I really enjoy baking my own bread. Home baked bread tastes better than that fluffy white airy stuff from the store, makes the house smell fabulous while it’s cooking, gives you complete control over the ingredients (hey-I can pronounce everything in it!) and, let’s face it, it gives me a feeling of satisfaction knowing I made it!
I know a lot of folks are intimidated by the idea of baking their own bread, so I thought I’d give you a little peek into the process I use. Most weeks I bake 2 loaves of bread at the beginning of the week. Now don’t go thinking I’m perfect or anything, there are plenty of weeks in there that life gets busy and I wind up buying the cheapo nothing-burger sandwich white at the grocery store. But whenever I do that Buddy always comments about how much better he likes MY bread.
But on to the process. To start with, I do use a bread machine. However I don’t like those weird little square loaves with a big hole in the bottom that it makes, so I basically use my bread machine as a bread mixer, kneader & first riser.
I use the basic white recipe from my Betty Crocker bread machine cookbook. The only changes I make are 1) I use olive oil instead of butter and 2) I occasionally use up to half whole wheat flour instead of all white–and in those cases I either add a TBS or so of vital wheat gluten or more powdered milk
To start with I measure out my ingredients. To make my life easier about every other week I just use baggies and measure out four sets of the dry ingredients (minus the yeast) and stick a note inside that lists out the wet ingredients and yeast that need to be added.
If I’m not that organized then I measure the wet ingredients for that week right into the bread hopper and a second set into a spare measuring cup, and then I measure out the dry ingredients into the hopper and the second set into a bowl (minus the yeast).
The wet (water & oil for this recipe) always go in first.
And then the dry (flour, sugar, salt, powdered milk & yeast) go in. I snap the hopper into the machine and set it to the “dough” setting, which takes 1 hr 20 minutes. After about 5 minutes I like to pop open the lid and check how it looks.
Can you see how wet this dough looks? It should be forming a ball, but instead it’s a gooey mess. Yes-I followed the directions exactly. It isn’t me messing up, it’s the weather! You see believe it or not, flour actually absorbs moisture from the air, so when you have a lot of damp weather there can be more moisture than you imagine in the flour.
From the White Lily Flour Website: “Flour will absorb moisture from the air under humid conditions and the amount of flour required during the kneading stage might vary.”
The solution? Follow the recipe, then check on it. If it looks too wet, add more flour (about a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup depending) and then restart your dough cycle.
Now THAT looks like bread dough is supposed to look!
While I’m waiting for the dough to go through it’s mixing, kneading and first rise (which happens in the bread machine) I go ahead and oil both of the bread pans.
Yes. Oil. I haven’t bought non stick spray in years-I was tired of paying for it, tired of throwing the cans away to be lost in a landfill somewhere. I just used a pastry brush and a small bowl of oil for years, but then I found the cool bottle/basting brush combo you see above at the dollar store a year or so back.
When the bread machine “beeps” I take the dough out, form it into a loaf shape and plop it in the bread pan. I then place it in the oven to rise for about 40 minutes. My kitchen is very cold in the winter (gorgeous old houses have quirks-including very cruddy insulation) so usually I will turn the oven on to “warm” and as soon as it gives me that “preheat” beep, I turn it off. The residual heat is gentle enough to let the dough rise without cooking it.
Meanwhile, I just take the bread hopper (it doesn’t matter if there is a bit of the dough stuck inside-it will incorporate) and pour in the premeasured wet ingredients and then the premeasured (or bagged) dry ingredients. I grab the yeast out of the fridge and add that in, the hit go on the dough cycle again.
When the bread is done rising I like to take a serrated knife and cut a slit in the top. Yeah, just like that “split top” bread you buy in the store. I do this because as the bread cooks it gets hard on the outside first-and usually as the outside hardens and the inside continues to rise in the heat it splits SOMEWHERE-and I’d rather it split where I tell it to on the top than at the side.
Then the oven gets turned on to bake. Meanwhile, the second loaf of bread typically has to start rising while the first loaf is in the oven-so I can’t use the oven for rising! Instead I put the bread next to the vent where the heat comes out of my oven and then tent a dishcloth over it. Works like a charm!
Then when the first loaf comes out of the oven I can pop the second one in.
Mmmm. Gorgeous, tasty hot out of the oven homemade bread.
While I’m at it and I’m already measuring and making bread, I like to take a few minutes and measure out all the ingredients for my pizza crust recipe as well. That way on Friday afternoon I just have to add the water & oil and dump it all in!
So there you have it-that’s how I manage my bread making. What about you? Do you ever bake your own bread? Do you have any great tips to share?
