Can we talk all things Bread?

[ANewMe]

With the reports of imports of grains being stopped, shortages and everything else going on I decided to look into really learning to make my own breads. I made my first and only loaf after a little help from here….nothing too complicated…it was made with oatmeal and flour. Now I want to really get serious and I have questions.

 

I’m looking at possibly getting a bread maker. Is it worth it? If so is there anything in particular I should look for in one? Is it difficult to learn to operate?

 

Yeast. I looked at small pkts of Fleischmans but there are several kinds and I’m not sure which one to use. How long is it really good for?

 

What flour should I stock? All purpose or self-rising?

 

what’s your Go-To bread recipe?

Any other advice?

[euphrasyne]

Is it worth it?  It depends on how much you like kneading and going back and forth.  For me completely worth it.  Look for one that has multiple loaf sizes.  Some of them are easy as pushing start, some of them are super complicated.   

 

Don't use the small yeast packets.  Buy a jar of bread machine yeast or buy a pound of regular yeast.  Yeast will store for years in the freezer.  I keep some in a small mason jar in the cabinet and the rest in the freezer.  I refill as needed.  A pound of yeast costs about what 2 of the 4oz jars do so It is well worth it to get the pound.  I think my current batch is Red Star brand, but Fleishman's is good and brand isn't a big issue.  

 

What flour you stock depends on what you want to make.  Self rising is not useful for yeast items.   I stock all purpose & whole wheat.  Sometimes I get specialty if I'm making something specific--cake flour, oat flour, almond flour, rice flour, rye, barley.  

 

Basic Italian Bread

scant cup hot water

1 1/2 T oil

1 T sugar

1 t sald

1 T dry milk

2 1/4 c flour

herbs to taste

1 1/2 t yeast.   

Layer in machine in order listed and run on Italian cycle 1lb loaf.  

 

Other advice: look at youtube videos of people using the brand you plan to buy before you buy it.  Make sure it is the amount of complicated you want.   My current one is complicated, but I got it because I wanted those features.  

Edited March 19, 2022 by euphrasyne

[Mother]

I have a very old machine.  I’ve seen them recently that advertise they can also make jam or butter?  With my physical limitations a bread maker really is worth it but when our kids were home I could make 8-12 loaves of bread in the same length of time by hand.  A bread maker is definitely an almost hands off option.  They can even come with a delayed start option so you can have fresh hot bread for breakfast or with any meal. Most bread makers come with dozens of recipes. 
 

I suggest you learn to make all varieties of bread by hand first.  You never know if you will have electricity and you will not know what grain or substitute will be available.  Acorn or cattail flower bread might be on the menu.  

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by Mother

[themartianchick]

My machine is quite old. Hubby bought it for me as a Christmas gift in the early 90s and I used it once. The bread was horrid and I never tried again until the 2000s. It became my favorite appliance! It is a Breadman brand machine and it can make jam and quickbreads, in addition to pizza dough and traditional breads. It has the delay and will keep the bread warm until you turn it off. My only complaint is that the loaves that it bakes are odd-shaped. I usually use it to make dough and then bake it in a standard pan in the oven. Coming home to fresh bread after working all day was a treat. I bought another bread machine for my parents a few years ago. It was made by the same company but it was a different model. It worked the same way and I tried the same recipe that I always use for white bread. (I always encourage new bread bakers to try a white bread recipe first.) My parents were in their early 80s at the time and they thought that a bread machine was a pretty novel thing!

[Dee]

I have always wanted a bread machine BUT I have enough trouble with my weight and know if I bought something that worked so simply, in comparison to making it by hand, I'd make way too much of it. 

 

There is nothing better than homemade bread, warm right out of the oven and slathered with butter. With that kind of attitude, it's best I stay away from bread machines!! 

[themartianchick]

21 minutes ago, Dee said:

I have always wanted a bread machine BUT I have enough trouble with my weight and know if I bought something that worked so simply, in comparison to making it by hand, I'd make way too much of it. 

 

There is nothing better than homemade bread, warm right out of the oven and slathered with butter. With that kind of attitude, it's best I stay away from bread machines!! 

Oh, I didn't say that I SHOULD be using one...just that I have one! Bread and pasta are two of my downfalls. I haven't gotten enough exercise in recent years and the scale is not my friend. I brought my bread machine to mom's apartment when COVID hit in our area (March 2020). We were already seeing grocery shortages and I wanted to ensure that we had access to bread. I think that I only made it twice. The machine is now in the closet that I am supposed to be cleaning today. That still might happen today... 🙄

[euphrasyne]

I use mine several times a week.  I use the dough function a lot.   But....I can't eat much bread because of the GI issues.  My DH and kids chow down though.  

