YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Bread Advice Please

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Bread Advice Please https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 21 Apr 2026 13:22:33 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Staysfit on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1847140 Fri, 22 Sep 2017 11:02:40 +0000 Staysfit 1847140@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Oh, LOL, just saw all this! Big bread baker here. Lots of good advice, and a couple of nice recipes here. My favorite way to make bread right now is in my food processor. I love that it’s like chemistry lab. You have to keep track of the temperatures of everything. I usually have two or three starters going in my fridge. Sunday waffles come from the starter. Yummy! I haven’t tried making bread on my stove. I have a magnetic convection cooktop. I have only used stainless steel, not cast iron. I have heard it heats too unevenly. I am going to Rachy’s technique. So much fun! rachylou on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1846375 Tue, 19 Sep 2017 18:46:59 +0000 rachylou 1846375@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ That's an interesting technique, BC! Makes complete sense. Scarlet on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845693 Sun, 17 Sep 2017 14:02:42 +0000 Scarlet 1845693@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Angie, I bet the water you use is too warm. It should not be warmer than 30 C or it kills the yeast. Anonymous on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845584 Sun, 17 Sep 2017 01:01:30 +0000 Anonymous 1845584@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Rachylou, I've never baked a bread that needs a starter. I do, however, cut way back on the yeast for my pizza dough so it can stay in the fridge for up to 36 hours to develop flavor. Angie on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845440 Sat, 16 Sep 2017 15:05:02 +0000 Angie 1845440@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Emily, your bread look looks rustic and gorgeous. You are a breading making artist. Fun hobby, and quite the science.  I take pics of my food all the time - and post them or send to friends. Fun hobby.  *BREAD IS IN THE OVEN* Emily K on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845239 Fri, 15 Sep 2017 19:03:32 +0000 Emily K 1845239@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ OMG!  I see so many recipes for Cape Seed Loaf!  And it looks really yummy.  Usually, when I try to find/evaluate the best new recipe, I enter all of them into an excel worksheet and standardize for the ingredient that seems most crucial or representative (maybe the flour).  I can then see all the variations in proportion of ingredients and can identify any outliers.  Then I ask myself which, if any, of the outliers seem likely to add something positive to the result and I try to justify or understand the reasons for any differences in proportion.  I choose one recipe and try to make it as written, but I take use the resulting knowledge to go back to the excel worksheet.  Sometimes my next effort is an optimized version of everything I've learned at that point.  I see some experimentation in my future with this recipe. Emily K on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845233 Fri, 15 Sep 2017 18:35:06 +0000 Emily K 1845233@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Who takes a photo of their bread!?!  Well, I did, one time, because it was such a cute, photogenic little loaf! Angie on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845204 Fri, 15 Sep 2017 16:48:49 +0000 Angie 1845204@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Oh my goodness. Thank you, everyone. You're fab.  Texstyle, bread baking is complicated isn't it. I appreciate the recipe, and would love to see your breads. You sound experienced.  L'Abellie, I LOVE Old Cape Seed Loaf. You can but it at farm stalls. One of my faves. If you find a recipe - I'm in.  Gaylene, Emily and Rachy, bread baking is a cultural art and science. I would love to see the breads you make. L'Abeille on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845199 Fri, 15 Sep 2017 16:20:59 +0000 L'Abeille 1845199@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Angie, how close is a Cape Seed Loaf to what you are looking for? I craved that ever since we moved back to Canada from South Africa and searching for a recipe was the first good use I found for the Internet. I found one, that called for yogurt, baking soda, Nutty Wheat flour, and seeds. It turned out pretty well (subbing in whole wheat flour) but I couldn't find the recipe later although I've tried (only finding yeast recipes, which is probably more legit). If this is the kind of bread you are thinking of, I will keep looking! texstyle on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845182 Fri, 15 Sep 2017 15:44:11 +0000 texstyle 1845182@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I do prefer using an overnight starter for most bread. I just use 1/4 tsp yeast, about 5 oz. of