Bread recipies

Becles

I read the Independant article about bread. The baker who wrote it suggested a 1.5lb loaf recipe of:

400g water
600g flour
5g salt
8g yeast

This is what I normally use, however as per my bread maker instructions I also add:

3tbsp sugar
3tbsp oil
3tbsp dried milk powder

Do I really need to add the 3 ingredients above, or can I miss them out? What do they actually do?

Addiscomber

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the sugar is probably to help activate the yeast - if you make bread by hand/mixer in the oven with dried yeast from a tub you have to start it off in warm water with a little sugar. The oil possibly has to do with keeping qualities or texture, but I have no idea about the dried milk powder. The recipes that came with my Kenwood Chef 20 odd years ago include a little bit of fat, I usually use a knob about the size of a walnut.
Whatever the reason all three are natural products, unlike the things described in the article - one of which if I recall correctly is derived from feathers??? Yuk.

Swan_2

Becles,
I'm too new to using a BM to know if the information below applies

but certainly for hand-made bread you can miss out the dried milk (although it does make for better toast) the oil (changes the texture & improves the keeping quality slightly) & the sugar (yeast will work perfectly well without it)

maybe it's different with a BM because of the strict timings involved?

Queenie

Becles wrote:

I read the Independant article about bread. The baker who wrote it suggested a 1.5lb loaf recipe of:

400g water
600g flour
5g salt
8g yeast

This is what I normally use, however as per my bread maker instructions I also add:

3tbsp sugar
3tbsp oil
3tbsp dried milk powder

Do I really need to add the 3 ingredients above, or can I miss them out? What do they actually do?

No, for a basic white loaf you do not *need* to add the 3 extra ingredients

The addition of sugar/oil/milk can and does make a slight difference to the basic breads. Mainly to make the crust softer, the loaf tender, add flavour and feed the yeast.

Sugar - yeast used in bread machines does not *need* sugar added to make it work, but adding a little does give the yeast a little bit of extra oomph which helps it to grow faster. In addition, it aids the keeping qualities of the bread. Too much sugar will have the reverse effect and slow down the growth of the yeast.

Oil/Fats - This adds moisture and adds a tender quality to the bread. Depending on the fats/oil you use, it can also improve the flavour of the loaf. Like sugar, it can extend the keeping qualities of the bread.

Dried Milk/Fresh Milk - adding this will give a softer crust to the bread. Milk contains sugars and again it will feed the yeast. Dried milk is often quoted instead of fresh milk because if you use the delay timer on your machine when adding milk as an ingredient, it can turn sour if it's sitting around for several hours in the BM.

HTH

Swan_2

Queenie wrote:

No, for a basic white loaf you do not *need* to add the 3 extra ingredients

HTH

thanks clearing that up Queenie

although I've been handmaking bread for a long time, I'm still a BM novice & am struggling to come to terms with the BM's relative inflexibility whnen you mess around with ingredients :rolleyes:

I find most BM recipes far too sweet & salty, so you've saved me a few anxious experiments :T

Queenie

Swan - it's interesting that you should find it relatively inflexible - I'm having a ball messing about with ingredients in mine I have a cottage cheese, rosemary and sultana loaf in as I type :laugh:

I'm not a lover of sweet things (more a savoury kind of girl) and I'm very careful about the amount of salt/sodium my family consume so I really try to stick to the bare minimum on that front ... and then go a bit mad with herbs, spices, seeds, nuts, different flours, leftover veggies, fruits to compensate.

Some breads do work better if you use the BM to make the dough and prove and then continue with them in a traditional manner.

Have fun experimenting and do look out for BM books in your library, our library is really getting to grips with the modern cooking/craft books and I found a lovely BM cookery book in there the other week.

Swan_2

Queenie wrote:

Swan - it's interesting that you should find it relatively inflexible - I'm having a ball messing about with ingredients in mine I have a cottage cheese, rosemary and sultana loaf in as I type :laugh:

it's probably fear Queenie ... new-fangled technology & I had a problem with too much water in a recipe & got a collapsed loaf, which was a bit scary

I'm so used to 'feeling' when the dough's right & adding or taking away as I go along, that leaving the BM to it's own devices really goes against the grain (no pun intended )

I have done a bit of experimentation, most successfully so far with spicy cheese bread, & cheese & onion bread using those fried onions you get in Asian foodstores. oh & poshpaws seeded loaf, I've adapted that with extra seeds & oatmeal
never thought of using cottage cheese, what a good idea! I make stuffed baked potatoes with it & always have some left over, I'm gonna give that a go


actually, now that I've re-read that, I think I was talking out of a hole in my head earlier :rolleyes: