Cheapest and/or best bread recipe you use?

ALIBOBSY

Given that the price of wheat is already shooting up-after rubbish world wide harvests it will be well worth stocking up on flour NOW and all of us getting into making our own bread as the price of bread WILL be going up next year. I think the costs will become more of an issue.

More and more people will be going in the shops for the marked down bread (and meat/veg etc), its already happening now.

So I think a basic bread recipe will become very useful indeed.

TBH its just flour, yeast, and some kind of liquid to produce a basic bread although I wouldn't make it without salt both for flavour and texture. You can add other stuff-oil, fat, milk, sugar, honey, fruit, chocolate, but the basic idea is the same.

Flatbreads, totillias, nans, and pitta type breads are really easy and can be really cheap using the value flour.

Ali x

Ben84

Justamum wrote: »

That amount seems to be average - it works out at about 1 tsp (sort of rounded) and I've seen some recipes which say to use more. I suppose it's all a matter of taste. Here's Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall's basic white bread recipe http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/8782605/River-Cottage-Baking-recipes-The-basic-bread-recipe.html

It may be average, but it is a lot. I find it quite easy to eat half a loaf (one made with 500g flour) in a day, particularly if I make soup. However if there was 10g salt in there, this would mean from that one item I've pretty much eaten the entire recommended maximum salt intake for the day.

j.e.j.

this will make a small loaf or a pizza base, and is measured by volume so you don't need scales:

2 mugs bread flour, 1 mug of plain flour (or you could just use 3 of bread flour)
1 mug of tepid water
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 teaspoon salt
half to one teaspoon sugar or honey
about a teaspoon dried yeast

Basically, you mix it all together (I put the dry ingredients in, then add the warm/hot water), knead it for about 5 mins until it's elasticky, then cover it and leave it to rise. This could take 2-3 hours, depending on how warm it is in your kitchen.

Knock back, shape your dough, and leave to rise again for about half to one hour.

Bake for about 20-30 mins at about 200 degrees

Winchelsea

I've made bread all my life, and think any of the recipes above will work fine. Flour, yeast and water is all you really need, though other additions make a difference to the taste. So it's a real money-saver.

I mostly make sourdough - my starter sits in the fridge, I feed it with a bit of flour and water when I remember, and it's been going for nearly 2 years now. I do make yeast bread occasionally, and agree that the Dove Farm dried yeast in the orange packet works really well.

I never add salt to any of my bread - have not done so since being told to avoid the stuff because of high blood pressure. And it rises OK and tastes fine.

Good luck!

Ben84

Winchelsea wrote: »

I've made bread all my life, and think any of the recipes above will work fine. Flour, yeast and water is all you really need, though other additions make a difference to the taste. So it's a real money-saver.

I mostly make sourdough - my starter sits in the fridge, I feed it with a bit of flour and water when I remember, and it's been going for nearly 2 years now. I do make yeast bread occasionally, and agree that the Dove Farm dried yeast in the orange packet works really well.

I never add salt to any of my bread - have not done so since being told to avoid the stuff because of high blood pressure. And it rises OK and tastes fine.

Good luck!

I'm curious about this sourdough, because it sounds like a lot less work than I had thought it would be?

I will also try with no salt at all and see how it goes. However, previously this hasn't worked well for me, so I still add a small amount to anything risen with yeast. I find half a level teaspoon of lo-salt (which is only 1/3rd actual salt anyway) per 500g of flour is enough for everything to work fine in every recipe I've tried so far.

mrs_sparrow

Thanks for the replies, I've got a loaf on in the BM at the moment using the recipe with 3tbs of oil - and it has sunk!!

Will try another one in the morning and see how that comes out. I know I just need to find the right recipe. Thanks for your help. Going to read up on bread sinking now!!

daska

Lucky you who can still get Doves! It isn't stocked anywhere near me, not even in our huge Tesco.

When making in a breadmaker it's a good idea add a tablespoon of oil as it makes it much less likely to stick in the tin.

Justamum

I've made bread without salt before and it was awful. I think the risk of eating too much salt really only happens if you eat a lot of processed food which usually contains piles of it. I've never understood why cake recipes include salt.

Ben84

daska wrote: »

Lucky you who can still get Doves! It isn't stocked anywhere near me, not even in our huge Tesco.

I had the same trouble, but it turns out a few unexpected places stock it. Health food shops often have it. Green and ethical online shops also tend to stock it, so I just add some when I'm ordering other items.

Justamum

daska wrote: »

Lucky you who can still get Doves! It isn't stocked anywhere near me, not even in our huge Tesco.

Allinsons do an instant yeast, and that's available in Tesco.