Homemade Bread Thread

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ericbw said:
Why is this thread so quiet lately?

I've drastically reduced my carbs/bread, and it's been very healthy for me. But I miss baking - which I was doing a couple times a week.

So this week I made pumpkin challah with pepitas on top. I split the batch into 4 small loaves and gave 2 away. Less temptation that way!

View attachment 372931
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That looks wonderful and sounds really good, could you point me toward a recipie please?
 
Ugly but tasty Italian bread. Bring on the cool weather.

image.jpeg
 
bottlebomber said:
Love that blog! I agree that a naan would work well, I use the Cooks Illustrated recipe. It's a little easier to make, you get a cast iron pan smoking hot, give a couple spritzes of water, slap the bread down, put on a lid, and let it steam for about 3 minutes and they're done. Works beautifully.
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I love naan
 
Hoppy2bmerry said:
That looks wonderful and sounds really good, could you point me toward a recipie please?
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OK, here's the pumpkin challah. This is my normal challah with added pumpkin. If you leave out the pumpkin, add less flour while kneading. Or you could add more pumpkin and a little more flour.

I have divided the ingredients so it makes sense in the steps:

1 TB sugar
1 cup water
3 TB yeast (or 2 packets)

30 ounces bread flour (plus more for adjusting)
1 TB salt
1/3 cup of sugar

2 eggs (plus one for egg wash)
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup canned pumpkin


Dissolve 1 TB sugar in a cup of warm water. Add yeast and let it proof for 10 minutes.

Mix eggs, oil, pumpkin, and yeast slurry in the bowl of a stand mixer until well combined.

Add dry ingredients and mix/knead with the dough hook until it is smooth and elastic. It will be tacky, but not stick to your hands or the bowl. If it's too dry, add a TB water OR a little oil. If it's sticky, add flour a TB at a time. Try to avoid adding too much flour - sometimes it just needs to keep kneading and it gets right.

Knead for 5-7 minutes. (I sometimes crank it up to 4.)

Form the dough into a ball and put it in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the whole thing.

Cover with foil or plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size (60 to 90 minutes).

Punch the dough down and divide it in half or fourths (depends on the size of loaf you want).

You can shape it a lot of ways, including braiding 3 strands or simply rolling it into a spiral. Or braid 3 strands and role that into a spiral. Tuck any loose ends under the loaf and pinch together.

My cheater braid is to roll it into a rope about 25-30 inches long. Pick the rope up in the middle and twist the ends together, forming a loop at your hand where you're holding it. Then pull the twisted ends through the loop and tuck the tips under the loaf. Push it all together gently to form a tight oval.

PREHEAT THE OVEN to 350 degrees.

Put your loaves on a sheet pan lined with parchment.

Brush with egg wash (1 egg plus 1-2 TB water) and cover loosely with a tea towel or plastic wrap.

Let the loaves rise 30 minutes. I don't get a lot of rise on this second time, but that's ok, it will poof up in the oven.

Brush with egg wash again, working it into the crevices. Sprinkle with 2 TB pepitas (or sesame, poppy, or nearly any other seed). If the pepitas are not super salty, a sprinkle of kosher or sea salt is good, too.

If you want more pumpkin *spice* flavor, you could sprinkle with a tiny bit of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, or "pumpkin pie spice." You can also sprinkle with brown sugar. Go easy on any of these, though.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when you tap them. (200-205 is a good internal temp.) If they start to get too brown, cover with foil. Cool on a rack.
 
BGBC said:
Gotta wash that yeast first
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Yeah, I know! I have trouble washing the Irish yeast - it doesn't seem to settle in nice layers. When I reuse it, I usually run a starter, assuming that less of the sludge is live yeast.

I don't really see the value in using it for bread again - it's expensive compared to baker's yeast, and it doesn't rise very well. This loaf was a bit dense anyway.

This morning, I made a loaf of cheater sourdough (a little starter, a little yeast) to make up for my fail!
 
ericbw said:
Yeah, I know! I have trouble washing the Irish yeast - it doesn't seem to settle in nice layers. When I reuse it, I usually run a starter, assuming that less of the sludge is live yeast.