Bread season for me is as soon as it gets cold enough to make stews and soups. This month, I’m trying to make our sandwich bread too.
I make our bread too…and have the same machine as you! I’ve had it FOREVER and got it at the West Bed store as a refurb unit for like $12. I actually do a double recipe in it after hating waiting through 2 dough cycles, rises, oven on, etc. It handles the kneading fine and I adjust the flour at the first beep and when it rises it does get a bit high, but I can punch it down a bit or just let it lift the lid. I figure for the little bit of mess it makes the time savings are worth it.
After getting my Nutrimill last year we enjoy 100% freshly ground whole wheat bread and it is so easy. I bake two loaves, we eat one and the other goes in the freezer until the first is gone. YUM! I love Tammy’s recipes sandwich bread recipe as it is soft and wonderful for sandwiches, but is all whole wheat.
We are all bread lovers here!
Heather
You are so right about adding the gluten and powdered milk. And I am using more white whole wheat flour these days too — but do always use plain whole wheat.
Oh yes, and for the pizza crust… I can’t go without a good coating on cornmeal on the bottom!
My favorite part of baking bread is the wonderful aroma that fills the house. I usually make it one loaf at a time in order to maximize the olfactory benefits. When I have time, I enjoy kneading it by hand. I learned to make bread in the mid-1970s, before bread machines.
I used the same “spray” you did–oil in a bowl with a brush…till I caught a cat drinking out of it!! Now I use a little oil and my fingers or a napkin. I’ll take a look for that basting thing–that’s a great idea!! I can’t believe what people pay for “canned oil and chemicals”
We’re almost three years jobless, and for much of that, we’ve been baking our own bread. We follow the same idea — the bread machine does the mixing, kneading, and first rise… then the second rise is in a loaf pan. We find this fits in our busy schedule quite nicely, and my teens LOVE our bread. Our “normal” bread is half white and half white whole wheat, though we may shift one way or the other depending on what the bread will be used for. We also make our own pizza crust — also half white/half wheat. Cornmeal is a must-have. 🙂
One change we made recently in our bread making is to include about a cup of whey from our yogurt-making. We experimented with the amount, and found an amount where we liked the effect of the texture, without overwhelming tanginess of the whey. We don’t waste a lot around our house!
I like your idea of scoring the bread.. ours sometimes cracks on one side or the other along the edge of the pan. The boys don’t seem to mind, but it can look funny!
I love homemade bread. I have a bread machine and I often use it on the dough setting; I also use a stand mixer I got for Christmas one year. I got a recipe for Italian bread and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I don’t have a bread maker but manage to make a great loaf of artisan bread using this recipe 😉
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
Sheila-I have made that no knead bread before-it’s a fantastic loaf! Mmm. A bit harder to make sandwiches with for the kids lunchboxes though.
I know, they won’t take it for lunch 🙁
Ah well, all the more for us! You know, if you are interested in a bread machine you should check out the thrift stores near you. I frequently see them at both the Thrifty Shopper and the Salvation Army near us. I’ve actually considered buying a second one so I could bake both loaves at the same time-but they are so big. . .
Ohhh, also if you have a food processor I know there are lots of bread recipes out there where you can use that to do the mixing & kneading. . .
I also use a bread machine and I love it. It was given to me by “my kids” and it sure has been grand. I make all kinds of breads in it using the dough cycle. Like you, I don´t like the puffy bread with the hole in the bottom. Great ideas….I do enjoy your column. Keep them coming.
I have been an avid bread maker for many years, I find it relaxing the entire process. I started using a bread machine about ten years ago and was hooked . I relyed on the machine to do the kneading and early rise, rarely used the actual bread cycle. When I got the Kitchenaid stand mixer two years ago, I tried the dough hook and I found I liked the texture better than the bread machine. I sold it at a yard sale six months later as it was no longer used and took up counter space. Tonight in fact, I will make my roll recipe, three batches of dough (one for turkey day and two for a party I am hosting). I will freeze the dough after shaping it, and then the defrost the night before in the frig, and bake up the morning of the party. A little extra effort, wholesome ingredients, and the smell are so appreciated 😉
I actually prefer my pizza dough after it’s been frozen and thawed. Then you would only have to clean the bread machine once.
Can one substitute a Kitchen Aide Classic machine when they plan to make Ezekial bread for example instead of purchasing a hopper ?
I’ve never made bread in my KitchenAid but I believe a lot of folks do. . . a google search turned up this video showing how to make bread using one-I’m not sure if the Ezekial bread is thicker than regular dough-I just wouldn’t leave it unattended while mixing and would watch for signs that it is straining your mixer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z-VlR14V0U