Does anyone make bread?

God the similarities are endless. I made my first from scracth batch (yes I'm going to call them batches) last night. I thought there'd be a break making forum. Anyways, making bread is more difficult than beer. About the only advantages is has are 1) you know within 4 hours if it's any good and 2) you can experient w/o dropping $40/batch.

Anyways, I got into it because we found out the little one is allergic to milk, eggs and soy. It's almost impossible to buy bread w/o at least one of those ingredients, and it seems impossible to make a loaf you could enjoy w/o one of those ingredients. God bless jam!

FYI, there is no bread making forum, so I figured I'd start here.

I would like to know how to make some but I don't have a good understanding of the process.

My wife has been making bread since we were married 8 years ago.

She is on her second bread machine in that time span. These are a good investment. They offer a nice environment for proofing the dough. You can pull the dough out after the proof cycle and bake it in the oven like normal. My wife prefers this method because then you don't get the "hole" in the loaf. Or just leave it in for the baking while you go running around with the kids or whatever it is you do.

Go big though. Spend the money on this unit. We have the Breadman Ultimate. It gets heavy use and has lasted 3 years.

Peep this thread. Awesome recipe complete with video.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/no-knead-slow-rise-bread-video-77859/

Reedwalker said:

My wife has been making bread since we were married 8 years ago.

She is on her second bread machine in that time span. These are a good investment. They offer a nice environment for proofing the dough. You can pull the dough out after the proof cycle and bake it in the oven like normal. My wife prefers this method because then you don't get the "hole" in the loaf. Or just leave it in for the baking while you go running around with the kids or whatever it is you do.

Go big though. Spend the money on this unit. We have the Breadman Ultimate. It gets heavy use and has lasted 3 years.

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We are also on our second bread machine, also a breadman ultimate....might be on the third, coming up soon. We make bread once a week and we've found that the pin that connects the motor to the paddle in the bread pan works loose and causes the pan to leak. This was was did in the first unit and now we have the same problem in the second unit. Obviously a design flaw, my feeling is that these units aren't supposed to be used as frequently as we use it.

These are supposedly the "top-of-the-line" breadmakers:
http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/breadmakers/bbcc_x20.html

FYI, there is no bread making forum, so I figured I'd start here.

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Did you even look around?

There's a ton of bread threads on here, all you got to do is search for them like here; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/search.php?searchid=5069089 (I found those using advance search "bread" titles only and showing as threads, not posts), you can also look for them along with all the other food recipes in the cooking and paring section, or look down below in the similar threads box.

Including a few recipes for making bread with our spent grain. Making baguettes, pretzels and bread machine recipes.

I even have a bread thread.... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/no-knead-slow-rise-bread-video-77859/?highlight=Bread

Been there for about a year or more.

Heck, there's even a bread thread at the top of the cooking and pairing forum https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/alton-browns-cheddar-beer-bread-142566/?highlight=Bread

No Milk, Eggs or Soy in this recipe... now where are you going to find the spent grains....

http://www.weekendbrewer.com/Cooking/breadfromspentgrain.htm

Petep:
I've been baking bread for years. I have a nice sourdough yeast starter in the fridge. There's nothing like hot sourdough waffles in the winter.

My simple sourdough recipe uses flour, olive oil, sourdough starter, and water plus a pinch of salt. No eggs, no milk. You can toss in a little bread yeast if you're in a hurry.

It doesn't last like commercial breads because there's no preservatives.

Last time I baked I used a packet of beer yeast that came with an old extract kit that I bought, but it didn't proof. But I'm curious if beer yeast would make good bread....

Good Luck...

Yes, check out a Zojirushi bread maker, it's a rectangle shaped loaf and has two beaters in it. 5 years and counting, I've replaced the pan and beaters while still under warranty, otherwise no issues. Also for that artisan crusty bread a cast iron dutch oven is a killer way to bake your bread.

-OCD

WenValley said:

Last time I baked I used a packet of beer yeast that came with an old extract kit that I bought, but it didn't proof. But I'm curious if beer yeast would make good bread....

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I know that beer yeast makes great pizza dough...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/happy-fathers-day-nottingham-pizza-party-124907/

I make good bread all the time and never use milk or soy; and he only time I use eggs is if I'm making something special that calls for it, e.g., Portuguese sweet bread.

Strictly speaking, flour, water, yeast and salt are all you need - sometimes I'll add a little olive oil, especially if I'm making pizza dough, and I use sugar to proof the yeast.

Put a cup of water in a large bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds. It should be warm, but not hot. Put in a tablespoon of sugar and 1 pkg yeast, mix well and leave it for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes the mixture should be foamy - if not either your yeast is bad or your water was too hot and killed it.

Mix in 2 cups of flour (you will get much better results with "better for bread" or "bread machine" flour than all purpose flour) and 1 tsp salt. If the dough is too sticky (it probably will be), add some more flour a little at a time until you get a nice firm consistency. Knead for a few minutes by hand. Don't sweat any kneading science/mysticism you might have heard on the cooking shows - just squish it between your hands. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with a plate or lid that doesn't quite fit right (so it's loose). Turn your oven on for 30 seconds (gas) or 60 seconds (electric) and turn it off. Put the covered bowl with the dough in the oven and leave it for 45 minutes.