I don't really see the value in using it for bread again - it's expensive compared to baker's yeast, and it doesn't rise very well. This loaf was a bit dense anyway.

This morning, I made a loaf of cheater sourdough (a little starter, a little yeast) to make up for my fail!
Click to expand...

I honestly haven't read through all the pages of this thread (phew) but have a simple, quick question. If I make the dough for a loaf of standard wheat bread in my bread machine, could I incorporate a cup of spent grain after I mash out? The grains will be supple but not dripping as I BIAB and squeeze pretty well. So there wont be much excess moisture to make the bread wetter than it should be. Would this work?
 
I would just add a tad less water. Without drying the grains there is still a good amount of moisture that will suck out your as your dough rests. I try not to go over 25% spent grain compared to flour. I usually aim around 10-15% though.
 
Morrey said:
I honestly haven't read through all the pages of this thread (phew) but have a simple, quick question. If I make the dough for a loaf of standard wheat bread in my bread machine, could I incorporate a cup of spent grain after I mash out? The grains will be supple but not dripping as I BIAB and squeeze pretty well. So there wont be much excess moisture to make the bread wetter than it should be. Would this work?
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I would add it to the machine and you'd have to adjust the amount of liquid down to compensate for the wet grains. I've tried a couple recipes from the spent grain bread thread and honestly, not all of them worked for me... One was very wet. You can check on it in your machine and add a little liquid or a little flour as it mixes the ingredients. Shows us your results when your done. Also, a full cup might be a bit much depending on the size of your loaf.
 
Morrey said:
I honestly haven't read through all the pages of this thread (phew) but have a simple, quick question. If I make the dough for a loaf of standard wheat bread in my bread machine, could I incorporate a cup of spent grain after I mash out? The grains will be supple but not dripping as I BIAB and squeeze pretty well. So there wont be much excess moisture to make the bread wetter than it should be. Would this work?
Click to expand...

Do you use the bread machine to bake it? Or just to mix it and rise? I would think a cup is too much. I think I have used about half a cup in a loaf. I mix the bread dough, then as I knead it by hand, I sprinkle in a little grain as I go until it looks right.

You'll need to adjust the water a little because they're wet, but not soaking. If you want to do the math, remember that grain absorbs about .1 gallon per pound. Example:

You mashed 8 pounds of grain in 10 quarts of water. The grain absorbed .8 gallons of water (6.4 pounds). So you have a total weight of grain and water of about 14 pounds (ish). 45% of it is water (by weight). So whatever weight of grain you add, 45% of it is water. Maybe less because you squeeze it and it dries some. So figure that for every ounce of grain you add, you're adding 1/3 (ish) of an ounce of water. And I guess that percentage would hold true regardless of how much grain or what ratio of grain to water you mash in.

That's too complicated. See why it's easier to eyeball it?!?!

Remember that you need gluten to get the dough to be bready, so go easy on the grains, especially if it is in a whole wheat bread already.
 
I'm an extract brewer. I use spent grains from my kit at a 1/3 ratio to 2/3 bread flour using a bread machine. Works great. A large loaf of bread calls for four cups, so I use 1 and 1/3 cup of spent grains.
 
That's a lot of grain in your bread! I don't know that I would want that much.
 
Thanks for the tips! I use my bread machine to typically run the whole cycle to include baking. In this case, I'll stop after the blend cycle and add in 1/2 C of spent grains by hand to feel the texture, then bake manually in a bread pan. This should work.
 
