Any bread makers out there? (question)

29 January 2008, 03:07 PM

Matt G.

See, this is one reason I never mix dough by machine. Am I a tad masochistic, or is my latent perfectionism rearing its ugly head? Sure, it could be a combination of the two, but I learned, through trial and error, how to get the consistency of raised breads just the way I like them. (It's called being an utterly broke college student too poor to buy even store-bought bread.) I don't know what a well-made dough looks like in the mixer bowl, but I sure know what it feels like in my hands.

Sorry, I'm just opining and have nothing useful to add....

29 January 2008, 03:16 PM

ChickGrand

I'm in your camp on the feel thing. I prefer to do it by hand.

29 January 2008, 03:18 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ChickGrand:
I was up at 2 and in the kitchen by 3 and had the first roll fresh out of the oven right at sunrise.

Can I come visit?

29 January 2008, 03:37 PM

ChickGrand

You need to hurry. Two-dozen lasts me about 6 days.

29 January 2008, 03:49 PM

katie

quote:
Originally posted by jodi:
.. Everybody was whining today because we didn't eat breakfast until 9:30...

Heh. I didn't do breaky or lunch for them. They're big boys. If they get to stay home with me on a snow day, if they think they can mess up the house I cleaned Sunday, if they think it's cool to leave their dirty clothes all over, if they can play MY CHeMiCaL RoMaNcE & that God-AwFuL carpy BlUeGrAsS all bloody day long at maxoid volume .... THEN they're SO on their own scrounging for fOoD !!

Okay then. I'm calm. You're red mixer rocks Jodi. Had to mention that.

29 January 2008, 04:13 PM

rustyfingers

quote:
Originally posted by Matt G.:
See, this is one reason I never mix dough by machine. Am I a tad masochistic, or is my latent perfectionism rearing its ugly head? Sure, it could be a combination of the two, but I learned, through trial and error, how to get the consistency of raised breads just the way I like them. (It's called being an utterly broke college student too poor to buy even store-bought bread.) I don't know what a well-made dough looks like in the mixer bowl, but I sure know what it feels like in my hands.

Sorry, I'm just opining and have nothing useful to add....

We have the monster grey mixer too, but we do bread by hand. I like kneading it by hand, although tfd makes most of the bread around here. Real bread, I mean, not Doug dough.

For breakfast bread you gotta do it the previous day and do the last rise overnight, then pop -em in the oven. Unless you want do do a Chickgrand-style all-nighter.

29 January 2008, 04:36 PM

Nina

You can do the third rise in the pan, in the refrigerator overnight. It takes longer, but 8 hours or so should do it unless you refrigerator is so cold it's like one degree short of freezing.

YMMV.

29 January 2008, 04:43 PM

big al

quote:
Originally posted by ChickGrand:
I was up at 2 and in the kitchen by 3 and had the first roll fresh out of the oven right at sunrise.

How long did it take you to build the fire in the wood stove?

Big Al

29 January 2008, 04:53 PM

Nina

quote:
Originally posted by big al:
quote:
Originally posted by ChickGrand:
I was up at 2 and in the kitchen by 3 and had the first roll fresh out of the oven right at sunrise.

How long did it take you to build the fire in the wood stove?

Big Al

*snort*

I was waiting for a description of how he pulled on the ol' lindsey-woolsey shirt, personally.

29 January 2008, 05:48 PM

jodi

Chickgrand on the back forty:

29 January 2008, 05:53 PM

Mary Poppins

My sister makes a lot of bread; I know that the type of flour you use can make a difference; some are more gluteny than others, etc. King Arthur Flour has a website, and they sell lots of types of flour, for different stuff. Might be worth looking into. I don't know much about making bread, but my family sits around and drools while we're waiting for my sister's bread to come out of the oven.

29 January 2008, 06:22 PM

EHpianist

Shoot. This thread makes me wish I were back in Canada where we had a bread/pizza oven built into our masonry heater. We have yet to try it out for lack of a stone or proper bread baking dish. I love the no knead recipe. Will have to try it here.

Rick, your cinnamon roll recipe looks mouthwatering! How long does it take you from start to end?

29 January 2008, 06:29 PM

jodi

Well, I have a ~~sticky-gooey yeast experiment~~ bowl of the no knead bread doing it's thing on the counter. Tomorrow, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Jodi

29 January 2008, 08:43 PM

rustyfingers

Speaking of flour wtfh IS cake flour, anyway. They don't sell it at any grocery stores around here. I think it's supposed to have less protein (or gluten????) so the cake is lighter and fluffier, unlike bread.

Somebody told me you can just substitute all purpose flour less 2 tablespoons.

Anybody know?