Knead the dough for a few minutes. You may have to add a little flour if it got sticky again. Put it back in the oven for an hour.

Take it out of the oven and set it for 350F. Knead the dough a little and form your loaf on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Wait 30 minutes. Bake it. Usually takes about 30 minutes.

This is really basic starting point and it'll probably take a few times doing it before you get the hang of it. I left out a couple of things that while they can improve your results, aren't strictly speaking necessary and are likely to make it seem more complicated than it needs to be.

Hope this helps!

I didn't look for threads because I thought it'd have a specific forum.

I'm certain we're going to get a bread maker for Christmas from my mother.

My first was some honey wheat bread....and low and be hold children under 1 cannot have honey either. Maybe I'll try molasses.

I made an ultimate mess. It was almost as bad as a boil over...no lie.

Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

It's an exceptional read and the recipes are all incredible.

Captain Damage said:

Knead for a few minutes by hand. Don't sweat any kneading science/mysticism you might have heard on the cooking shows - just squish it between your hands.

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+1 to this...from what I understand, modern day bread flours have been made to develop gluten faster than their earlier counterparts, similar to how modern day brewing grains no longer require protein rest or long mashing times.

Gone are the days of having to knead for 15 minutes....usually 5 minutes is sufficient to develop gluten (the long protein strands that makes bread dough elastic).

I make a fair bit of bread. I never use soy or eggs. I rarely use milk. Sometimes on a sweet bread I'll use milk. My main ingredients are water, flour, yeast, & salt. Sometimes olive oil.

You can also find some good simple breads (no milk, soy, or eggs) at whole foods stores or similar.

I bake a few loaves per week, I absolutely love fresh bread, when it gets a few days old I run it through the processor and toast off some breadcrumbs for use elsewhere, I also love making Focaccia with tomato, olives, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and romano on top, only real difference is you add a boiled potato and the water from the boiling into the dough, gives it a nice texture and mouth feel. I should do a how to with pics next batch. a warm piece of it with a cold beer is heaven!

flyangler18 said:

Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

It's an exceptional read and the recipes are all incredible.

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+1, great book. as said before, simplicity in bread is what makes the best loaves... also, once you read up a bit, you'll find that the best breads are made with overnight starters. simple baguettes with an over night 'poolish' starter are really quite easy to make and freakin' delicious. i know some people get zen with the art of kneading, which i like to do sometimes, but if you have a kitchenaid, kneading is super easy...

if you're up for more reading, Jeffrey Hamelman's 'Bread' is, in my opinion, a better book than Reinhart's, but a little more technical. but they're both awesome and will have you making stellar bread in no time.

and you're right, the similarities are many between beer and bread... take some of your spent grain and toss that into a bread dough, i bet it would be real tasty. good luck!

petep1980 said:

I didn't look for threads because I thought it'd have a specific forum.

I'm certain we're going to get a bread maker for Christmas from my mother.

My first was some honey wheat bread....and low and be hold children under 1 cannot have honey either. Maybe I'll try molasses.

I made an ultimate mess. It was almost as bad as a boil over...no lie.

Click to expand...

I ain't no doctor, but I am sure the reason a youngin can't have honey is the wild bacteria which would likely be killed in the baking. Molasses or cane sugar would ba a good sub though.
I started making my own bread about a year ago. I was inspired by the fine bread my friend was making with his Panasonic bread maker. I found I did not care for the bread maker end product so I mix, knead and proof in my breadmaker and finish in the oven. It took some tweaking but I have found a recipe that even my 7 year old won't turn her nose up at.
Most bread does not contain eggs. The soy you see in the store bread is Soy Lecithin which helps keep the bread moist and in addition is an excellent supplement. Too bad the wee one is allergic. Milk just helps richen the loaf and helps a little with moisture retention. None of the things your kid are allergic to a remotely necessary to make fine bread.
I can post my Wheat Bread recipe if you want one easy and tasty right off the bat.

I just saw the honey warning on the bottle, so I figured not give her the bread.

Soy Lecithin is funny, she's had it in small amounts and hasn't reacted too much. But we're staying away for now.

Lots of oils are actually soy based so you have to keep reading labels. Basic veggy oils, shortening, etc. are loaded with soybean oil. I just used a bunch of canola oil.

I have been making homemade bread for about a year. The Fresh Loaf is a good place to start for learning some skills in this area.

Ever have that Ashmish Friendship bread? Few years back my wife got ot from somewhere. It was great but you need to make a batch every few days. It got old after a while.

Sounds good right now though

"Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" is a good book to read as well. I've been making bread using that method for a year and a half now. I can't remember the last time I've bought store bought bread, it's hard to go back.

