redneck bread tutorial?

[redneckplanter]

any of you pros wanna give the old redneck an a-z bread tutorial?
the old kind mom made with real yeast rising ect?
thanks
rnp

[GreyMoon9]

I know there are plenty on this board that can help you. I cheat, I make quick breads like bannana bread and zuchinni bread. :D

[lorna-organic]

Get a machine, really!! You can take the dough out halfway through, shape it any way you like, and finish it in your oven. That way, for instance, you could make rolls instead of a loaf of bread. Lots of folks have mentioned getting bread machines at thrift stores for around ten dollars. People often buy the newest gadget on the market, never use it, and eventually donate it to a thrift shop. You could get a virtually new machine!

[noobgahdnuh]

bread machines rock my face off, really. I really like this french bread recipe a lot!
Have fun!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/French-Bread-235423

[ratdog]

I use this book a lot. It has good bread recipes that use yeast.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Bake-Complete-Perfect-Cookies/dp/0060168196/ref=cm_lmf_img_1_rsrsrs0

[ratdog]

This one is easy,not much yeast.
No Knead, Dutch Oven Bread
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
End result.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j265/emmettken/IMGP1044.jpg

[redneckplanter]

ohhhhh yeah...that's the good stuff...lol
keep it coming ya'll....
thanks ladies....
rnp

[ratdog]

I'm no lady!! :eek:

[redneckplanter]

I'm no lady!! :eek:

oooooooooooooooooooppppssss.
me either.
my bad....lol
sorry....
rnp

[ratdog]

You are forgiven. Go forth and sin no more.:D

[redneckplanter]

lol thanks rat......
love the avatar by the way.......

[MukkRatt]

With your computer you've got the entire 'bread' world at your fingertips.
I use it all the time (and haven't opened my 5' tall stack of cookbooks in ages).
Just key in 'how to make bread' ...or whatever 'bread recipe'. It'll keep you busy baking bread forever.

The bread machine is wonderful, especially for folks (like me) with arthritis in the hands...however, the machine doesn't knead the dough nearly as much as I would in order to build up the wheat gluten BUT I know a trick....in the flour/baking section of the grocery store you will find a small box of 'wheat gluten'...you can add a teaspoon or two to your dry ingredients (depending on how much dough you're making) in the bread machine. You can buy special bread machine flour...but actually, it's just flour which has the gluten added to it already...and wayyyy to expensive for what it is. If you're actually going to do a lot of baking in the machine go ahead and get the box of gluten; it goes a long way.

I've made bread in the machine without the gluten and it's good too, but the texture is just not the way I personally like it. It's all a matter of your own taste.

If you're going to knead the bread yourself just make sure you knead it enough...I usually knead a minute or two past the point where the dough stops sticking to the dough board.

BTW, your homemade bread won't be full of chemicals/ preservatives like store bought so unless you intend to start making your own penacillan don't make more than you can eat...or send to me.:D

[gardencrazy]

I rarely use a bread maker anymore. Yeast breads aren’t difficult to make. There are a couple of “tricks” you need to know to be a consistently good bread baker. I always use active dry yeast (the kind that comes in a packet). The packet of yeast is equivalent to 2 ¼ to 2 ½ teaspoons of yeast. I always use 2 ½ teaspoons. Make sure your yeast hasn’t expired. Expired yeast won’t give you a good rise. I always “proof” my yeast. This is to find out if your yeast is active. All this means is I put the yeast in a half cup of warm liquid (usually water or milk) and a teaspoon to a tablespoon of sugar. Set the mixture in a bowl on the counter and wait 5-10 minutes. It should bubble and foam if it’s active. Stir with a spoon to dissolve to yeast. The liquid should not be hot or it will kill the yeast. The sugar acts as a catalyst for the reaction but is not necessary in most cases.

Yeast does not like salt. Putting the activated yeast in direct contact with the salt will kill the yeast. To prevent this from happening, I like to create a “poolish.” Once you have proofed your yeast, mix one cup of flour in with the yeast. This is called a poolish and can then be mixed with the rest of the ingredients for the bread including the salt. The salt is necessary because it keeps the yeast from becoming overactive and causing the bread to rise too much.

