handmade bread

Justamum

thriftlady wrote: »

I hope I never have the misfortune to eat bread that has no salt at all_pale_

I forgot the salt once. It was yucky!

northwest1965

Just been to Tescos. They have Hovis 1.5kg Wholemeal Bread flour at 25p per bag.

zippychick

Rossy which recipe are you using? I think i read brushing with milk gives a softer crust, but I would need to go check that! Some sites suggest brushing with milk, some suggest adding powdered milk when making dough, some suggest adding some fat/butter. Cant seem to find a definitive answer. Maybe Thriftlady or PP can come in with an answer?

Northwest, that's deadly cheap for the flour!:money:

Thriftlady, how's the SD starter going? When will it be ready for baking? I would love to have a go at it, but I would need it explained in really simple steps. I read the SD thread but just couldnt quite get my head around it.

I understand sort of there is no yeast used (or not necessary) as, no im going to stop taking because it will just be a load of wafffle.

northwest1965

I know !!! I bought 2 bags, I've not tried wholemeal yet.
Its dated Mar2010

zippychick

Great stuff - Any time i have made wholemeal, i do half white half WM. WM is renownedly hard to get a good rise!

[Deleted User]

anguk wrote: »

One question, I made half the amount (incase I messed it up) so used 2 teaspoons of yeast, when I cut the buns they smell a bit "yeasty". Too much yeast causes problems with my stomach would I be able to reduce the yeast a little bit? I used Tesco's fast-action dried yeast.

Just a thought, sourdough tends to be very well tolerated. Perhaps investigate going down that route some time in the future

northwest1965

Well I've made my 2nd lot of bread.
I proved it in the fridge overnight. Before I went to bed it was over the top of the bowl but when I got up at 7.30am it had sunk and was level. I'm, guessing I left it in there too long? When I knocked it back and left to prove again it didnt double in size. Have just tried a roll. Texture is great, lots of air holes but not too many. For some reason this batch is a lot crispier on the outside. I dont mind that tho.

[Deleted User]

You are all so inspiring!! I love this getting down to the absolute basics ie bread being the staff of life. I was giving my sourdough a last gentle knead yesterday and something filled me with awe when I thought about the fact that I was using only wild yeasts from the air. I used my razorblade on a stick yesterday, to slash the loaves and misted them with water. Its a constant battle with a fan oven

If my oven ever breaks down then I`ll get one in which I can turn that blessed fan off

I love reading about bread making and have just ordered another book, one by Elizabeth David

My starter is proving to be very lively lately. I think he likes being fed and used more frequently. He is so lively that I think I`ll be making some rye bread next week

Did anyone see countryfile yesterday and the loaves that they made? You can make loaves like that if you use a big pot with a lid but it takes a lot of heat ie the oven has to get to 250+ and so does the pot. The lid comes off after 20 mins and the temperature turned down. Those loaves have a bit of sugar in them as that makes a crusty crust so the slashing is very important or the crust `floats` on top. I get loaves like that from my pot (aldi pot) but I have gone down a notch and use normal temperatures lately and bread tins. Not as pretty but more practical. You have to work out a way of getting the risen dough into the hot pot and I used to prove it on silicone paper in a big colander

Woofles

Whilst looking through one of my recipe books I came across this interesting concept - the recipe is called Rye Bread in A Roasting Bag.

Never heard of doing that before, you live and learn.

yummyhoney

quick question,,Northwest1965 which receipe did you use for the loaf and rolls in the pics,,many thanks