I love cooking. And bread baking. Both serve as wonderful creative outlets for me. I am not referring to being inventive or artistic, but to the deeper physical and spiritual sense of formation. I find that I have a unquenchable need to create, to produce something tangible with my hands. I fill that need in many different ways, often making a quilt, a crocheted blanket, or something edible. But bread is not only magical to watch take form, it also nourishes the body and mind. It holds within it elements of science and nature, physical nourishment for the body, and a link to our cultural history. I take immense pleasure in kneading the dough with my hands, feeling connected to the food I eat and to so many woman throughout history. The world of bread also offers a glimpse into the vast and infinite, offering as many possible recipes and techniques to fill every day of a lifetime. Do I need to go on? I am clearly nuts about baking bread!
I made my first loaf of bread on July 7th, 2008. I was at my in-laws' house in Virginia, and I made two loaves of deliciously dense 100% whole wheat bread. My wonderful mother-in-law (who also taught me how to quilt) served as my first bread baking teacher. With her help and encouragement (not to mention supplies and kitchen!) I tried my hand at bread baking. She got out one of her old favorite bread
cookbooks (now MY favorite bread cookbook as well.) She had kept wonderful notes in the margins of the book, noting when she had tried a recipe and how it had turned out, and encouraged me to add to her notes. I couldn't believe how easy it was. The experience was so fulfilling and the results were so delicious, that I was hooked at once! I tried a second recipe the next day. (Note, it also helps to have a large family on hand when baking huge quantities of bread, or a very large freezer! We had about 17 people gathered together that weekend. My loaves were devoured as quickly as they came out of the oven.) My mother sent me home with her cookbook, and I've been joyfully baking bread ever since, jotting down my notes and comments alongside of my mother-in-law's. The cookbook and the skill I acquired are both treasures.
But, here's the reason I'm blogging on and on about bread. I made four loaves of Pumpkin Cider bread on Tuesday. I gave several loaves away and shared some photos of my creations, arousing quite a bit of interest among my friends in this topic. So, at their request, I'm publishing a few recipes here, along with some general tips. I'm also planning a big bread baking day at my house in a week or two, so let me know if you're interested in joining us.
Here are some basic bread baking tips.
1. Measure exactly. This is especially important when starting out. One secrets to the magical rising of bread is getting the right proportion of wet to dry ingredients, as well as having enough sugar vs salt to allow the yeast to grow rapidly. Once you're more experienced, feel free to experiment!
2. Have all your ingredients at room temp (also ok to be slightly warmer) before starting. Yeast needs a warm enviroment to grow. Ice cold flour straight out of the freezer, or cold butter inhibit growth. This shouldn't make your recipe flop, but will dramatically increase the rising time.
3. Find a nice warm place to let your dough rise. I use my oven. Some ovens have a "proof" setting, which is perfect for bread rising. But, don't worry if yours doesn't have that. Mine doesn't. I put my dough in and turn the oven on to 350 for about 30 seconds. This is just enough to get the heating element warm. Then, I turn the oven off again. The small amount of heat left in the oven is just right to keep the yeast warm and happy. I have read about other bakers using a heating pad on low setting underneath their bowl. In the summer, a sunny coutertop is probably warm enough. Whatever works.
4. Be patient! Sometime dough rises very quickly. Other times is rises very slowly. But, it always rises. If it doesn't look ready, leave it alone, but don't lose faith.
5. Proof your yeast. More details on this later.
6. Use bread flour instead of white flour. Bread flour has more gluten, and helps work with the yeast to produce an easier, faster, more consistent rise, in my opinion. I use it in place of white flour in most of my recipes. I have found it in my local supermarkets alongside the regular flours. I still use plain old whole wheat flour when called for.
Yeast:
This is the magical ingredient that makes bread what it is. I prefer (and recommend) using active dry yeast. I do not recommend "fast acting" yeast. Active dry yeast is also available in regular grocery stores, and normally comes either in a 3 pack of single serving envelopes, or a small jar. For conversion purposes, one package of yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoons. Yeast should be stored in the refrigerator until baking time. I do not worry about warming the yeast to room temp before baking, as I always add it to warm water. Active dry yeast should be "proofed" before mixing it into your dough. Proofing is another word for activating, or waking up your yeast. Yeast sort of hibernates in cool temps, and will wake up and start eating (and producing oxygen) when warmed. So, the first step when making bread should be to proof your yeast. To do so, mix it in with a small quantity (I usually use 1-2 cups) of warm liquid and some small amount of sugar from the recipe. The liquid should be about 100-120 degrees F. This is about the temp of a warm to hot bath. It should be warm to the touch, but not burn your skin. This wakes up the yeast. Then, the sugar provides something for the yeast to eat. Sugar can be in the form of honey, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, etc., depending on your specific recipe. Mix the sugar into the warm liquid, then stir the yeast in gently. After about 5-8 minutes, you should see foam on top of the liquid. This means the yeast has starting working already, and is ready to be mixed into your dough!
