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Question for those who make bread


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For about the past 6-9 months I've been making it from scratch. What has surprised me is how EASY it is and how much yummier it is. Ok, I expected the yummy part but I was totally intimidated by the idea of baking. Really it's pretty simple.

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Wow! Easy huh? What kind of bread do you make? For some reason, when I think of hand making bread I remember a pottery class I once took. Every time I tried to make something on the pottery wheel, I couldn't keep it going. It would flop around and eventually splatter on the floor. :)

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I used to make bread by hand, but my hands and wrists just couldn't handle it. Now I use my Breadman Ultimate and I love it. Most of the time I used the dough cycle, let the bread machine mix, knead and rise the bread and then I take it out and make loaves, roll or bread sticks. I used it at least once a week.

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I love this book also.

 

In fact - I make a double batch of the regular recipe (first one in bk) - and just store that in the fridge. Tonight I made some for dinner. I grabbed about half my dough - made a ball and let it rest while the oven heated up to 400 deg (when I turned the oven on I put one of my heavy duty metal pots with lid in it so it heated up too). Then after letting the dough rest maybe 20 min I slid it into the hot pot - put the lid on - and baked 30 min.... then 15 without the lid. It smelled like wonderful sourdough bread baking!!!! Baking it in this way gives you the BEST crunchy, crispy crust. Dh and I decided NOT to get a breadmaker after baking bread this way.

 

Check out the No-Knead Bread recipes online.... it makes great bread - much like the bk Plaid Dad mentioned.

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I don't know much about bread machines. When they first came out they seemed kind of limiting. You had to use the special mix, which was full of preservatives and stuff. When I do make bread, I make it from scratch and dump the lot in a big blob on a baking tray. The whole idea that bread didn't have to be square or cut into sandwhich slices was a bit radical. However, dh looks like a happy man wandering around the house with a hunk of bread in one hand and a hunk of cheese in the other.

:)

Rosie

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I made bread from scratch for years until I started having trouble with my wrists. Now I use the Breadman Ultimate, but the model I use is no longer made. I do think they are all pretty much the same and next time I'll probably go with a cheaper model from a local store. I use the machine 3 or 4 times a week now and only put it in the oven in the winter. I make usually make sourdough with a starter, but sometimes I use regular yeast. There is a slight difference when it's in the oven, but for us it's not noticeable enough that we want to heat the whole house up.

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Both. I use the bread machine to do the kneading, and then I'll pull it out of the machine to shape, let rise, and bake in the oven.

 

ETA: If I had a heavy-duty mixer, I'd use that, but since I don't, I use the bread machine on the knead setting only.

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I make bread a lot using my KitchenAid Stand Mixer 6, using the dough hook I can mix and knead 2 loaves of bread, set to rise and bake in the oven. I've never had a bread machine. Sometimes I mix and knead by hand, but only for certain recipes. Here is my favorite recipe for bread, super easy and fast:

Cuban Bread

 

From start to finish, 1 hour and 15 minutes

5-6 C all purpose flour (can sub 1-2 C whole wheat flour for all purpose)

2 Tbsp dry yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp salt

2 C hot water (120-130 degrees)

1 Tbsp sesame or poppy seeds (opt., decoration only)

Mix dry ingredients in kitchen-aid with dough hook. As the machine is running, drizzle in water until dough forms a ball. Spin the ball 20 times to knead. Place dough in greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise 15 minutes.

Punch down. Divide into two pieces. Shape into two round loaves and place on a baking sheet. Cut an X ½ inch deep on top with a sharp knife. Brush with water and sprinkle with seeds (opt). Place on the middle shelf of a cold oven. Place a cake pan of hot water on the lowest shelf. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake 40-50 minutes until deep golden brown.

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I've been making no-knead bread from scratch this year. It really is easy... and no kneading. I do bake it in a heavy Dutch Oven, but I basically use a combination of the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day recipe and the New York Times no-knead recipe. I make enough dough for 4 large (5 cups of flour) loaves every other week--and bake it as needed. Delicious!

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I love my Zojirushi. I've had it almost 10 years and it still works fine.

 

I got one of these in February and love it!

 

I can't bake bread. I can bake cakes and such, but no way on the bread. I finally got fed up and threw in the towel.

 

So now I let the 'zamboni' handle that. I can never remember the actual name, lol.

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