Just plain bread?

[garlicjosh]

I totally agree! My hubby and I are both avid forum browsers and we're pretty well accustomed to the "trolls" that normally occupy online communities. I was just marveling about this forum to him earlier this evening. He's every bit as amazed as I am that people in this community are so helpful without being snide. It's such a rarity in the "online" world. So I'm thankful to you guys!

Anyway it's 1am here and I'm still waiting on my final rise to be "good enough". I only have 2 bread pans and the recipe produced 3 loaves worth, so I took the remaining third and put into a muffin tin to make some yeast rolls. Since I'm experimenting I thought I'd cook the yeast rolls first to see if the dough was "ready". They came out pretty good but I do think I need to let it rise a bit longer.

My hubby was trying to keep the vigil with me but he gave up and went to bed. I'm hoping I can reward him with some yummy fresh bread in the morning!

I'm actually very found of trolls and have been known to spend time doing so but I have other places for such acts in which those places are very easy to do so.

yeah, two pounds.
well I am moving across country in like 3 months and just encase the one package doent make it, I am leaving the other one sealed so that I will still have a bag and don't have to wonder around looking for it. 1lb will probably last me just over a year..so if it makes the trip, I really won't have to worry about buying yeast for awhile..unless I go back to making pizzas and breads every other day.

 

[joesfolk]

Do you have refridgeration? If you put the dough in the fridge it will rise very slowly. In the morning you can allow it to warm up and bake it off. The real advantage of this is that the slow rise works to develop the flavor of the loaf. I wish I had thought to mention it earlier. Sorry.

 

[JMediger]

The NY Times no knead bread recipe is good for an overnight loaf. It has been discussed here, just do a search (don't know how to paste a link using my iPad or I would find it for you) here for the recipe.

 

[cmarchibald]

Do you have refridgeration? If you put the dough in the fridge it will rise very slowly. In the morning you can allow it to warm up and bake it off. The real advantage of this is that the slow rise works to develop the flavor of the loaf. I wish I had thought to mention it earlier. Sorry.

I did have it in the fridge but it was nearly done rising by the time I was thinking of going to bed, so I was worried based on comments here that if I left it overnight it would rise too much. I decided to stay up late and try to finish it. I don't think I gave it enough time on the final rise. It turned out really tasty but just a tad dense. Next time I'll start it earlier in the day (I started late afternoon) and make sure I use water that's not quite as hot.

But all things considered.....tasty fresh bread!

My husband and my dog both approve, the jury of my cats is still out.

 

[garlicjosh]

I did have it in the fridge but it was nearly done rising by the time I was thinking of going to bed, so I was worried based on comments here that if I left it overnight it would rise too much. I decided to stay up late and try to finish it. I don't think I gave it enough time on the final rise. It turned out really tasty but just a tad dense. Next time I'll start it earlier in the day (I started late afternoon) and make sure I use water that's not quite as hot.

But all things considered.....tasty fresh bread!

My husband and my dog both approve, the jury of my cats is still out.

haha yeah, the cats verdict will really be the final one for this.

I would for sure make french toast out of that, dense bread is great for that one...and either way, homemade bread that is a little dense is still home made bread either way.

This is how mine usually looks..slice from one of my last loafs.

 

[cmarchibald]

haha yeah, the cats verdict will really be the final one for this.

I would for sure make french toast out of that, dense bread is great for that one...and either way, homemade bread that is a little dense is still home made bread either way.

This is how mine usually looks..slice from one of my last loafs.

THAT'S what I was going for! I'll give this recipe another try learning from my mistakes this time.

 

[cmarchibald]

So my husband just got a slice out for a snack. He set it down on the counter for a moment while he poured himself a glass of tea. In the 15 seconds that his back was turned, one of my cats stole his bread.

Then the dog took it from her!

It seems everyone is satisfied with the outcome except me. That's usually how it goes!

"This is delicious!"
"I can make it better!"