Order of ingredients:
After proofing the yest, I usually add all of the liquid ingredients, plus the sugar(s) and salt into my mixer. I use a Cuisinart XL stand mixer to do all of the mixing, and some of the kneading. If you use an electric mixer, make sure to use the dough hook attachment. You should also make sure not to exceed the maximum flour guidelines for your size mixer, or you are likely to burn out the motor. I mix the wet ingredients in the mixer, and then add the flour one cup at a time until the dough is fairly stiff and well mixed. Sometimes, especially if I am making an all or mostly whole wheat recipe, or a very large recipe, I have to add the last cup or so of flour while kneading by hand. The right consistency of the dough is wet enough that it holds together (sort of like soft play doh,) but not so wet that it is sticky. Don't worry, this is not a perfect science! Once the ingredients are well mixed, the dough needs to be kneaded for about 8-10 minutes. I usually let the dough hook do the first 5 or so minutes, and then take the dough over to my kitchen table, and knead the dough right on the floured table top. My mixer cannot handle dough that is too dry, so I often find that it looks great in the mixer, but feels too sticky when I get it over to the table. If that is the case, I knead a little bit more flour into the dough. Once it is well kneaded, I put it back into the large mixer bowl (which I have greased in the meantime,) and put it in my slightly warm oven to rise.
Knead Rise Repeat:
So, while every recipe has it's own instructions (which I may or may not follow,) there are some basic steps to making all yeast bread. They are:
1. Mix ingredients.
2. Knead bread.
3. First rise.
4. Punch down. (Which means knead risen dough for 1-2 minutes.)
5. Second rise.
6. Bake.
7. Cool and eat!!!
With a few rare exceptions, you can follow these basic steps and instructions for all yeast breads. I find that the actual bread making time is usually around 4 hours from start to finish, but the actual work time is about 30 minutes.
Tap Tap Tap
The only other tip I can think of to pass along is how to tell when your bread is done. The standard "test" for bread doneness is to take the loaf out of the oven, invert it, and tap on the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, it is done. The great thing about bread baking is that it is very forgiving. If you're not sure if it's done, test it. If it's not done, put it back in. You will not have a problem taking the bread out and putting it back in, even several times.
There is certainly a lot more to know and learn, but most of the knowledge and comfort just comes from practice. I've certainly written enough already. So get out your bread pans, and start baking! Here are the recipes:
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
(15 rolls)
I have been making these for dinner about once a week lately. I love that they take only a little more than an hour to make from start to finish!
1 c warm water
2 T butter or margarine
1 egg
2 c bread flour
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c sugar
1 t salt
3 t active dry yeast
Combine water, margarine and 1 spoonful of sugar. Gently stir in yeast. Allow yeast to proof in warm water for 5 minutes. Pour water mixture into mixing bowl. Add remaining sugar, egg and salt. Gently stir ingredients. Add flour one cup at a time until thoroughly mixed. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. Grease mixing bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to cover all sides. Cover with a towel, and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. Grease bottom and sides of 9x13" pan. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Place in pan, three across and 5 down the length of the pan. Cover and place in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, or until double in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. (I have also made this recipe with 8-9 larger rolls instead of 12 smaller ones. When larger, they make perfect hamburger or sandwich rolls. :-) )
Honey Oatmeal Bread
(2 loaves)
A delicious all purpose bread.
2 c boiling water
1/2 c honey
2 T butter or margarine
2 t salt
1 c uncooked rolled oats
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/4 lukewarm water
3 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 to 2 c bread flour
In a large bowl, stir together boiling water, honey, butter, salt and rolled oats. Let stand one hour. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add to the oat mixture. Stir in 1 cup of flour at a time. Mix well. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic (about 10 minutes.)Place dough in a greased bowl. Turn to coat top of dough and cover with a towel. Place in a warm spot and allow to double in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. Divide dough and place into 2 greased loaf pans. Cover and place in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk. (About 45 minutes.) Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Tops should be browned, and the bottom should sound hollow when tapped. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Anadama Bread
(2 loaves)
This is one of my family's favorites! I love this darker, denser loaf. I think it makes great toast, or sandwiches. And it is excellent for dipping in soups or stews!
7 c flour (I used half bread flour, and half whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 c cornmeal
2 1/2 t salt
1/3 c softened butter or margarine
2 pkgs dry yeast
2 1/4 c very warm water
2/3 c molasses
Combine the molasses and water in a large bowl. Gently stir in the yeast. Allow to proof for 5 minutes. Add the butter, salt and cornmeal, mixing well. Gnely add the flour 1 cup at a time. Mix thoroughly. Follow the kneading and rising instructions as above. First rise should take 45 - 60 minutes. Second rise should take about an hour. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, or until bread tests done.
Pumpkin Cider Bread
(4 loaves)
I recommend dividing this in half if you only have one standard sized oven. It's a huge recipe, and it's more challenging trying to cook 4 loaves evenly in one oven at the same time. It's also a lot of dough to mix and knead! This is a very light and fairly sweet recipe. I prefer darker, sourer loaves, but I got raving reviews from the friends that I passed this to. I think it would make great french toast!
1 qt cider
1/4 lb (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 c maple syrup
1 c cooked pumpkin
1 t salt
2 pkg dry yeast
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c cornmeal
10 c bread flour
(I used 2 c whole wheat and 8 c bread flour)
Follow directions as above: Heat cider, add yeast to proof. Mix remaining ingredients except flour. Add flour 1 cup at a time. Turn out on floured surface to knead, etc... Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. Tap for doneness.