Kneading bread is also necessary (except with some rustic breads). Kneading is a means of folding and stretching the dough to form gluten strands and develop the bread’s structure (texture). Kneading is “done“when the dough starts to spring back each time you push down on it with the heels of your hands. You don’t want to over knead a bread dough. Knead for no more than 10 minutes by hand or 2 minutes using a standing mixer. Over kneading will break your gluten strands and make the bread either rubbery or a brick.

After kneading the dough, it’s placed in a greased bowl and covered with a damp cloth (to prevent drying out) and placed in a warm spot. The yeast will begin to grow by feeding on the sugars and starches in the dough. As the yeast feeds it releases small bubbles of carbon dioxide. As the dough produces more gas, the dough begins to rise.

Most of this I didn’t know these untila few years ago. I had always been hit or miss with bread baking prior to this past year. Most of my bread baking tricks I learned came from here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/faq/cooking/ The FAQ page has LOTS of information (I think there are 14 tutorials) on bread baking. I also like www.thefreshloaf.com as a reference for bread baking. Two books I like are Beard on Bread and the Farm Journal’s Homemade Breads.

There are also some “tricks” to making a loaf look very fancy. There are several ways to knead a dough and several ways to shape a loaf. There are a number of washes and toppings you can put on a loaf of bread or you can choose not to do this at all. You can slash the top of a loaf (best done with a box cutter or xacto knife) or leave it as is.

Still with me or have I scared you off? Still there? Good! I know it looks like a lot, but really it's not difficult. Now, you need an easy recipe to start with.

White Bread

This recipe is one that Mom adapted from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. This makes 2 loaves.

Ingredients

1 package (or 2 ½ teaspoons) dry active yeast
½ cup warm water
1 cup milk
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon sugar
6 cups bread or all-purpose flour

Rinse a large bowl with hot water. Dissolve yeast in ½ cup warm water. Let stand 5 minutes until bubbly and foaming. Add milk, water, butter and sugar. Add 3 cups of flour. Mix thoroughly. Add another 3 cups of flour or until dough starts to ball together. Work (knead) dough on a floured surface. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover it with a damp cloth and allow it to double in bulk. Knead again and place in two greased bread pans. Cover with a damp cloth again and allow to rise (30-45 minutes). Bake at 350 or 400 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.

[lorna-organic]

I braided my first loaf of bread. I was so proud of myself! It was such a pretty loaf, it was Hallah (Jewish Egg Bread).

[redneckplanter]

ahh thanks ya'll still reading this wealth of baking goodness.lol
nice lorna.

[lorna-organic]

I was sure you were going to post us a pic of your July 4th, first attempt at bread making, Reddie. I've been thinking about Texas toast, I should make some! (I'll have to make a loaf of bread first.)

[Emerald]

One of my favorite threads on baking bread is right up in the Politics thread right now- it has over 25 pages but the recipes and helpful hints are so worth reading thru.
http://idigmygarden.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2090
I'll bet that if we ask nicely, it can be moved here.

[crunchberry]

If your bread making fails like mine usually does you can use your left over yeast and make some wine to drown your sorrows.:D

http://www.warpbreach.com/6/6.html

[pepperhead212]

The only thing I ever considered getting a bread machine for is using it outside at this time of year, since I slow down considerably as far as baking, since I don't want to heat my house up! Several years ago, however, I started baking on my grill outside, on an old pizza stone, which works great, and I have gotten to where I can set very close to the temp. I want at the first try! I always need bread when I start making gazpacho, and I might try one of those in a cast iron dutch oven. Those have come out great indoors, so why not on the grill?

[redneckplanter]

i'm off wed and thurs.
will try then.lol

[ratdog]

I made these yesterday. White bread,I usually make wheat.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j265/emmettken/IMGP1990.jpg

[lorna-organic]

Nice, Ken!