measuring bread ingredients in advance

phizzimum · 14 April 2006 at 5:00PM

I've been very lazy recently and buying bread rather than using my dear old breadmaker.

I remember someone mentioning that they measure out the flour in advance to save time. So I was thinking that once a week I could measure out the dry ingredients for a loaf and store them in jam jars until needed.

What do you think? Would it matter if stuff got mixed up in the jar or should I try to put things in the order the recipe says. I imagine it would be better to put the yeast in when I was ready to bake the loaf as that loses it's...umm...yeastiness (?)

any comments gratefully received!

squeaky · 14 April 2006 at 6:00PM

I don't think it's ever taken me more than five minutes to assemble all the ingredients for a loaf, measure them, and put everything back

Hmm...

..well, normally, most recipes suggest keeping the salt well away from the yeast because the salt will kill it off. So it would be a good idea to add one of them first and the other last. And the yeast feeds on sugar (though normally in a liquid) so perhaps that should be kept separate too.

Gingham_Ribbon · 14 April 2006 at 6:04PM

I seem to have passed this job neatly to DH. But when I do it I find that fiddling with the yeast in those silly, pointless packets slows me down. I think a good idea would be to cut the tops off all the packets when I get them, then store them in a very dry, clean container till ready for use, remembering to make sure the measuring spoon has no moisture on it. And maybe working out how many ounces of flour one of my mugs holds would speed things up too.

jaybee · 14 April 2006 at 6:55PM

Really it only takes 3 minutes to set it all up from scratch. You soon learn the quantites off by heart for your *usual* loaf. My *everyday* loaf uses seeds etc. and it literally takes 3 mins (how sad is that - I timed it!!!!!)

Gingham_Ribbon · 14 April 2006 at 7:34PM

Yes. My husband 'just knows' and doesn't measure any more. He'll probably just tell me I need to do it more... Maybe I won't mention this thread...

apprentice_tycoon · 14 April 2006 at 7:46PM

You can get the easy blend yeast (allinsons) in little packets rather than the sachets which are a pain I agree

jaybee · 14 April 2006 at 8:33PM

I must admit that I do buy the sachets of yeast. If it's a problem (or you can't find 'loose' yeast) and if time is a real peoblem, then I guess you could just open all the sachets and put the contents on an airtight (Tupperware or clone) container which would make it a bit more *instant access*. I know that whenever I am in a real hurry that it is always then that I have to open a new sachet - it takes seconds, though!

phizzimum · 16 April 2006 at 10:34AM

thanks for all the replies everyone... I get the impression you think I'm a bit lazy (well maybe a little!) but I just prefer to do as much as possible in advance when I have the time. For example, making the pack lunches for my daughters only takes 5 mins, but my mornings run much smoother when I make them the night before.

Gingham Ribbon, I am v impressed with your husband not having to measure out! I'm not a great one for not sticking to recipes - cooking is an art not a science to me - but when it comes to bread making I guess you need a bit of science to make it rise. Maybe thats why I hate measuring out the flour...

anyway, I've measured out the flour into a few large jars - like you said it only takes a second to fling in the salt, yeast etc. And I've put the slow cooker into the cupboard and given the breadmaker it's space on the work top. It was lovely yesterday to just pour in the jar of flour and have a loaf put on it seconds...guess i am lazier than i thought!

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measuring bread ingredients in advance

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