Bread questions

[cassie]

I just made a very simple artisan bread. You combine flour, yeast, salt, and warm water in a bowl and let it set for about 24 hours. After that you form it into a ball, let it rest for 30 minutes and then bake it at 450 degrees covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15. Anyway, it turned out a little doughy. Could it be underdone? Also, it has a very slightly bitter taste. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Did you use whole wheat Flour? Whole wheat will sometimes have a bitterness. You can counteract that with 2 TBLS orange juice. I cook mostly with whole wheat and learned this tip from the King Author Whole Wheat aBread book.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Boy thats a high temperature, your outside may get done fast but the inside still undercooked? I like to use a instant read thermometer, cook to 190 degrees perfect every time.

 

[cassie]

Boy thats a high temperature, your outside may get done fast but the inside still undercooked? I like to use a instant read thermometer, cook to 190 degrees perfect every time.

It is a high temperature, but that is what the recipe said to bake it at. I think you are right about it being undercooked. My oven seems to take longer to cook things than the recipe says. I should have and could have left it in longer. it certainly was not too brown. Next time I go to the store I will get an oven thermometer. Using an instant read thermometer is a good idea, too. I have one of those.

 

[cassie]

Did you use whole wheat Flour? Whole wheat will sometimes have a bitterness. You can counteract that with 2 TBLS orange juice. I cook mostly with whole wheat and learned this tip from the King Author Whole Wheat aBread book.

I used all purpose flour. I will remember your suggestion if and when I use whole wheat flour. I think the bread may have been undercooked and not mixed up well enough. I'll correct those two things when I bake it next time. This loaf will get fed to the dogs. I'm sure they will like it a lot better than I do.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

What you described mixing is call a sponge and after it setting I think you are supposed to add more flour to it before you knead it. I made one once for Rye bread, it didn't turn out to well, they are more complicated.

 

[cassie]

What you described mixing is call a sponge and after it setting I think you are supposed to add more flour to it before you knead it. I made one once for Rye bread, it didn't turn out to well, they are more complicated.

Ordinarily, you would be right. This is a so-called artisan bread. It isn't kneaded. I made it because it seemed to be within even my limited bread making capabilities. You just put 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon yeast in a bowl and mix until combined. Then you cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it set at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours. Then you turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a ball. You then let it rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile you take a baking dish with high sides and that has a lid and put it in the oven. You heat the oven to 450 degrees. Then you cut an X in the loaf, put it in the hot baking dish and bake it covered for 30 minutes and uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until it is golden brown. Other people who have made this bread raved about it. Mine didn't come out so good. After reading the posts and looking on the King Arthur site, I think I know what the problems with my bread were. First of all, I don't think I combined it enough. Secondly, I'm sure I didn't bake it long enough. My oven is slow and I didn't take that into account. The recipe said to bake it until the loaf is a nice golden brown. Mine wasn't golden brown. In fact, it was kind of pale. As I cut deeper into the loaf it became very obvious it wasn't done. I couldn't figure out any way to salvage it so I fed it to the dogs. They liked it. I will make it again only this time I will mix it better and bake it longer and see how it turns out. If it still isn't edible, I will throw out the recipe. Won't be the first time.

 

[N F C]

I just made a very simple artisan bread. You combine flour, yeast, salt, and warm water in a bowl and let it set for about 24 hours. After that you form it into a ball, let it rest for 30 minutes and then bake it at 450 degrees covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15. Anyway, it turned out a little doughy. Could it be underdone? Also, it has a very slightly bitter taste. Any ideas or suggestions?

Your recipe sounds very similar to one I make frequently (it's DH's favorite).

Just a few differences in how I do it:
Combine the warm water, yeast and salt. Add the flour and stir until no dry patches are left.
Let it sit on the counter about 2 hours in a large container that does not have a tight fitting lid.
Put it in the fridge overnight (or up to 1 week).
When ready to make a loaf, sprinkle the top of the dough in the container with a bit of flour to make handling easier, then grab out a big handful. Quickly form into a ball, tucking edges underneath and making a taut surface.
Put on a parchment covered baking sheet (sprinkle corn meal on the parchment first).
Let rise, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Then turn the oven on to pre-heat to 450* for 20 minutes (this gives the bread a total of 40 minutes of rising time).
Lightly flour the top of the loaf, make a slash or X on top.
Put a baking dish in the bottom rack of the oven, fill it with boiling water to create steam, and pop the bread into the hot oven.
Bake about 25-30 minutes (till reaches 190* or sounds hollow when you knock it).
Cool completely before slicing.

I usually make up a big container of this dough using 1.5 Tablespoons of yeast, 1.5 Tablespoons of kosher salt, 3 Cups of water and 5.5-6.5 Cups of AP flour. With that much dough, I usually can make 3 loaves. We've also used the dough to make deep-dish pizza crusts (yummy!) and we can get 2 large pizzas from that much dough.

 

[cassie]

Thanks. I'll give yours a try. I also found an oat bread on the King Arthur site that is similar. I might try it too.

 

[N F C]

Thanks. I'll give yours a try. I also found an oat bread on the King Arthur site that is similar. I might try it too.

If you're interested, you're more than welcome to join a bunch of us over on the Home Baker's thread. Lots of helpful advice, sharing, etc. there from other members that like to bake!
post #1

The index to the recipes hasn't been updated for a while, but you can scan through it to see if there's something you'd like to try.