flour and enough water to make a wet dough mix in a smaller bowl and cover it and leave it out overnight. The next day when it's all bubbly and alive with the yeast I mix this into the wet ingredients and follow the recipe otherwise. rachylou on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845050 Fri, 15 Sep 2017 01:16:17 +0000 rachylou 1845050@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I have always found that so curious... all the different breads out there... what makes them different is really technique, shape, and the proportions of flour, water, yeast and salt. You change any of those things and you get a different type of bread! That's pretty weird, lol. Gaylene on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845020 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 23:08:20 +0000 Gaylene 1845020@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Ha, Rachylou, now poolishes and bigas deserve a whole other thread! What fascinates me about the whole bread baking thing is the huge role technique plays in the transformation of flour, salt, water, and yeast. It seems like every country, town, and village in Europe has its own ratio and techniques, right down to insisting on a particular shaped bread trough and highly individualized mixing, kneading, shaping, and baking techniques. If anyone is interested in cast iron bread baking, you might want to try Jim Lahey' s technique, as described on Mark Bittman's website. It makes a good loaf of almost "artisan" style bread. <a href="http://markbittman.com/12-days-of-htce-jim-laheys-no-work-bread/" rel="nofollow">http://markbittman.com/12-days.....ork-bread/</a> rachylou on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1845009 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:42:45 +0000 rachylou 1845009@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Ok... well, I realise on second thought that stovetop is maybe for the adventurous... the key is really a Dutch oven - heavy cast iron for even heat and steaming (enamel coated is fine). You can put the pot in the oven; doesn't have to be stovetop. Steam helps give a nice crust. The big professional ovens have a steam feature. Sometimes at home, I'll put a pan of water in the oven when I go to bake. With the Dutch oven, the water for the steam comes from the dough itself - the pot just keeps it in. Re. even heating: home ranges are notorious for their uneven heating (although to be honest, so are professional ovens; but they do provide more features for control). Thus the Dutch oven. Stove top, you put a tuna fish can or similar in the pot, then your bread pan on that, then the lid. You're looking to heat the air around the bread. You can also put the pot on a frying pan, bread directly in the pot, so it's the frying pan that's on the burner. One big tip: preheat. You want the dough to hit hot right away. Gives you what they call 'oven spring'. The rise isn't all in the proofing. There's more rising to be done with the baking. The SF Tartine bakery's book sorta started a craze for Dutch oven bread baking. It's a good book for reference. Lots of stuff online and YouTube. Bread baking, those crusty round loaves you get at the store, is honestly a bit of an endeavour. You can't really do it in an afternoon. They depend on starters and poolishes, etc. Takes more than one day. You sorta have to have no life, lol. Oh also, your pot has to be bigger than your dough ball, lol. There has to be room for the bread to grow texstyle on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844995 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 20:50:20 +0000 texstyle 1844995@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Sorry I'm late to post!  I do still bake bread but I have to admit that the really hearty whole grain loaves are some of the more ambitious in terms of success (for me at least). One "easy" one I've made many times is this recipe: Honey Oatmeal Bread 2 Loaves 2 Cup boiling H2O 1 Cup rolled Oats 2TBS Raw Sugar 1 TBS Maple Syrup 1 TBS Butter             or as I used, Steel Cut Oats cooked the day before and refrigerated after adding   sugar, syrup and better                       2 1/2 tsp salt 1 TBS real unsalted butter 1/2 Cup honey or molasses (molasses makes it dark bread) 1/3 Cup or more warm H2O (the water does make a difference - our tap has chlorine removed and is softened) 2 packets (14 grams) Active Dry yeast 3 Cups Bread Flour 3 cups Wheat Flour (whole wheat or mix part Rye or other flour if you prefer to get combined 3 cups) Bring water to boil. Turn off and add oats, butter and honey. Let stand for 20 minutes. (or cook steel oats the night before and wait to put butter and honey, refrigerate, then set out at room temperature 1 hour before using)   Put yeast in the 1/3 C warm water, stir and let it sit for at least 15 mins. and make sure it is expanding (alive). Add yeast to other ingredients and then flour. Mix the dough well for a minute or two (much longer if by hand), add salt and continue to mix for just a minute or so more until a nice dough formed. (I used a mixer at med speed w/dough hook.) Don't add flour, leave it moist. Let rise, covered with plastic wrap in a warm (72-80 F) spot until double in bulk or more. I put mine under the stove top light. About 2 hours. Carefully get dough onto lightly floured surface and divide into two loaves. Shape the loaves using the envelope fold method. If putting in loaf pans, do that now. Let rise until good shaped loaf. About 1 hour or slightly more. This can take some practice to get right on various recipes I've noticed. