Teach me how to make bread (by hand)
There was a previous thread about hand made bread v. bread machines, and everyone said how both tasted better than store bought bread. Ive never even thought to make bread because I thought it would take too much time. Well, after reading everyone's comment about how delicious the bread is, I want to try it this weekend. I have not the slightest clue about bread making, so if someone can give me a recipe, some tips, suggestions, time cutting advice, etc. please help!
FYI - i dont have any fancy equipment - no mixers, blenders, food processor, etc. The only device i own is a hand held mixer.
Thanks!
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18 Comments:
I have taught a few people to make bread, but always in person. It is kind of a hands-on thing. But I will try to give you tips about the more specialized parts.
Get a basic recipe from a cookbook, preferably a baking book. There were several good ones listed in a thread just a week or two ago. Hope there are lots of pictures.
You don't need much equipment. A really big bowl is a must. Be sure to treat your yeast nicely and according to the directions. Introduce sugar to the yeast first, salt later. I do the milk or water temperature (for blooming the yeast) like bathwater for a child: feels pleasantly warm but not hot on the inside of your wrist.
You can mix the dough with a big spoon until is forms a rough ball. It will be pretty messy at this stage. Then out on a floured board, sprinkle with more flour and begin to knead. The object is to get layers of the dough sliding against other layers inside of the ball. So form a rough ball, push down and away from you with the heels of your hands and, as part of the same motion, reach down with your fingers and pull the dough back into a ball. A few of those and the ball is getting to be a cylinder. Turn 90 degrees, form a ball and start over. Sprinkle lightly with flour whenever it gets sticky. You are looking for the dough to turn into a smooth ball with a little sheen on it.
Then back into the bowl to rise in a warm spot covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let it get about double in size. If that means it will get higher than the top of your bowl, then watch that it does not droop out over the sides of the bowl because that probably means it has risen too much. If your bowl is real big, then just watch for it to double. Rising time varies with yeast, flour, weather and location.
When risen, give it a punch to get bubbles out, knead lightly and form loaves. Loaf pans are nice for sandwich bread but cookie sheets do fine for rustic loaves.
Wish there was a way to make videos from words. Good luck.
Blue Iris at 11:30AM on 08/20/08
Oh, one more thing: I don't think there are really time-saving tips about making bread. Plan it for a day when you would be home anyway, or plan a few hours -- no more -- out of the house while the bread rises.
You can get lots of other stuff done, but you need to be there checking on rising and so on. If you enjoy baking, you will work it into your routine. And, oh my, does it make your house smell good!
Blue Iris at 11:42AM on 08/20/08
I actually just baked a loaf of bread for the first time this weekend. It was a piece of cake (or bread)! As for equipment, all I used was a loaf pan, a large bowl, and a wooden spoon. That was it. No hand mixers, no stand mixers. Nothing. I just made a basic white bread. The recipe is here: http://robinhood.ca/recipe.details.asp?prcid=13&rid=54. The process is time consuming. But really, really easy.
carvillian at 12:09PM on 08/20/08
I used Steamy Kitchen's pictured tutorial for my first outing on the "no knead bread phenomenon" I love it cause her 4 year old is the instructor... how fun! I even had sucess at this bread!
here's the link:
http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/09/10/no-knead-bread-revisited/
good luck and enjoy your bread adventure!
bisbee at 12:11PM on 08/20/08
I highly recommend the book "Beard on Bread" by James Beard.
gastronomeg at 12:26PM on 08/20/08
Hey...I'll echo some of the things others have said.
Bread making is really, really simple. I'd forget the bread maker also. You really just need a bowl, two loaf pans (9x5 or 8x4, and get cheap ones. The fancy, expensive ones don't produce a better bread and the cheap ones last almost as long), a liquid measuring cup, dry measuring cups, and a wooden spoon.
Find a recipe...most will be about the same...I'd echo the Beard on Bread suggestion. To me, that's the most important book to go from beginner to amateur. Modern bread making techniques actually make it easier, but more time consuming. Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice uses new (old) ideas so you don't even have to prep the yeast...just calls for instant yeast and refrigerated slow-rises.
But I'd wait to get into that. Just work on feeling the bread. Pretty quickly you'll be able to tell just by feeling the dough whether you've kneaded enough.
