Homemade Bread Thread

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I was at Dick's Sporting goods. There was a 6 quart Lodge Dutch oven on a shelf. Under it the tag said $29 and was red. Normally it's $69 to $79. I said a worker if this could possibly be right. Turned out to be a manager and she said it wasn't but she hates mismarked shelves and asked me to buy it at $29 like I was doing her a favor. Score!
 
Made a loaf last night. First time trying this method. I put it together the night before, let it rise in a bowl overnight. Yesterday morning, I kneaded it a bit, shaped it into a loaf, sliced it, and put it on some oiled parchment paper. I situated 1 jar of nuts, one tin of pineapple juice, one large container of half caf coffee, and one jar of pectin around the loaf as it was rising to help it keep its shape :D

I half expected to come home and see that it formed a shapeless blob on the table, but was pleasantly surprised. There are a few things I need to work out, but it tasted great with spaghetti

french loaf 1.jpg


french loaf 2.jpg
 
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Haha they weren't actually ingredients that made it into the bread. I had them situated around the loaf as it was rising to help it keep its shape. I was a bit tipsy when I put everything together, but even drunk me wouldn't have though coffee and pineapple would have been a good combo :p

The only things that made it into the bread were starter, water, flour and salt :mug:
 
Cheesy_Goodness said:
Haha they weren't actually ingredients that made it into the bread. I had them situated around the loaf as it was rising to help it keep its shape. I was a bit tipsy when I put everything together, but even drunk me wouldn't have though coffee and pineapple would have been a good combo :p

The only things that made it into the bread were starter, water, flour and salt :mug:
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You had me on that one too;)
 
deadfall said:
I've been wanting to bake but my starter seems or smells a little off. I've been feeding it like 4-5 times a day with whole wheat flour. I have a feeling, it's the whole wheat flour. I'm gonna try some White flour today to see if the smell goes away.
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I've read in several places that whole wheat tends to go rancid in a starter. You might get away with it if you handle it with kid gloves and use it quickly, but you're better off using white or rye in a starter and saving the wheat for your dough.
 
burninator said:
I've read in several places that whole wheat tends to go rancid in a starter. You might get away with it if you handle it with kid gloves and use it quickly, but you're better off using white or rye in a starter and saving the wheat for your dough.
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Yeah I knew it was pretty tough to use whole wheat in a starter. I weaned my starter off the WW and it smells a lot better. I haven't had a chance to bake with it yet.

Thanks
 
Long story short, was cleaning my oven the other day and my pizza stone broke. Went to Menards and got six 4.5 x 9 x 1-1/4" firebricks to replace it. Made the dough thursday, it sit out overnight friday / saturday morning and was ready to bake it around noon when plans changed. Didn't refrigerate the dough and was gone all day saturday, got home and placed the dough & proofing basket in the fridge.. well some of it got fridge burnt, and when I took it out today it was hard and didn't hardly rise. First loaf of bread on my new "stone," it rose like crazy in the oven! I can't wait to cut into this bad-boy, unfortunately i'm all out of butter...

DSC_1025.JPG

DSC_1039-1.jpg
 
Jeffries55 said:
Long story short, was cleaning my oven the other day and my pizza stone broke. Went to Menards and got six 4.5 x 9 x 1-1/4" firebricks to replace it. Made the dough thursday, it sit out overnight friday / saturday morning and was ready to bake it around noon when plans changed. Didn't refrigerate the dough and was gone all day saturday, got home and placed the dough & proofing basket in the fridge.. well some of it got fridge burnt, and when I took it out today it was hard and didn't hardly rise. First loaf of bread on my new "stone," it rose like crazy in the oven! I can't wait to cut into this bad-boy, unfortunately i'm all out of butter...

DSC_1025.JPG

DSC_1039-1.jpg
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Sourdough?:rolleyes:
 
ChefRex said:
Sourdough?:rolleyes:
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Haha, Chef, you're killing me! Not yet, but since you keep asking, I suppose I'll get my butt in gear and stop by Bed Bath & Beyond tonight to see if they have any of these Bormioli Rocco 67.5 oz Fido Jars! I've been (lazily) looking for something big and glass to do my starter in, but these seem reasonable on Amazon if I can't find them in stores. Great reviews too, and seems like a ton of people are using them for their sourdough starters.

413X3p35cNL._SY355_.jpg
 
Jeffries55 said:
Haha, Chef, you're killing me! Not yet, but since you keep asking, I suppose I'll get my butt in gear and stop by Bed Bath & Beyond tonight to see if they have any of these Bormioli Rocco 67.5 oz Fido Jars! I've been (lazily) looking for something big and glass to do my starter in, but these seem reasonable on Amazon if I can't find them in stores. Great reviews too, and seems like a ton of people are using them for their sourdough starters.

413X3p35cNL._SY355_.jpg
Click to expand...

I feed mine in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and store it pine sized container.
 