I bake all of our family's bread. Two sandwich loaves a week plus focaccia, ciabatta or a baguette or two for dinners that call for them. Biscuits on Sunday. Cornbread for chili or stews. I've started buying my flour in 25lb sacks and have gone through about 150 pounds so far this year.

My sandwich bread does have dried milk powder in it. It helps with moisture retention, giving us a couple of extra days of shelf life. It's fine to leave it out, though.

Sandwich Bread: Makes one 2lb loaf. I usually double it and bake two at the same time. Use a scale rather than volume measures for more repeatable results.

• 4c (18oz) flour (AP or a mix of AP and Whole Wheat; I usually do 50/50)
• 1Tbsp (1oz) kosher salt (1-1/2tsp table salt)
• 1/4c (1.5oz) olive oil
• 1/4c (1.2oz) nonfat dry milk powder
• 2Tbsp (1oz) honey
• 1c + 5Tbsp (10.5oz) water
• 2tsp SAF instant yeast or one yeast packet

Mix for 7-8 minutes on med-low in a stand mixer (#2 on a KA) or knead for 10-15 minutes. Allow dough to rise until nearly doubled in bulk. Degass and shape into a torpedo and place in loaf pan. Preheat oven to 450°. Allow to rise in loaf pan until the dome is about 2" above the rim of the pan (about an hour at 70°). Slash the top down the middle and mist the top with water to prevent it setting too quickly. Spray down the inside of the oven with a spray bottle to create steam; this will help you get full oven spring. Place the loaf pan(s) in the oven and drop the temperature to 375°. Bake for 35 minutes or until the internal temperature is 200° or more.

This makes a soft sandwich loaf with a moderately tight crumb -- like commercial whole wheat sandwich bread. It's the best toast bread I've ever tasted. Needless to say, this is not an artisan boule with a holey interior and good chew. It's not supposed to be. It's family sandwich bread for everyday eating that doesn't have a lot of enhancers and preservatives in it. This recipe also makes spectacular hamburger buns. Keep everything the same but divide the dough into 8 (for large buns) or 10 (for standard buns) balls after the first rise. Flatten (I use a sheet pan to flatten all of them at once), let rise for an hour, and bake at 450° for 15-18 minutes or until the internal temperature is 200° or above.

Chad

I was making bread long before beer. Check out "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart. It's a great resource.

Here's some of my bread porn:











-Joe

Wow, nostalgia, that puts all my bread to shame! Looks absolutely delicious.

I bake a bit of bread myself here and there. I've got a nice ciabatta resting right now while the oven warms up. Blender mentioned The Fresh Loaf and I have to agree, that site is a great start to baking some nice bread. They're just as crazy about bread there as everyone here is about beer!

My wife and I have been baking our own rye bread for over 20 years, from a recipe that my mother has used since she was married in 1940 (she's now 91 and still makes bread when she feels up to it).

I like rye bread and you just can't buy the kind mother used to make. We bake it 8 loaves at a time and usually bake once or twice a month.

pheboglobi said:

"Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" is a good book to read as well. I've been making bread using that method for a year and a half now. I can't remember the last time I've bought store bought bread, it's hard to go back.

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You owe it to yourself to try this, it is so easy and good. I made the 5 min bread a bunch of times and it is awesome. It gets easier each time too. No need for special equipment either, instead of a stone, just use a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it.

A good online version is here:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

You can make a great variation by adding 1/8 cup olive oil per 3 cups flour plus rosemary or another fresh herb. That recipe is on the web somewhere.

I really like making bread and the smell of homemade bread is wonderful! I use the bread machine method because it's easy. However, I typically only make my own bread when I am on a low-iodine diet. The rest of the time I am too lazy to make it...

I just ordered this last week. Should be here tomorrow...

flyangler18 said:

Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

It's an exceptional read and the recipes are all incredible.

Click to expand...

give the recipe 'pain a la ancienne' a try from 'bread baker aprentice'. the baguettes are a slight challenge to handle since the dough is so wet, but man are they delicious.

"The Bread Baker's Apprentice" showed up today and I gave it a quick skim and then started really reading it. It is a great book so far. I think it would be a little intimidating if I didn't have a solid brewing background. I think the 'pain a la ancienne' will be the first formula I try. He does say it is one of the easier ones.

flyangler18 said:

Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

It's an exceptional read and the recipes are all incredible.

Click to expand...

Every time I make something from that book, the results are spectacular.

Highly recommended.

android said:

give the recipe 'pain a la ancienne' a try from 'bread baker aprentice'. the baguettes are a slight challenge to handle since the dough is so wet, but man are they delicious.

Click to expand...

+1. This is a super recipe and really easy once you get the hang of working with slack dough.

-Joe

Damn the Universe and instant Kharma!!!!!!!

My Breadman Ultimate died today

My wife and I were in the kitchen and the CO detector started going off. Turns out the bread machine was not only cooking a loaf but it's own innards as well.

I made Kaisers Treberbrot yesterday with my bourbon vanilla porter grains. It was pretty tasty but next time I'm running the grains through the food processor first. Has barley husks in my teeth all night.