And pretty soon you'll be hooked. You'll want to make whole wheat breads, brioches, and then sourdough starters. At least you've been warned.
lawofmurphy at 1:44PM on 08/20/08
So much of bread baking is "hands off" that it only seems to take a dog's age. The kneading of bread under your hands is a tactile experience like no other. It's very zen. Next time you have a rainy Saturday or no plans on a weekend, try an easy loaf.
1. Do not rush.
2. Do not raise the bread in a "warm" place as this speeds the rising and less flavor is developed. The best rise happens overnight in the fridge but lacking that kind of time, a cool place in your apartment or house will do fine.
3. Resist the temptation to add too much flour to make the dough easier to handle. The resulting bread is so much better when it's moist. Use a bench scraper to help you fold the dough over itself if the dough is sticky.
4. Salt retards the growth of yeast so give the yeast a chance to work before you incorporate the salt - and don't skimp on salt. Add the salt as far into the mixing as you can, just before the first knead.
I love Bernard Clayton's Book of Breads and even if you sit in a Barnes & Noble to read the foreword, grab Bread Alone by Daniel Leader. His is a real love affair with bread.
Finally, fancy breads are all well and good but there is something very "grounding" about a plain loaf of peasant bread scented with the slightest bit of rosemary.
therealchiffonade at 3:27PM on 08/20/08
@Chiff: I have never tried overnight in the fridge. I will try very soon. Thanks for the tip.
Blue Iris at 4:59PM on 08/20/08
@Blue Iris - I had to do it that way when I lived in Colorado at 7,000 feet. The bread was risen over the sides of the bowl by the time I put away the flour. (LOL, J/K.) Seriously, the fridge rise was the only way to develop any flavor whatsoever.
therealchiffonade at 5:42PM on 08/20/08
I started with a recipe, and worked from there. It is definitely a hands on type experience. Elasticity is key when kneading, and to recreate an artisan, European type bread, I have found that a stone works best. I have NEVER used a loaf pan ( any generic pizza stone will do). The stone heats nicely, and holds the heat, and free forming loaves are beautiful. They actually look home made. Depending on the bread, I have used egg wash, egg white wash, olive oil, flour, water (as steam), milk.
cucinacecilia at 8:53PM on 08/20/08
Stones do work for free form. Some breads...whole wheat..white...sometimes the goal is sandwhich loaves and loaf pans are great for that. I don't think there's anything WRONG with using a loaf pan, at least.
Always good to have the stone...if for no other reason, to make pizza :)
lawofmurphy at 10:10PM on 08/20/08
it might be said that making bread by hand cannot be taught, only known.
and in any event, i really don't think i could do the craft justice in the space provided here.
one excellent book to check out, if you're interested in hand-made bread making, though, is "The Bread Bible," by Rose Levy Berambaum; it quite literally taught me everything i know about breadmaking(which is a fairly substantial body of knowledge, btw).
another great place to look is a book titled the "Complete Guide to Baking," published by Taste of Home; in addition to breadmaking, it also goes way detailed on tons of other baking projects, so it's well worth the money.
rasellers0 at 11:17PM on 08/20/08
You guys are making me hungry for BREAD!!! I also like the Artisan Bread in Five book.
Steamy Kitchen at 11:37PM on 08/20/08
My bread is never the same twice. I'm always changing the recipe or the shape or something. Today's loaf was started last night, and instead of water I used the whey drained from some yogurt I made a few days ago. Added semolina flour, because that's the mood I was in.
Once you get the hang of it, you'll find out that bread is very forgiving, if you learn what it's supposed to look and feel like at different stages. Sometimes it rises faster, sometimes you stick it in the fridge overnight because that fits your schedule better.
And you can add all sorts of interesting things to it.
But first, learn a basic bread and make it a few times until you're comfortable with it. Maybe make a few different recipes. Then, pretty soon, you'll be looking at some leftover sundried tomatoes and olives and thinking that they'd probably be good mixed in with your dough.
dbcurrie at 11:51PM on 08/20/08
Don't fall for buying a pizza stone! Take the rack out of your oven and go to your nearest discount tile or home store. Find the unglazed terra cotta tiles. Fit the tiles, whatever size it takes, to the rack. Make sure to leave a two-inch gap all the way around for heat exchange. This will allow you to make more than one loaf at a time. (If that's too expensive, or too much of a commitment, just buy one 18-inch tile.) You can leave them in the oven all the time. It takes them a little bit to warm up, but then they stay warm for quite some time, virtually eliminating the need to leave the oven on warm and wasting energy. Also, they radiate heat and keep your oven closer to the target temperature. (You should probably remove them during self-cleaning, if your oven has that cycle.) It also works great for pies, puff pastry, corn bread, biscuits, roasted meats and practically anything you'd like to bake. Use the other, open rack for things you want to remain tender and/or creamy like cakes, custards and cheesecakes.