[ANewMe]

Thank you so much. I think y’all have answered all of my questions and some I didn’t know I had. Bread and pasta is my downfall too. It’s my favorite food group…LOL. I may look for one on marketplace first to see how it goes before I invest. I’m bad about getting appliances then nor using them. I have an InstaPot I’ve barely used!

[themartianchick]

You can sometimes find bread machines in thrift stores...especially after the holidays. People receive them as gifts and either use them once or not at all. 

[ANewMe]

Didn’t think of that. We have a Goodwill and “Flea Market” of thrift booths near. I’ll check it out.

[Mother]

ANewMe, if you do find a used one, check to make sure the small paddles that go into the bottom of the pan are included.  They often are missing.  If the machine isn’t too old you can order replacements though.  A bonus if the instruction booklet is also included.  If not the manuals can usually be found online at the manufacturer’s website.  

[euphrasyne]

I use my insta pot for beans.  pretty much just beans.  it is a huge time saver.   30m setting for most and no soaking.  They are done in about an hour with the pressurizing, cooking, and release.   

[Ambergris]

For a bread machine, or any loaf bread, you want some high-protein flour like Gold Medal or King Arthur, or really anything that says FOR BREAD MACHINES on it. 

 

Mixing high-protein wheat with your nonwheat flours will give a much more predictable result also.

 

If you have any wheat-belly people in your family, look into the antique wheats like black awn wheat or einkorn.  They are very expensive if thought of as wheat, but cheap as medication goes.

 

Getting a box of gluten will help if bread flour is hard to come by in your area.  A spoonful effectively raises the protein level of your flour.

 

White Lily makes great biscuits and terrible loaf bread (unless you add gluten).  Use material for what it's good for.

 

Don't think of the sugar as something you can leave out.  You won't be eating it anyway.  The yeastie beasties will be eating it.

[Littlesister]

I had a bread machine when the grandkids were small, and we were always making bread. We taught the kids how to make bread and they loved it. Wore that bread machine out. I have a new one that we bought a few years ago but haven't used it as much. Like you said hot bread is the best and we were eating too much of it. I try to also use the bread machine, but I also want to make bread by hand to keep on top of doing that in case of no electricity. One of my granddaughter's makes bread a lot. I got her a bread machine for Christmas several years ago. She loves making banana bread. 

[Annarchy]

“…All Things Bread…”

 

I started some sourdough starter.  Flour & water.  Fed once a day, a little  water & flour.  Day 3, feed every 12 hours.  Not a lot, just enough to encourage it to grow.  Dropped off 1/2 the jar to my friend in NM, on the way to TX. She said it now has a wonderful ‘sour/yeast’ smell.

 

Mine had to rest in the frig, while I was on my trip, but, is bubbling nicely after getting it’s feeding, and has a slight yeast/sour smell.  It should be ready by the middle of next week.  The first jar, divided in half, made a nice loaf, however it took 24 hours to rise.  
 

Either way, I’m impressed with not using store bought, or any yeast.  I do keep Freshman's bulk yeast, in the freezer and use it when I want a ‘quick’ loaf of bread.

 

 I’m hoping this historical recipe for sourdough starter, will be something that will always keep us with bread.

[Mother]

I start my sour dough with potato water and flour with a teaspoon of sugar to feed it.  As a starter ages/matures it will raise the bread faster.  The starter can also be frozen once well started if you won’t be using it soon.  Thaw, feed, and it will reactivate.  Or store it in the refrigerator to slow it down.  Naturally cultured starters pick up cultures from the surrounding environment.  That culture can linger in the air for long periods of time.  If you get a good tasting one keep it going and share it around.  Or freeze for later.  

[Dee]

Well, this topic got me hungry for homemade bread.  So, yesterday afternoon I got busy and made a couple loaves of white bread.  When I kneaded it, I added small chunks of ham and little squares of cheese to it.  

 

I used to do that all the time when the kids were home.  If I didn't have ham I'd use more cheese.  The ham and cheese loaf was our supper last night.  Nothing else, just 2 slices of warm bread slathered with butter.

 

There are a variety of things you can add as you knead.  Sunflower seeds, nuts, craisins, raisins and any number of things.  One thing or mix a bunch together.  I'm not sure you could ruin it.

 

I told you I have this weakness for homemade bread! 

[Littlesister]

Dee that sounds good. 

I need to get a sour dough starter going again. It has been a long time. But can't do it till construction is done. Don't need dust in that. There is enough dust going around. Gee, wonder if you can repurpose it for something. There is plenty to go around. I dust where I can and then find more. Plastic didn't hold it all where they were working at. So is in every room in house. Lots of cleaning to be done when they finish. It is going to be a very busy summer. Garden, house and windows. Plus, some power washing. It will never end, and I will be ready for a long vacation when it is done. 