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 min or brown. Bread temp should read 200 F at center. rebekahphoto on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844948 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 17:24:40 +0000 rebekahphoto 1844948@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Angie, you can find Tallgrass at the Madison coop & farmers markets, Ballard is certainly a field trip from Cap Hill! But worth it for their European style breads0the cherry pumpernickel and hominy loafs are good <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.tallgrassbakery.com/">https://www.tallgrassbakery.com/</a> we also have rye sour starter Barbara Diane on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844942 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 17:00:02 +0000 Barbara Diane 1844942@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Rachylou, can you tell us more about baking bread on the stove in cast iron? Thanks. Angie on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844908 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 15:16:10 +0000 Angie 1844908@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thanks, Ramya.  rebekaphoto, thanks for the tips. Ballard is sooooo far away from my side of town (Capitol Hill side), and I don't prefer white sourdough bread. But fun that hubs was a baker. Great bread in your house.   ramya on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844852 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:52:09 +0000 ramya 1844852@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Angie, looks almost like Norwegian bread... Will ask around. rebekahphoto on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844808 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 05:44:34 +0000 rebekahphoto 1844808@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Angie, I'm looking forward to hearing how the baking went! we did some baking with my danish family while visiting Denmark on our last trip, and love the dark dense breads--so good! Have you tried the rye loafs at Tallgrass in Ballard? they are pretty tasty My husband was a baker for many years & says working with rye can be a bit tricky.  think I'd like to try Gaylene's lazy bread too! If you would like to venture with some sourdough at some time, PM me and I can share some of his homemade starter with you. Gaylene--thanks for sharing the recipe/blog! looks like lots of interesting things there to read during some down time. Angie on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844720 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 00:05:21 +0000 Angie 1844720@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ BC, that's good advice. Practice makes perfect.  Gaylene, got ALL the missing ingredients today. See pic. EXCITED. I'll let you know how my first loaf went. Raisin buns look fab too. I LOVE those. (Fun to yak Euro carbs with you. Enjoying and prioritizing the good things in life makes for a happy soul). Anonymous on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844687 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 22:48:58 +0000 Anonymous 1844687@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I guess the best thing I can tell you, Angie, is that once you bake a few loaves, you'll get to know what the dough should look and feel like so that you can handle it easily and have a great finished product. I taught myself, and made some mistakes, but quickly learned and improved. Good luck! Gaylene on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844645 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 20:54:18 +0000 Gaylene 1844645@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Glad to help, Angie. The recipes on Siri's blog have become some of my family's favourites. According to Mr. G, they "are as good as my mother's"--very high praise in my books! I was disappointed when Siri stopped blogging in 2012 but I'm very happy her blog hasn't vanished. Click on the recipe box image if you want to find more Nordic-inspired baking. Her version of Rosinboller buns is a winner in our house. <a href="http://transplantedbaker.typepad.com/the_transplanted_baker/2009/09/rosinboller-norwegian-raisin-buns.html" rel="nofollow">http://transplantedbaker.typep.....