baking bread

[Parson's Wife]

I have several bread recipes I will share...just can't get to it right now...phone has been ringing...church people are sick with the flu, and one liable to be in the hospital before days end.
These are my mother's and a coupla I've collected from church women...
Will get back soon.
Love this thread!

 

[MissPrissy]

Anyone tried the no knead bread ?

 

[Siddonzo]

Hi!
I've made the no knead bread many times - sometimes it looks too wet when I put it in the dutch oven, but it always turns out great. Cook's Illustrated Magazine did an article (Nov or Dec 07?) on how to improve the original recipe and it had some good tips.

Lately I have been making the bread from the book "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. You stir up the dough in a large bowl (no kneading), let it sit for two hours, and then refrigerate (loosely covered) for up to 14 days. Each day it sits brings out more flavor (like sourdough). When you want bread, cut off a piece, quickly shape, let sit to rise. Bake on a preheated stone at 450 for 30 minutes. Easy and very tasty. All different kinds of recipes in the book - ryes, sweet enriched, etc.

I make a super easy foccacia - take out a grapefruit-sized hunk of dough, form a ball, roll/spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Cover it with shredded cheese & olive tapenade. I let it sit for 10 minutes to take the chill off the dough and then I bake it at 400 for 25 minutes. Fridge to table in less than an hour. AWESOME! I love the book - check it out from your library. Zoe Francois has a blog too.

I like to make flavored/filled breads - Dough is my canvas!

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
Can you give me some tips on making Rye? I can make really good white breads, but everytime I use Rye, I get a brick. I mix the flour with high- gluten white and I've even added gluten or more yeast. Nothing works.

I just got my own copy of the book I used to make mine today. I will add the reciped later. It is a little involved but it did come out great. Not a traditional method but it worked. I am trying a Russian Black bread for machine from a library book I found yesterday. Rye flour in that one too. I"ll let you know how it turns out.

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
I hated my first one. The one I have now is probably 7 years old and works much better. I better newer ones than that are even better. I do both machine and handmade bread. I like the machine for doing a sandwich loaf overnight to have for school lunches. But I also am really enjoying the process of doing it all by hand.

 

[Cheryl]

Rye flour contains some proteins, but these proteins do not form gluten, therefore you cannot make a 100% rye bread, unless you like the brick quality. Gluten is an elastic substance, formed from proteins present in wheat flours, that gives structure and strength to baked goods. Typical formulas call for 25% to 40% rye flour and 60% to 75% hard wheat flour. There are also grades of rye: light rye, medium rye, dark rye, rye meal or pumpernickel and finally rye blend.
As for yummy rolls, James Beard on Bread, make the potato rolls, they are wonderful. I keep instant mashed potatoes flakes in my pantry to avoid the extra time involved in peeling, cooking and mashing!

 

[Siddonzo]

I sometimes set the bread machine on the dough setting and let it do all the work - then I form rolls/loaves and bake.

 

[BirdBrain]

Quote:
Okay....so you're gonna leave us hanging there?

Some of us don't get this magazine. Can you highlight the tips? I would love to make this. My kids and I watched the video and they are wanting to try their hand also, but we would love to use the improved version.

 

[Siddonzo]

BirdBrain ~
Off the top of my head.....(I will find the mag and add more later)

After forming the "loaf" (mine is more of a blob sometimes), let it rest and rise on parchment paper in a 10" skillet (the sides of the skillet control spread) instead of a towel. When ready to bake, lift the dough out of the skillet by holding the paper and put the whole thing in the dutch oven, paper included. Cover, Bake. Don't underbake - let the crust get deep brown.

They also suggested adding vinegar in the dough making process - I will find out exactly how much.

My dough always seems to be on the wet side and doesn't form very easily, BUT the wet dough (although it doesn't rise tons) has a wonderful open texture (like ciabatta).
The very first time I made the no knead bread I was SO disappointed because I couldn't get it to shape at all - I added more flour (don't!) and ended up dumping it on a cookie sheet and spreading it out. I baked it instead of throwing it out and the flavor/texture was GREAT!

Check out this site: Sorry I didn't put it in as a link.........

http://idinearound.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/no-knead-bread-ny-times-vs-cooks-illustrated/

 

[Elise]

I have a basic whole wheat sandwich loaf that I make from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, but the recipe I'm going to share here is my mother's challah (braided bread). Very impressive for special occasions and uses up some of those eggs! Kids will also love to help with the braiding-- I know I did as a child.

Challah (makes 1 large or 2 medium loaves)

For the dough:
1/2 cup sugar
2 envelopes yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)
1 3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten
6-7 cups flour (1/2 of it whole wheat)
1 stick butter, melted
For the glaze:
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp. milk
poppy or sesame seeds

Whisk the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Add the salt, butter, eggs, and 3 cups flour. Whisk until smooth. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time to form a soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes. Oil a large bowl and place the dough in it, turning once to coat. Rise, covered, for 1 1/4 hours or until doubled in size. Grease a large baking sheet. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until deflated.

For 1 large loaf: Cut off 1/3 of the dough. Let both pieces rest for 10 minutes. Cut both pieces of dough into 3 pieces, then roll each piece into a rope. Braid the ropes into 2 braids and place the smaller braid on top of the larger braid. For 2 smaller loaves: Cut the dough in half, let rest. Divide each half into three pieces. Roll into ropes and braid. Let the braided loaf rise on the baking sheet until doubled, approximately 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350*. Brush the loaf with the egg glaze and sprinkle generously with seeds. Bake until golden brown, 45-50 minutes. Cover with foil if necessary while baking to prevent excessive browning.

Whew! That sounds far more involved than it really is. I like to serve this for several people with some butter or margarine, and just let people tear off chunks instead of slicing it (the large loaf is quite large). It also makes fantastic French toast the next day.