as I didn't want the bread to end up dry. Covered the dough and placed it on top of the range (it was warm, dinner was in the oven) and it finally rose after about 40 minutes. Baked per directions.
- the bread was good last night but even better this morning

 

[wyoDreamer]

I made bread the other day, it was a recipe that I hardly ever use and you mix the yeast and flour then add hot water. I am pretty sure the water was too hot and killed the yeast. My thermometer is still unpacked, so I tried to wing it. After it didn't start to rise I added more yeast and it turned out ok.

 

[N F C]

I made bread the other day, it was a recipe that I hardly ever use and you mix the yeast and flour then add hot water. I am pretty sure the water was too hot and killed the yeast. My thermometer is still unpacked, so I tried to wing it. After it didn't start to rise I added more yeast and it turned out ok.

Hi,

When I first started baking, I learned real quick that a thermometer was important, lol. The other day I used one to check the water temp with the rye bread and it was fine and the yeast was isn't old (used some today and it's working fine). I wonder if the rye flour was just too much for the amount of yeast called for and it plain wore itself out. Anyway, the rye is now gone but will try it again soon.

Today I wanted to try making challah, mostly because of all the eggs in it. The recipe said to make the dough and stick in the fridge overnight so I did that but because we were out of bread, I went ahead and made 2 loaves of Italian. Well...I just checked the fridge, the challah dough is enormous & about to over-flow the bowl (it was pushing the plastic wrap off). So, now I'm making the challah today too. Great...the 2 of us do not need 4 loaves of bread all at once!

Someone is going in the freezer that's for sure.

 

[N F C]

BTW, the challah is wonderful. There are a ton of recipes for that type of bread on the internet; I made the one in Peter Reinhart's book "Artisan Bread Everyday" (I think that's the name). Made 2 HUGE loaves, braided and very pretty, great for toast.

What's everyone else been up to?

 

[Xiao Casa]

I just found this thread, but I like to bake too! It is not my first priority (I'm still in high school...) so I don't tend to bake too often, but it is so relaxing and fun.

The thing I make most often is chocolate chip banana bread, our family loves to eat it for breakfast or dessert. It is delicious, though perhaps not my favorite thing to bake, as you need three bowls -- that's a lot of dishes!

If anyone is interested I can certainly share my recipe, I just don't want to invade your thread too soon.

I have made some yeast breads before, they are not that hard once you get the hang of it. Just time consuming with all that rising! I have never had a food thermometer for the water when you "start" the yeast, but my mom showed me how to test it with my finger. I cannot really explain it without a bowl of water for all of you guys to stick your hands in, but I can feel if it is too hot or too cold. Now if my bread doesn't rise properly, I know it is because I overmixed it, not because I messed up the yeast.

 

[N F C]

I just found this thread, but I like to bake too! It is not my first priority (I'm still in high school...) so I don't tend to bake too often, but it is so relaxing and fun.

The thing I make most often is chocolate chip banana bread, our family loves to eat it for breakfast or dessert. It is delicious, though perhaps not my favorite thing to bake, as you need three bowls -- that's a lot of dishes!

If anyone is interested I can certainly share my recipe, I just don't want to invade your thread too soon.

I have made some yeast breads before, they are not that hard once you get the hang of it. Just time consuming with all that rising! I have never had a food thermometer for the water when you "start" the yeast, but my mom showed me how to test it with my finger. I cannot really explain it without a bowl of water for all of you guys to stick your hands in, but I can feel if it is too hot or too cold. Now if my bread doesn't rise properly, I know it is because I overmixed it, not because I messed up the yeast.

Hi Xiao Casa , please feel free to join us! And when does a baker ever have too many recipes? If you would like to share any recipe, just put it out here. Your family is lucky to have a student that makes time to bake. I'm always looking for something new to try and really enjoy reading recipes and cooking tips. Glad to have you here!

 

[jknox1982]

Welcome to the group Xiao Casa!!!!!
I have to agree no one can ever have to many recipes!! I have a special book for recipes I have received from friends and on line. NorthFLChick has typed out some amazing bread recipes and one I will be trying tomorrow.
Sunday dinner here will be fresh italian bread!!! with eggplant parm!!! oh i am excited
HAPPY BAKING
Jenn

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Tossing this out there as a shot in the dark --- several years back I had picked up a recipe for sugar cookies from another member of an online group. Eventually the group sort of drifted apart and I lost contact with this particular person and then I lost the recipe. What was so special about this particular recipe is it called for a good deal of sour cream in the recipe and the cookies were so light and soft, like little clouds in your mouth. I remember the "dough" was very sticky and a bit harder to work with than a typical cookie dough. She had said that the recipe was her grandmother's and she was, I believe, Scandinavian (?) - so perhaps that has something to do with the differences to traditional sugar cookies? Anyway - I have searched online and have not ever found anything close, but maybe someone here has a mysterious Scandinavian grandmother who has passed down a similar recipe?