Adventures with bread dough

caitybabes

Swan wrote: »

is it that thay weren't smooth & evenly round?

if that's the problem, make sure you have a nice soft pliable dough, then the trick's in the shaping

Thank you, I think my dough wasn't soft and pliable enough in the first place so I'll try to make sure it is softer next time.

angeltreats

quintwins wrote: »

i thought yeast neededsugar to activate it? i'm abit of a newbie aswell but i'm sure somone else will know if this is right


i've been butter sugar and butter in mine, but a few days ago i put flora in mine (light one incase that matters) and it acually tastes nicer than the ones i've been doing with real butter, my hubby even commented on it

Nah you don't need sugar. There's enough sugar in the flour to feed the yeast. If you're using dried yeast and activating it in liquid first, a wee bit of sugar will make it activate quicker and go foamy, but it's not necessary.

Butter/fat will enrich the dough, giving it an additional flavour and it also helps it keep a bit longer. But it's definitely not necessary. I use olive oil in things like pizza dough and ciabatta and butter in brioche and some other breads, but never in my 'everyday' loaf which is just flour, water, yeast and salt and maybe handfuls of seeds or whatever else I can find to chuck in it.

Magpie27

angeltreats wrote: »

Nah you don't need sugar. There's enough sugar in the flour to feed the yeast. If you're using dried yeast and activating it in liquid first, a wee bit of sugar will make it activate quicker and go foamy, but it's not necessary.

Butter/fat will enrich the dough, giving it an additional flavour and it also helps it keep a bit longer. But it's definitely not necessary. I use olive oil in things like pizza dough and ciabatta and butter in brioche and some other breads, but never in my 'everyday' loaf which is just flour, water, yeast and salt and maybe handfuls of seeds or whatever else I can find to chuck in it.

Thats great thank you, I might add a bit of butter if I make something a bit more special but most of the time its just a everyday loaf

missminx007

what recipe do you experienced breadmakers use for just a bog standard loaf? I've not had much success in the past and dont want to give up!!

Sublime_2

Lovely ideas on this thread ladies! :T

No good for my waistline, but shall be trying some out.

Turkishdreamer

missminx007 wrote: »

what recipe do you experienced breadmakers use for just a bog standard loaf? I've not had much success in the past and dont want to give up!!

You don't say whether you make your dough by hand or with a BM, the recipe will vary accordingly.

sassysez

Apologies if this is covered elsewhere!! I would like to start making my own bread, to see if it helps cut down costs, but I fear I will be too tempted to eat everything immediately, therefore working out more expensive.

Can you freeze homemade bread, would it be best done as a whole loaf or could you do it in slices? Also is it better to make by hand or using a breadmaker? Any advice greatly appreciated

zippychick

Either would be fine! I would try by hand first if you don't have a breadmaker. Handmade bread has all the answers you need. Thriftladys loaf instructions in the first few posts and a lovely bread roll recipe

missminx007

Turkishdreamer wrote: »

You don't say whether you make your dough by hand or with a BM, the recipe will vary accordingly.

Of course, I've got a breadmaker.

skaps

Has anyone got a website or any recipes on how to make wrights savoury flavoured breads? Bought the mixes when they were 3 for 2 and loved them but need a cheaper way to have lovely bread.

I find that I use my breadmaker to make the dough but prefer to bake it in the oven as I can mould the shape better. Does anyone else find this?