Author Topic: The Bread Thread  (Read 107913 times)

Wowbagger

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #200 on: 07 February, 2016, 11:24:54 am »
Last night I set the breadmaker off to make a wholemeal loaf. I didn't add sugar. I did put a little extra yeast in. It has risen beautifully - more than I normally expect a loaf made to that recipe to do! I shall have some in a moment with my home-made marmalade.
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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #201 on: 07 February, 2016, 07:48:54 pm »
Sugar just speeds up the initial yeast ferment - unless you're trying to activate dried (not instant) yeast it's not needed (and even with dried you can just whisk in some flour). Salt improves flavour and IIRC also improves gluten formation, but retards yeast action. Fats slow staling and improve moisture retention, but again retard yeast action (at least when used in large quantities for enriched doughs).

For regular bread I tend to use about 1-1.5% of salt as a baker's percentage (i.e. of the weight of flour), and 1% yeast. A glug of oil or knob of butter for fat, and hydration at about 55-60%.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #202 on: 07 February, 2016, 09:23:53 pm »
Sugar just speeds up the initial yeast ferment - unless you're trying to activate dried (not instant) yeast it's not needed (and even with dried you can just whisk in some flour).

....or, not. Just not needed, honest.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #203 on: 07 February, 2016, 09:31:48 pm »
Sugar just speeds up the initial yeast ferment - unless you're trying to activate dried (not instant) yeast it's not needed (and even with dried you can just whisk in some flour).

....or, not. Just not needed, honest.

Indeed, I just bung it all together and knead. No salt, no sugar. The only thing I add besides oil is vitamin c for the wholemeal flour.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #204 on: 20 February, 2016, 06:23:09 pm »
The experiments with buttermilk continue



Left hand one is 40-rye, 40-spelt, 10-white and hasn't cracked. Right hand is pure rye and has. Both kneaded more, which appears to help. Rye might need more liquid.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #205 on: 05 March, 2016, 07:30:18 am »
Does anyone have a decent recipe for vegan hot cross buns?
Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #206 on: 05 March, 2016, 10:56:25 am »
Am thinking I might get out the Chef tomorrow and try this challah recipe, or a brioche.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/mar/05/no-knead-bread-focaccia-challah-risen-bread-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Pancho

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #207 on: 05 March, 2016, 11:24:41 am »
I've just switched to making wholemeal bread our mainstay (rather than white). All the recipes I've seen recommend adding vitamin C to help avoid housebrick style loaves. Am I actually supposed to crush up an orange tablet? Or is there some special bread-vitamin C? I've been making do with a squeeze of lemon juice. It appears to work. OK, the bread isn't the fluffy stuff I've been making previously but, then, wholemeal is always a bit heavier I think.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #208 on: 05 March, 2016, 11:34:19 am »
You can buy ascorbic acid powder in Boots, you have to ask for it. I tried it but never really noticed the difference. Home made wholemeal is supposed to be chewy, or you can do half-and-half for a lighter loaf.
Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #209 on: 05 March, 2016, 12:04:25 pm »
Holland and Barrett sell jars of vit c powder too.
I've never tried making it without, I always put it in because SCIENCE.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #210 on: 05 March, 2016, 01:35:59 pm »
Wholemeal is always going to be heavier than white.
Adding vitamin C does make a difference. Many commercial bakeries do so.
I found that the only way to make my 100% wholemeal edible is to use the sponge method.
Add half the flour to all the water, the yeast and the sugar (if you use sugar). Allow to bubble away for at least 45 minutes but can be nearly as long as you want.
Then add the rest of the flour, knead and treat as usual.

I got the recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book many years ago and it has been my standard method for making bread of any sort since then.

(Tassajara was a Californian Zen Buddhist Monastery back in the 60s & 70s (may still exist I suppose) and the book reads like it came from a Californian Zen Buddhist Monastery in the 70s, but the recipes do work.
"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch."