Melana said:
Me too. Mine just woke up from some leftover dried starter from ChefRex.
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It's been dried all this time? Looks like it's still viable, I sent you that several years ago, nice to know as I have never had to go to a backup, the original had chugged along no matter how it has been treated. :rockin:
 
ericbw said:
View attachment 374250

Here's the sourdough I made today. It took about 6 hours total. But I think the starter is finally back up and running after 2 weeks of feeding it twice a day. It was very neglected!
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I can't get mine to rise like that. Any tips or tricks? Mine ends up too dense and raw in the middle. If I try a lower temperature and longer baking time, it is as hard as a stone and not palatable. :(
 
CA_Mouse said:
I can't get mine to rise like that. Any tips or tricks? Mine ends up too dense and raw in the middle. If I try a lower temperature and longer baking time, it is as hard as a stone and not palatable. :(
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What temps have you used? I preheat the oven at its highest and when I say preheat let it go for 45 min to an hour, when it beeps that only means the air is up to temp.
I keep a pizza stone, usually two in the oven as a heat sink, as the bread goes in I turn it down to 400F and add hot water to a pan in the bottom of the oven, helps to prevent the crust from drying and preventing the loaf from expanding.
As far as having a raw center, cook till the internal temp is at least 200F and you will never have that issue, it sucked early on having a beautiful looking loaf on lt to cut it and and have a doughy center, YMMV.:mug:
 
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ChefRex said:
What temps have you used? I preheat the oven at its highest and when I say preheat let it go for 45 min to an hour, when it beeps that only means the air is up to temp.
I keep a pizza stone, usually two in the oven as a heat sink, as the bread goes in I turn it down to 400F and add hot water to a pan in the bottom of the oven, helps to prevent the crust from drying and preventing the loaf from expanding.
As far as having a raw center, cook till the internal temp is at least 200F and you will never have that issue, it sucked early on having a beautiful looking loaf on lt to cut it and and have a doughy center, YMMV.:mug:
Click to expand...

I let mine reach 500*F then have backed it down to 450*F and 400*F. I have not tried putting water in and do have a large stone. I think if I could get it to rise, that would solve my problems, but it does not rise very much at all. I am not adding additional yeast to it, just using the yeast in my starter, which is always very active within 2 hours of a feeding.
 
CA_Mouse said:
I can't get mine to rise like that. Any tips or tricks? Mine ends up too dense and raw in the middle. If I try a lower temperature and longer baking time, it is as hard as a stone and not palatable. :(
Click to expand...

The first thing is to really let it rise/ferment until it's done. This can take 2 hours or it can take 5 hours. Depends on the temperature, the day of the week, the attitude of the yeast at the time, etc. So first, get as much gas in the dough as possible because the more air bubbles (CO2 really), the more they can expand and rise.

I bake most bread at 350, but sourdough recipes all call for hotter - 425 on this one. I think the higher heat makes the inside expand quicker before the crust solidifies. With a really wet dough, it is so flat that it needs to puff up fast before it sets. So I think a lower temp means a flatter loaf.

I have added ice cubes in a cast iron skillet, and I don't know... it might make a difference? Spraying/brushing it with water might also.

And definitely let it get to 200-205 for it to be done. If it's getting too dark, cover it with foil (although the bottom might get too done, too).

I'm no expert - I have a hard time with sourdough. I often cheat and add yeast.
 
CA_Mouse said:
I can't get mine to rise like that. Any tips or tricks? Mine ends up too dense and raw in the middle. If I try a lower temperature and longer baking time, it is as hard as a stone and not palatable. :(
Click to expand...

If you have a fairly wet dough, you need heat, lots of heat. I bake my sourdough at 450 for the first 20 minutes and then back down to 400 for the last 15. As has been mentioned the time at 450 makes the dough pop up due to expanding gas before the crust can set. Using some water/steam source also helps. I bake mine in a clay roaster rather than using water in a pan (for other sandwich style loaves I put water or ice in a small skillet on the bottom of the oven). It keeps the water in and prevents drying.

Here is a link to a real bread Cloche http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/cloche-bread-baker-with-handle?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Shopping&utm_keyword=Cloche+Bread+Baker+With+Handle&gclid=CLuImcaS7M8CFQaUaQodhE8I9Q&kwid=productads-adid^146432037829-device^c-plaid^69562840022-sku^11762-adType^PLA

I use something more like this because I have it.
http://www.kitchenkapers.com/romertopf-117.html?src=bngshp
 

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