ChefRex said:
I feed mine in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and store it pine sized container.
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Plastic / glass or metal? I have some cereal bowls that are ceramic, but I'm afraid they aren't big enough. Also what is pine sized? I'm unfamiliar with this scale :mug:
 
anyone use a machine ? thinking of getting a zojirushi bread maker opinions would be appreciated
 
luvinit said:
anyone use a machine ? thinking of getting a zojirushi bread maker opinions would be appreciated
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I have a breadmaker, but I use it only to make dough (because I'm lazy). I (and at least one other person on here) bought the Cuisinart CBK-100 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker refurbished on eBay for $40-50. Works great for making dough, but as we all know you can make much better bread in the oven once you get the process & technique down, and one thing a breadmaker doesn't allow is for a 24-hour cold period (aka putting the dough in the fridge).

Oh, and @ChefRex, I got a container to make my starter in, going to get it going on saturday or sunday.
 
luvinit said:
anyone use a machine ? thinking of getting a zojirushi bread maker opinions would be appreciated
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Can't say I've used that machine, but I don't really understand what advantages a machine has. You could have a a batch of dough put together in a few minutes and it you wouldn't lose any space from having an additional one trick pony appliance.

I'm sure machines have their place, but have you given any thought to trying a few loaves by hand?
 
luvinit said:
anyone use a machine ? thinking of getting a zojirushi bread maker opinions would be appreciated
Click to expand...

I've got the Zoji. Love it. Haven't been using is as much lately as I've been doing a lot more hearth style breads, but it's a fantastic machine, very easy to use, very customizable, and downright reliable. I've had it about 6-7 years and not a hiccup. I've used it literally hundreds of times. I'll probably start again. There's something awesome about waking up to the smell of fresh baked bread and all you had to do was throw the ingredients in in a half drunken stupor the night before.
 
Jeffries55 said:
Haha, Chef, you're killing me! Not yet, but since you keep asking, I suppose I'll get my butt in gear and stop by Bed Bath & Beyond tonight to see if they have any of these Bormioli Rocco 67.5 oz Fido Jars! I've been (lazily) looking for something big and glass to do my starter in, but these seem reasonable on Amazon if I can't find them in stores. Great reviews too, and seems like a ton of people are using them for their sourdough starters.

413X3p35cNL._SY355_.jpg
Click to expand...

You really don't want something that big. The thing about the starter is that you're constantly dumping some out and replenishing, so a large container would get all gooped up and be hard to clean. It's also powerful stuff when you take care of it. I use a pint jar, and dump nearly all of it out and then use a 1/4 cup of flour and few tablespoons of water to replenish. Half of this will easily rise a kilo of flour if it's strong and I make the starter dough (half of the flour at 100% hydration) the night before. You could run a bakery on a jar that size lol
 
Cheesy_Goodness said:
Can't say I've used that machine, but I don't really understand what advantages a machine has. You could have a a batch of dough put together in a few minutes and it you wouldn't lose any space from having an additional one trick pony appliance.

I'm sure machines have their place, but have you given any thought to trying a few loaves by hand?
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I like my machine. It's a cheap name brand (Rival or something...)

I like that it's still compact enough to sit in the closet on a shelf when not needed, but when I use it I just toss a few ingredients in and turn it on. I can set it up to have a loaf of hot bread waiting when I get home, and if I'm late it turns off automatically.

Something that can't be done in the oven.

I've also used mine to make dough for the oven (bread bowls, french loafs, etc.)

I guess the biggest benefit is that I can load it up in under 10 minutes, walk out the door and go do my stuff. When I come back there is hot bread waiting.

No it doesn't make every kind of bread the best, but it's still pretty good.
 
Homercidal said:
I like my machine. It's a cheap name brand (Rival or something...)

I like that it's still compact enough to sit in the closet on a shelf when not needed, but when I use it I just toss a few ingredients in and turn it on. I can set it up to have a loaf of hot bread waiting when I get home, and if I'm late it turns off automatically.

Something that can't be done in the oven.

I've also used mine to make dough for the oven (bread bowls, french loafs, etc.)

I guess the biggest benefit is that I can load it up in under 10 minutes, walk out the door and go do my stuff. When I come back there is hot bread waiting.

No it doesn't make every kind of bread the best, but it's still pretty good.
Click to expand...

ME too. I have two Zojirushi bread machines. Load 'em both up, tell it to go, and come back 4 hours later to two loaves that are perfect for sandwiches and really tasty besides.

Now, I enjoy making bread "from scratch" too but some days life is busy and I still can have homemade bread, made from our sprouted/dehydrated/ground red winter wheat and no appreciable sugar save a bit of molasses for the yeasties to eat, and be happy about it!

My machines park beneath the counter on a shelf and can be used right there, taking up NONE of my valuable counter space. Best of both worlds!

I've made some pretty dang tasty dough for pizza in them too.
 
I threw out my starters today. I tried but couldn't get it back. Arghh. I started a new one from the one Carl's Friends sends out. Hopefully I'll be baking again soon. This time I'll dry some for the new time this happens.
 
Funny side note: I had four pieces of wax paper with some dried starter to give out to a few people for Christmas (and one to back up my starter).
Wife and I made jelly and a quick pizza last night and were rather tired at the end of the day. Wife was putting away dinner while I was ladling marmalade and before I know it, I noticed my wax paper in the garbage. She thought it was the parchment paper I use for the first stage of baking the pizza.
 

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