handmade bread

thriftlady_2

MrsCook wrote: »

i have the last batch of bread rolls in the oven. they feel awfullly heavy, soft but heavy lol

is this how they are meant to be?

Real bread is always more dense than shop bought pap:D Tbh it is so long since I bought bread I can't remember what it is like so can't really tell you if they are heavy or not. I made some today and they are lovely.

MrsCook_2

kind of chewy! nice enough but i couldnt eat a lot of bread, that one roll was too much but i had to plod on!

Justamum

MrsCook wrote: »

kind of chewy! nice enough but i couldnt eat a lot of bread, that one roll was too much but i had to plod on!

That's one of the good things about homemade bread - it's far more substantial so it fills you up quicker. You could eat a whole loaf of bought bread and still not feel full.

MrsCook_2

cheers! did wonder if its because my yeast is a few months out of date?

[Deleted User]

Elizabeth Davids book is an eye opener. Generally those with country bread ovens used to prepare about 28lb of flour in one go as they had to feed themselves plus farm workers. They had to heat the oven with wood and brush it out and only then cook their bread and cakes and often the cakes might have been from 7 lb of flour. Goods like a type of lardy cake were made from a lump of bread dough rolled with lard currents and spices

No wonder their life expectancy wasn`t great as they must have been worked to death

Justamum

kittie wrote: »

Elizabeth Davids book is an eye opener. Generally those with country bread ovens used to prepare about 28lb of flour in one go as they had to feed themselves plus farm workers. They had to heat the oven with wood and brush it out and only then cook their bread and cakes and often the cakes might have been from 7 lb of flour. Goods like a type of lardy cake were made from a lump of bread dough rolled with lard currents and spices

No wonder their life expectancy wasn`t great as they must have been worked to death

:eek::eek::eek: So glad I didn't live then! Imagine trying to knead all that doughQ And the cake tins must have been HUUUUGGE!

newlywed

thriftlady - I seem to remember you have a fair collection of cook books.... Good food mag are recommending the book Dough for anyone who likes baking. Have you seen it? Do you have an opinion?

I want to try to do more bread things - like focaccia bread etc and so really want a book for bread/yeast cake recipes

thriftlady_2

newlywed wrote: »

thriftlady - I seem to remember you have a fair collection of cook books.... Good food mag are recommending the book Dough for anyone who likes baking. Have you seen it? Do you have an opinion?

I want to try to do more bread things - like focaccia bread etc and so really want a book for bread/yeast cake recipes

I've borrowed it from the library;) Yes, as far as I remember it is pretty good.

I've just finished kneading my first sour dough loaf. It will be ready to bake later today.

Last night I made a sponge with some of the starter I've been nurturing for the past 9 days. the sponge is simply some starter plus flour. This morning it was bubbling and frothing nicely.

I have added more flour, salt and some oil and kneaded it well. It will now rise on the kitchen counter until around 6ish.

Then I shall knock it back and prove it in a proving basket (not a vital piece of equipment). It needs quite a long proving. I shall put by the cooker where it will be warm while I'm getting supper. Then it will finally be ready to bake.

I shall preheat a baking tray and tip the dough onto it, spray with water to create a steamy atmosphere and bake.

I hope it will be worth all the trouble. I've never taken so much care over anything.

I'm hoping to make a loaf like this every other day for general eating and sandwiches. I shall continue to make rolls, flatbreads and pizza dough using the easy blend yeast.

NoahsPennilessMummy

I have been reading about this in my new Hugh book.....didnt quite take it all in and it seemed quite time consuming. Am away next week but may give it a try when I get back.....the picture of the bread in the book looks beautiful

thriftlady_2

NoahsPennilessMummy wrote: »

I have been reading about this in my new Hugh book.....didnt quite take it all in and it seemed quite time consuming. Am away next week but may give it a try when I get back.....the picture of the bread in the book looks beautiful

It takes time certainly but it isn't time consuming. Each stage of the process requires very little effort;)