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #211 on: 05 March, 2016, 02:59:13 pm »
Childcare duties mean most of my manual bread-making is confined to the weekend, so I've been experimenting with ways to get more flavour from the breadmaker. I've been pleasantly surprised that the no-knead bread dough works pretty well. Normally the recipe calls for an overnight sponge and then a bake in a preheated cast-iron casserole at very high oven temperatures, but my breadmaker produces a decent rise, if not the great crust of the original method. I mix up the sponge in the machine's pan at lunchtime then turn it off. Before I go to bed I set it to run its normal programme on the delay timer, and when I wake up I've got fresh bread for breakfast and packed lunches.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #212 on: 08 March, 2016, 07:01:42 am »
Does anyone have a decent recipe for vegan hot cross buns?

Found one.

Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

Wowbagger

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Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #215 on: 24 March, 2016, 09:05:38 am »
Speaking of hot cross buns, I'm going to start making these tonight - has been my standard recipe for the past few years: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/13/spiced-stout-buns-dan-lepard

Woofage

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #216 on: 11 April, 2016, 10:24:43 pm »
Anyone use dried (as opposed to quick) yeast in their bread maker? I've used dried yeast on and off for hand baking but since I bought another bread maker recently I thought I would try it as an experiment. Basically, it works fine. So fine in fact that the loaf from a 2 hour rapid bake (plus the 15 minutes or so to activate the yeast) is just as good as one from the full 4 hour cycle.

Apologies if  has been mentioned before but I didn't read through all 9 pages and a search didn't bring anything up.
Pen Pusher

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #217 on: 11 April, 2016, 10:30:37 pm »
I use Tesco's Fast Action Dried Yeast in our breadmaker and it works a treat.
Rust never sleeps

Woofage

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #218 on: 11 April, 2016, 10:48:33 pm »
I use Tesco's Fast Action Dried Yeast in our breadmaker and it works a treat.

That's what I would term quick - the type you can put directly into the mix (whether machine or hand job). "Dried yeast" has to be activated first in a warm sugar solution that becomes part of the liquid used in the recipe. I wouldn't normally put sugar in my bread recipes but this is an easy method.
Pen Pusher

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #219 on: 11 April, 2016, 10:59:16 pm »
Ah. Got it. Given that it has both the words 'dry' and 'quick' in its name, I wasn't sure which it was.
Rust never sleeps

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #220 on: 12 April, 2016, 09:01:48 am »
I've switched to Dove Farm quick yeast for my bread maker on the recommendation of a friend who does a lot of baking (has a proper industrial bread oven and mixer).

https://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/flour-and-ingredients/quick-yeast-1x125g/

Its nominally the same as supermarket own brand or Hovis quick yeast but I get much more reliable results with it.
You can buy it on-line or I think I got my last packet from Salisbury,
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Woofage

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #221 on: 12 April, 2016, 09:56:37 am »
That's the stuff I normally use too. It's much more convenient and economical than those noddy sachets of quick yeast. My current packet is coming to an end and I have another brand this time (shop didn't have DF) so I'll report back with results.
Pen Pusher

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #222 on: 12 April, 2016, 10:59:15 am »
I would have thought you'd have no problems with dried yeast so long as it was activated before putting in the machine. I used dried instead of fast when making an overnight sponge, which works fine without activation - just stir it in.

I also learned last night that a cast iron casserole lid coming out of a 250°C oven (having baked bread in it) is hot enough to set fire to a cloth oven glove if you leave it perched on top of said lid - albeit slowly enough that you only notice once you've left the room and the smoke alarm goes off... My kitchen now smells of burnt plastic, and I need to scrub melted oven glove off the casserole lid  :sick: :hand: :facepalm:

Woofage

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #223 on: 12 April, 2016, 12:51:18 pm »
I would have thought you'd have no problems with dried yeast so long as it was activated before putting in the machine.

What surprised me though was how well it worked. Same quality of loaf that I'd get from a 4 hour cycle but in a little over 2 hours (the normal 2 hour loaf with quick/instant yeast is nice, but a little too dense).
Pen Pusher

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #224 on: 26 April, 2016, 03:47:56 pm »
Well I've been trying the Ciabatta recioe that Mrs P uses. Fisrt try was ok, but I thought the dough a little dry. Next time I added a bit more water and liked the results.  This time I have to use a different flour (Doves Farm strong white, as opposed to Allinsons very strong white). The result was somewhat more wet than I intended.... so much so that I poured it straight onto the baking tray.



Still it cooked ok



And wasn't too bad (though a little soft, as opposed to chewy) when eaten.



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