TOO MUCH BREAD

[oldcoot]

Whyizzit: Almost every bread recipe makes 2 loaves of bread?

At my house, a 1+ lb loaf lasts three or four days, by which time the second loaf is dry and hard.

So I've taken to dividing the recipes in half. (Well, actually, for white breads I've quit referring to recipes altogether. I just put a teaspoonful of yeast in a bout 3/4 cup of warm water, in the mixing bowl, then add a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of oil, and about 3 cups of bread flour. )

By the way, why not take advantage of these nnice warm summer days: put your covered bowl of dough out in the sun to rise - you'll be amazed at how quickly it rises.

Sometimes mine develops a little crustiness on the first rising. I just spritz it with water and proceed normally.. Works fine.

Also, when I try to simply form a french baguette, I wind up with a kind of lumppy looking loaf. So I now roll the dough into a sort of recytangle, roughly the length of the loaf I want, then roll it up jelly roll style. Nice, even baguete. (Oh - press the ends together and tuck 'em under, of course.)

 

[Alix]

Hey oldcoot, that is how I learned to make french bread too. I also set it on cornmeal before baking. Do you brush the dough with anything to make it shiny?

 

[chefwannabe]

The problem I have is that 2 loaves are not enough around here. I cook and bake for 8 people on a daily basis. Two of them are men with hearty appetites and one is a ten year old boy that has a bottomless pit for a stomach.

 

[oldcoot]

"Real: Freench Bread is just flour, wate, salt, and yeast. If sourdough, the "sponge" is alloweed to sour for three or more days.

But: there's sure no law against adding an egg to it and reserving a tablespoonful or so of the egg to use as a wash to brush over the loaf. Glues sesame or poppy seeds, or minced onion onto the loaf very nicely, too.

I dunno where this 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes comes from. That would make toast, it seems to me.

I use a cold oven and 350 for 35 minutes. If preheated, 35 minutes. Gives me a nice moderately hard crust. For harder, spritz with water or increase the temp.

Of course I use cornmeal unter french and italian breads. That's a must, isn't it? (But I gota admit, Pam works every bit as well!)

 

[oldcoot]

chefwannabe, cooking for that many daily doesn't sound like fn to me. And that's the reason I cook. At that rate, I doubt your bread even gets a chance to cool, does it?

 

[chefwannabe]

No it doesn't. Around here they stake out the oven when it starts to smell good. I have been convicted many times of making people burn their mouths. I love to cook for everyone though. I come from a very close family and every once in a while I get a day off, but most of the time I stay in the kitchen.

 

[oldcoot]

My BW is like that. Only she cooks for a crowd when it's only the two of us .

My dear departed dad raised me to "clean my plate", and BW's a great cook, so I just keep getting fatter and fatter!

 

[yellowbaby]

Easy , and probably a bit obvious but why not make 2 x 1lb loaves and freeze one? or even freeze one and half? Home made bread freezes really well.

 

[Russell]

i use

i use 450 degrees for 20 minutes

 

[jpmcgrew]

Oh my god!
Theres nothing better than a fresh baked loaf of bread right out of the oven slathered in good butter and a glass of cold milk!We fight over who gets the crispy ends.