about bread…
When I got my new Mixer a few months ago, I knew that I was going to be using it for bread but what I didn’t know was how much I was going to learn about bread making because of it…
Not to say that I am at any way an expert but I have been having some great results from experiment breads…
The last times that I have made bread I have just expanded on my basic recipe (water, yeast, honey, salt and flour) … the texture has been perfect. It doesn’t crumble for sandwiches, it toasts perfectly, when still warm the crust is crispy but not at all tough and when the loaf is cool it is slightly chewy but still very tender…
The times that I have made it it has made 2 free form loaves, but the next time I am going to make it in bread pans to see how it turns out… but I am pretty sure that this will be a great bread to use in our sandwich press…
The great thing about the mixer and bread making is that you can really get the right texture in the dough… of course this could be done by hand but the mixer makes it so much easier especially when it comes to not putting more flour than needed….
Now, I see that before, the problems that I had with bread (though they tasted great) had all to do with texture… I wasn’t kneading long enough (or efficiently enough) to get the glutens going as much as I do now… I was also adding too much flour because the dough would stick to my hands or the counter and though I felt that there was too much flour I didn’t know how to not have it stick without adding more….
Anyway… this bread is delicious, simple and is a keeper…
combine…
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 1/4 tsp yeast
- 1 tbsp honey
meanwhile soak 1 cup of 10 grain cereal in boiling water…
combine
- 4 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
- 1 tsp of salt
When the yeast has proofed, add the soaked grains and mix. Then add the flour and mix…The dough should be very sticky… keep adding flour by the tablespoon until the dough comes together…
At this point I turn off the mixer and I step away for about 20 min… this seems to really help get the flour to relax and makes it easier for the gluten…after letting the flour rest I start kneading the dough making sure that it is clearing the sides of the bowl… and then set my mixer for 9 min and I let do its work…
I then do the window pane test to make sure that the dough is the right texture and if needed I will keep kneading for a min or two… when it is ready I transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise…
then form two loaves and let them rise while I preheat the oven (and the bread stone) to 375…(or depending on my mood… I put them on a baking sheet and put in cold oven and let it rise in the oven while the oven is heating up)
Bake until ready (about 40 min)