Calichef at 4:49AM on 08/21/08
I make bread almost every weekend and I don't use a recipe. I found a blurp on a blog somewhere along the way that gave simple instructions with no real measurements and the bread always turns out good.
Take some yeast (I use a tsp) and add it to a cup of slightly warm water in a bowl. Add some sugar or honey. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Add some flour. Keep adding flour until you get a firm, doughy consistency. Add more water if you need to. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it gets soft and smooth. Put it back in a floured bowl and cover with a towel.
Let it rest for 2 hours. Knead the dough again and let it rise for another 10 minutes.
Heat your oven to 425*F.
I either bake it in a loaf pan or on a cooking stone. Cook until perfectly brown and sounds hollow when you tap on it.
You can make different variations of this. Add cheese or herbs. Add some oil and roll it out for pizza dough. Make it into foccacia.
It's very forgiving and once you start playing with it, you won't want to stop.
TaraTot at 11:59AM on 08/21/08
You really must try this recipe -- No-Knead Bread -- From the New York Times a few years ago. You will not be disappointed and you'll be making it again every weekend!
jasonpaulso at 4:49PM on 08/21/08
Okay, on my way down to the bottom here, I misread the first sentence of the first comment, so that the last word in that sentence was "prison." Sigh. I don't think I had enough coffee today.
Anyway, as you will see, there are as many bread recipes as there are breadmakers. Times about fifty.
Baking stones and pizza stones are nice, if you can get them at a good price, and they're thick enough. Best one I bought was at a garage sale for a quarter. A lot of people like quarry tiles, but I like the idea that I can take the stone out when I want to, in one piece. It mostly stays in the oven, but for some things, it doesn't belong in there.
It's kind of hard to make a bad loaf of bread compared to what you buy in the store. A bad loaf is better than that. And while you may not get what you hoped for (crunchy crust, big holes, small holes, etc.) the experiments along the way will probably be tasty. And unless you're buying some freaky artisan flour and imported yeast, a bad loaf of bread doesn't cost much.
Generally, I make a loaf of bread at a time, while most recipes will be for two loaves. I'd rather bake twice as often, make different breads each time, and have it as fresh as possible. If your recipe is for 2 loaves and you want to make one, but don't want to cut the recipe in half, you can put half the dough in the fridge and bake it a few days later.
My basic bread dough used 1 cup of water or other moist ingredient, 1 yeastspoon of yeast (I buy by the pound. The spoon is the same measurement as a package of yeast) 2 1/2 to 3 cups of bread flour, or bread flour mixed with whatever other flours I'm in the mood for, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Most of the time, I adjust the water or flour amounts, depending on what sort of bread I want, and what sort of flours and liquids I'm using. Whole wheat flour drinks a lot more water than white four does, for example.
You can use honey in place of the sugar, but some honeys will kill the yeast. If you have one that you know will work, then it will be fine. Saltless bread tastes really bland. And salt also regulates the yeast. You can cut back a smidgeon, but don't leave it out.
To me, the keys to making a good loaf of bread are kneading it enough so that it's soft and gluteny and shiny. You'll see the difference when you get there. When you let it rise the first time, ignore the clock, and just let it rise until it has doubled in size. Use the recipe as a guideline as to when you should check on it, but so many things will affect the rise time that you just have to watch the dough.
If you're having trouble visualizing what it will be like doubled, you can put a small hunk in a cylindrical glass, measure what twice the height is, and mark it there with a rubber band or some tape, and when your small sample has risen enough, the large one should, too, if they're in the same environment.
For the second rise, you want to rise enough, but not too much. You can check it by poking the bread and if the indent stays (do this where it won't be noticed) then it's ready to bake. If it bounces back, it still needs to rise more. Or, you can put a small ball of dough into a glass of water, and when it rises to the top, your loaf should be ready to bake.
Nothing really needs to be exact, unless you're making bread in a production line where all the loaves have to be the same every day. Making the bread different each time is part of the fun. And if you don't tell anyone that you hoped for a crunchy crust instead of a soft one, no one will know the difference. Just smile and pass the butter and say that this loaf was exactly what you hoped for.
dbcurrie at 5:52PM on 08/21/08