-buns.html</a> RobinF on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844579 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 15:13:10 +0000 RobinF 1844579@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Ooh, I have to try this! Looks so easy and I like easy :) Angie on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844561 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 14:23:39 +0000 Angie 1844561@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Sorry to be brief, ladies - busy day - but a big thank you to ALL who contributed tips and info to my bad bread making skills. I leaned a lot, and will continue to. Anna, thanks for the links. Almost in Canada is NOT an exaggeration.  BIG thank you, Gaylene. This is what I'm going to try first. It looks very promising, and kind to my dodgy relationship with yeast. Very much appreciated. Here is the only version in case you want to see the bread:  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://transplantedbaker.typepad.com/the_transplanted_baker/2010/01/lazy-mans-bread.html">http://transplantedbaker.typep.....bread.html</a> Anonymous on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please/page/2#post-1844536 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 13:05:21 +0000 Anonymous 1844536@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Oooh a new bread recipe! Gotta try that some time. Thanks. rachylou on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please#post-1844490 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 08:43:41 +0000 rachylou 1844490@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ ...Oh and yes, Gaylene, I gave up making baguettes at home. Because 1) it's hard for me to make just one loaf of bread (what can be done with even just SIX a week, I ask) and 2) the starter was more demanding pet-wise than Lilypup... DizzyLizzy on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please#post-1844463 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 04:37:29 +0000 DizzyLizzy 1844463@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Gaylene, that recipe sounds both delicious and easy to make. I'll be trying it for sure. rachylou on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please#post-1844443 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 03:59:59 +0000 rachylou 1844443@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ That does sound like a great recipe, Gaylene. I quite like Nigella Lawson. Think she's brilliant for cooking at home. Emily K on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please#post-1844438 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 03:01:07 +0000 Emily K 1844438@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Gaylene, That sounds fantastic--I'm going to try it for sure. Gaylene on "Bread Advice Please" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bread-advice-please#post-1844437 Wed, 13 Sep 2017 02:57:24 +0000 Gaylene 1844437@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Well, I spent months trying to recreate the "breakfast bread" we ate with cheese every morning in Norway. Some recipes required ingredients which were impossible to source in North America, while one required a rye starter which needed to be monitored for three days. *eyerolling* But, honestly, the one my family liked best was this Lazy Man's Bread based on a Nigella Lawson recipe that I found on The Transplanted Baker's blog years ago. There's no kneading, rising, or shaping, but you get a moist, seedy, dense bread without the sourness of the traditional Danish rye loaf. It's amazing with cheese--and did I mention it's dead simple. Lazy Man's Bread *Makes one-midsized loaf 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (250ml) buttermilk 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (250ml) water 2 cups (250g) whole-wheat flour (I use a grainier local stone-ground flour) 1/2 cup (50g) rye flour 2 1/4 teaspoons (1/4 oz./7 g) active dry yeast 1/4 cup (50g) rolled oats (not instant) 1 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon sugar (I've used different sweeteners--apple butter, brown sugar, appelstroop, or molasses--pick whatever you like) 8 Tablespoon blend of any of the following (preferably all of the following): -wheat germ -sunflower seeds -flaxseeds (linseeds) -pumpkin seeds -wheatbran 1. Mix the milk and water together in a measuring cup, and combine all the other ingredients in a large bowl. 2. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, stirring all the while, to make a sticky mixture. 3. Butter your loaf pan well, scrape the dough into the pan, sprinkle a few extra seeds and oats over the surface of the bread, and place in a cold oven. 4. Turn on oven to 225F/100C and after 30 minutes, turn it up to 350F/175C for one hour. 5. When the loaf begins to get nice and brown, take it out of the oven, run a butter knife along the sides of your pan and carefully remove the bread. (*Nigella recommends poking the bread with a cake tester or fine skewer to make sure it's done, ie: the skewer will come out clean). I like to return the loaf to the oven for an extra 10-15 minutes without the pan to get a dryer crust. Allowing the bread to cool thoroughly on a rack will prevent the insides from getting gummy. This recipe is easy enough to experiment with so adapt away until you get the graininess, sweetness, and seediness you prefer.