Do any of you make bread without a bread machine

[Only me]

I would like to try to start making homemade bread but I don't have a bread machine. My mom gave me her old one about 12 years ago but since I never used it she gave it to my brother. Now I wish I kept it. Is it difficult to make bread without a machine. I know it may seem like a silly question but I'm clueless about making bread.

[JudoMom]

Get this book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I've only tried the basic recipe so far, but it's super easy, super quick, and yummy. And you can bake it in a loaf pan, so you get an actual loaf of bread rather than a free form loaf.

[JFSinIL]

I always made bread by hand - then got a KitchenAid mixer that does the kneading for me. That makes it far easier to get the dough going. As long as I am home for a three-hour stretch to cover the hourly rising/punch-down and loaf-shape/rise/bake cycle, baking is a breeze. I would not have room in my kitchen to store a bread machine anyway (the mixer has to live on the floor of the pantry, hoisted on to the tiny counter when I need it.) My mil uses a bread machine and her loaves are square and she only can make one at a time. I can make two normal-looking loaves at once.

[Michelle in AL]

:iagree: with Judo mom, easy and delicious. It requires a pizza stone.

[ma23peas]

I've always made bread by hand, it's really therapeutic, JFS..thanks for reminding me of that kneading attachment to my kitchenaid, gee, it's never been used, I guess I've been so used to kneading by hand I forget I can take a shortcut on busy days!!! :)

 

It's very easy, the main thing is to just knead it until it's really well mixed and like a big football you can throw...okay I can't think of another analogy...but just fold and press and fold and press about 50 times...then when you let it rise make sure it's in an oiled bowl with a cloth over it, I put it in the oven with the light on it gives enough heat to keep it warmer in there..and cover with a kitchen towel..

 

I even grind the wheat berries, really makes for great bread! You can start your own sourdough starter and it can be used about every 7 days for fresh bread (makes 2 loaves)..that's about as much as I make a week when I'm in the bread mode! :)

 

Tara

[Jennifer3141]

I adore bread by hand so much more than bread machine bread. I gave my machine away to make room for more pots. :)

 

Jen

[G5052]

I find that my bread actually comes out more consistent when I do it myself because I can adjust the amount of flour to really get it right. I do both the traditional kneaded breads in my Kitchenaid and the "no-knead" types, although I prefer the book "No Need to Knead" (out-of-print unfortunately) versus the "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day."

 

I had one for years when I was working full-time and loved it, but it burned out when the kids were babies and we've never replaced it.

[Raders Fan]

My recipe makes three loaves, and we go through 4-5 loaves a week, so some weeks it's one batch, and some weeks it's two. Making one loaf at a time just would not work.

 

I got a Bosch mixer (so worth every penny!) to do the kneading for me. I have tendinitis in my thumbs/wrists, and so kneading the dough by hand would kill me.

 

It has taken a lot of practice to get it right, but I can now make 75/25% whole wheat/white flour bread that is every bit as soft as store bought sandwich bread. In fact, dh was complaining it was too soft when it was 50/50, so I upped the whole wheat content. Everyone loves it.

 

It took me a long time to figure out how exactly the dough should feel because I didn't have someone to guide me. If you can find a friend to show you how to make bread, that would be really helpful. Or maybe a YouTube video. If all else fails, you can ask here, and I'm sure all the bread bakers will be happy to help you out.

 

Jennifer

[chiguirre]

:iagree: with Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I am culinarily challenged and even my bread turned out great. It really does only take 5 minutes of active work each day you bake and preparing the dough only takes about 20 minutes of activity, too.

[cjzimmer1]

I had never really used yeast and too be honest I was a bit intimidated by it. However in May I started making bread for the first time in my life using the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day. My family loved it. Since early September, I've tried making regular bread. I don't have a bread maker or a Kitchen Aid mixer. I have been making 100% whole wheat bread (from fresh milled berries) to make sandwich bread and honestly I haven't had a failure yet. I don't know if I'm doing it correctly, but mixing and kneading takes me about 15 minutes and the bread is great and holds together well I can make slices as thin as store bought bread. It is fairly dense but so was the kinds I bought from the store because we don't like the squishy stuff. So it's not hard to make bread. No knead is the easiest, but even the kneaded bread isn't hard to learn.

[kokotg]

I make bread by hand. I knead it the old fashioned way and everything. I actually have both a bread machine and a stand mixer, but I never use either for bread. I feel like I get the most consistent results when I do the whole thing by hand, especially working with all whole wheat. The bread machine spits out bricks half the time, and my mixer can't handle mixing more than one good sized loaf at a time.

[Alice]

Don't be afraid! I was totally intimidated by bread making but like others here I finally tried it. I have a basic no-knead recipe a woman from church gave me and it comes out great. It's so much easeir than I expected and my kids and dh love it.

[PariSarah]

A little time-consuming, but not at all difficult.

 

I only went to a mixer because I wanted to make lots, lots more bread, and whole wheat does take a little more pounding than white.

 

Good luck getting started! It's fun!

[Ellie]

I must be a wimp, because when I make bread by hand, it makes really great...pizza crust :D

 

Now I use my Bosch to knead the dough, which doesn't have to rise twice--make the dough, put it in pans, rise in the oven, bake. Voila! I've never made a bad batch of bread (not counting the time that I forgot to add yeast. Oy.). I also grind my own flour, and I can go from wheat berries to 4 or 5 loaves of bread in about an hour and a half.

 

Of course, the bummer is that I'm doing Atkins, and only dh really eats the bread, so 4 or 5 loaves of bread is way overkill for us, lol.