Might make a loaf of bread by hand this afternoon. That I can do and pop it in oven without fear of dust getting into it. 

[Darlene]

I have used bread machines for years, and they really are nice for just dumping in the ingredients and letting it handle all the kneading and everything that goes with it. 

 

I had a sourdough starter that I had sitting in the fridge for a year and a half and kind of tried to get it going again but got impatient and am starting again from scratch. I definitely want to spend some time working with the freshly ground whole grain flours because I've always been leary of depending on the store bought flours.

[Jeepers]

I've been watching this thread. I made bread twice in my younger day. Both loaves turned out so hard I could have used them for bricks. And just as flat.

 

Last Christmas I bought a bread machine. I still haven't used it because it's at the other house. But I figure if something goes wrong I can blame the new fangled contraption this time.  It can't do worse than I did. 

 

But I really want to learn how to make tortillas and those sort of flat breads for wraps and breakfast burritos. 

 

I can't offer any thing more except, I've been reading where people are using a lot of zucchini in their bread making. Not traditional moist zucchini bread but they make flour from them. They are supposed to be used with, or instead of, regular wheat flour and, supposedly, you can't tell the difference. I've been all over the internet and there is tons on info about it. We all know how prolific Zucchinis are. Can't hardly give them away by the end of summer. It seems like I'm probably the last one to know. But I'm putting it out there incase I'm not. It could be an option in our grain deficient world. 

[Mother]

It is true that zucchini produce a lot of fruit but they are mostly water.  I’ve dehydrated it and you end with nothing.  I’m not sure you’d get much for flour?  Plus, they would be gluten free, wouldn’t they.  Without gluten or at least some additive, the bread wouldn’t rise well.  

[Darlene]

I looked it up Mother. 5lbs of zucchini nets about 1/2c of flour after it is dried.

[themartianchick]

16 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

 

 

I can't offer any thing more except, I've been reading where people are using a lot of zucchini in their bread making. Not traditional moist zucchini bread but they make flour from them. They are supposed to be used with, or instead of, regular wheat flour and, supposedly, you can't tell the difference. I've been all over the internet and there is tons on info about it. We all know how prolific Zucchinis are. Can't hardly give them away by the end of summer. It seems like I'm probably the last one to know. But I'm putting it out there incase I'm not. It could be an option in our grain deficient world. 

I have never heard of this, Jeepers! I can imagine that you dehydrate some zuke chips and then powder them. That could be very helpful. I don't have a lot of space for growing grains but I can grow a million zucchini on a couple of plants. If I am not mistaken, I lent my dehydrator to my daughter in 2020. I should probably ask for it back! 

 

I also took a moment to check on my waterbath canner... My daughter borrowed that in 2020, too. I am a homesteader in need of the most basic tools!

[Dee]

I've never heard of this either.  I make tons of zucchini bread for the freezer but haven't heard of using it as a flour.  I'm going to Google this for recipes.

 

Thanks for the heads up Jeepers.

[euphrasyne]

Tortillas and Naan are super easy.

 

Tortilla

2c Masa (cornmeal)

1 T oil

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 c warm water more as needed

Combine all.   Stir to form ball.   Add more water as needed to get play-doh consistency.  Kneed until it is elastic and 'cleans' bowl as you move it around.   Wet hands as needed if they become sticky.  This takes forever.   I use my mixer dough hook.   Divide into 10 balls and set aside with a damp cloth over for 10-30m.  DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.   Shape tortillas by putting a piece of wax paper over dough and flattening it with a cast iron skillet.  Don't roll it out.   Cook about 2m per side as you would a pancake.  

 

Naan

2 t yeast

1 t sugar

1/2 c warm water

1/4 c oil

1 egg

1/2 c yogurt

2 1/4 c flour

1/2 t salt

Combine yeast, sugar, water and let sit 5-10m till yeast foams.  Add oil, yogurt, egg.  Stir well.  Combine Flour and salt.  Add in yeast mixture and mix for a few minutes in mixer or by hand until dough ball forms.  Add more flour if it is too wet.  It should be soft but not sticky.  Allow to rise in an oiled bowl.   I stick mine in an oven I preheated to 200F and then cut off.  It should double within 30-60m.  Divide into 8 balls.  Heat about 1 t oil in a skillet on medium high.  Roll out balls to about 1/3" thick and 5" long.   Oval or round doesn't matter.  Fry for 1m per side.  Brush with butter and garnish with parsley.  

*notes.  I usually add garlic to the dough and top because I like garlic.   These will also puff like pita bread and I often eat them like you would pita.  

Edited March 21, 2022 by euphrasyne