 

[garlicjosh]

hahahahaah that is amazing.
i'm telling you..make french toast with it and you will think it's perfect

 

[silentmeow]

I love this one from food.com. Sahara Sand bread Recipe #187536. I double it to make two loaves. It freezes well too. I use this bread for garlic toast, croutons and bread crumbs. Great texture and flavor.

 

[msmofet]

Beautiful looking bread you two!!

I tend to make a denser loaf of bread due to all the flours and such I put in mine.

Buttered homemade hot bread

Taylor ham, lettuce and tomato Sammie on homemade bread

Buttered homemade Cinnamon raisin bread fresh out of the oven

 

[taxlady]

To test the temperature of the water without a thermometer, put a bit on the inside of your wrist. It should be very warm, but not uncomfortable.

 

[Zhizara]

To test the temperature of the water without a thermometer, put a bit on the inside of your wrist. It should be very warm, but not uncomfortable.

Hey TaxLady. We missed you! Welcome home.

 

[cmarchibald]

Well I'm giving the same recipe a second go today and....holy smokes what a difference already!

This recipe has 3 separate rises. The first time I made it the first rise went pretty quickly (same story this time), but the second rise took about 5 hours. This time the second rise took about 30 minutes.

Off to set up the final rise now!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I hope this link works, its for a fellow scouser Paul Hollywood, he is one of the best bakers I know. His bakery supplies Harrods.
Bread baking is a drug and I am hooked.BBC - Food - Chefs : Paul Hollywood recipes

 

[cmarchibald]

I hope this link works, its for a fellow scouser Paul Hollywood, he is one of the best bakers I know. His bakery supplies Harrods.
Bread baking is a drug and I am hooked.BBC - Food - Chefs : Paul Hollywood recipes

Thanks! I'll definitely check it out. This is only my second attempt at making plain ol' white bread, so I've still got a long way to go.

 

[cmarchibald]

Well, the 2nd attempt was MUCH better!

Here's what I did differently:

I made sure the water was not as hot this time, checked the temp and it was 125F if my candy thermometer is to be believed (last time it was 160F).

Recipe calls for vegetable oil. I used Canola last time. This time I tried some Rice Bran oil I had around...seemed appropriate for bread.

The yeast was in overdrive! What took 5-7 hours per rise last time took mere minutes this time. I could see it rising before my eyes at one point, and I've *never* had that happen. I have to attribute that to garlicjosh's water temp tip, because I'm all but positive I've used near-boiling water in the past.

I have a recipe for cinnamon buns that I've made 3 times....the first time was a raging (and apparently accidental) success...the other two were abysmal failures. I'm going to try that next now that I've pulled off some bread!

As soon as we use up what I just made today I'll give it a third try (or maybe try a new recipe) and see if I can do better.

YEAH! That's more like it!

I'd say I'm really close to what I'm trying to achieve, but this is much much much better than last time.

It's also very apparent that I need to buy a bread knife.

 

[potsnpanties]

Having just read this entire thread, I wish to congratulate you on your success in bread baking, and move to dub this 'The Bread Saga'. GO CM! ^_^ It looks utterly divine.

P.S. Kudos to all on the tips, these helped more than just CM on bread baking. I almost forgot about yeast temp and bakers percentage ratios.
​

 

[Zhizara]

Wow! Beautiful! Bravo!

 

[garlicjosh]

Looks even better. Great job.
Honestly, I had a lot of issues when I first started baking bread and still do, it's one of those things that I still play with just to see what happens. I think your current recipe would do you just well if you can ever get a higher protein flour.

 

[cmarchibald]

Looks even better. Great job.
Honestly, I had a lot of issues when I first started baking bread and still do, it's one of those things that I still play with just to see what happens. I think your current recipe would do you just well if you can ever get a higher protein flour.

Thanks! I'm still going to experiment with some others just to see what works best. BTW I took your advice about the french toast with the dense loaf. We made it this morning and you were right, it was excellent!