Friday, March 21, 2008

My First Attempt at Baking Bread

The above is NOT mine!! Look below.



Hmmm...so, I looked online for what wheat bread is supposed to look like when it's done. Yeah...not too similar. Funny, I guess it's supposed to actually look like a loaf of bread. I didn't let it rise long enough because I didn't want to be up until 1 am. The recipe I used used whole wheat flour and white flour, and it still sank to the bottom of my stomach. Andrew did say it was the best bread he's ever had, but he was also extremely starving at the time. No, it did taste pretty good, actually. But now I have to work out a few kinks.

I have to say--I felt like I was really accomplishing something when I was kneading the dough. I felt like a pioneer woman or something. I had an electric wheat grinder and stove--but still--I could relate. :)

The only thing is--how do I make grilled cheese sandwiches for Kate using this stuff? It would never work.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

You go girl! Grinding wheat? You are a pioneer! Even though it may not have been picture perfect, it still made my mouth water!

Emily John said...

Who want grilled cheese homemade bread is best when hot and dripping with butter! Wow, on the wheat grinding. I have some really good really healthy bread recipes if you want to try them let me know and I'll seend you copies!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure you'll get better at it the more you do it. I bet it tastes great though.-Crystal

llcall said...

what a woman...all i can make is rice-a-roni (still).

veggies said...

When I was five my parents put together an extensive chore chart. Since there were always four children of chore age at home, every four weeks it was my turn to do all the kitchen chores (the other weeks I got to do laundry, clean the house, or take care of the animals and the property.) Part of kitchen duty was making bread. Making bread 18 times a year (about half the time we made it twice a week), for every year from 5 to 17, makes 216 instances of bread-making. So I can honestly say that after having made this hundreds of times, I think it may be the best recipe ever (of course, it's the only one I've ever used.) Caution.. it makes 5 loaves at a time and I don't know how to reduce it to make fewer.

11 cups flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1/4 salt
1 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups water
10 eggs
more flour

Note: The wheat makes the bread. You get the right kind, you're in heaven; you get the wrong kind, you're gnawing on tasteless bricks.

Spoon the yeast into 3/4 cup of water before you do anything else. You can put just a dab of honey or sugar in to speed up its growth if you're in a hurry.

Mix 11 cups flour and salt (You're going to want a bread mixer for this. I've only used a Bosch, but some people swear by KitchenAid.)

Add honey, oil, and 1 cup hot water. Do the hot water last and it will help clean the honey and oil out of the cup.

Add 10 eggs. Add the yeast and water. Mix well.

Now, and this is the tough part, add several more cups of flour while mixing until it gets to the right consistency. It should be thick enough that it doesn't "settle" much when the mixing is over, and it's tacky in your hands, but not so thick that it's hard. It may take three more cups or seven more cups. You'll get it.

Now go do something else and let it rise. When it's about doubled in size, pound it back down. Let it rise again, and when it's double again, pound it down again.

Grease five bread pans, take a chunk of dough, and roll it into a pan-sized loaf. Put it in the pan. Repeat four more times. If you end up with too little or too much dough, distribute it evenly, but be sure to make the whole loaf over again. You can't just stick a new piece of dough on top.

Bake at 350 for 35 or 40 minutes.

Slice a few minutes after taking it out and spread butter and honey on top. It may very well be the most delicious thing you've ever eaten!

Jenn said...

Wow--Thanks, Mike! That is such a good idea to make your kids make bread as part of their chores. I love it! This recipe sounds great (and a little beyond my skill level), but I will give this one a shot after I gain some more experience! :)

Emily John said...

They recipes I have some use a mixer but some work better by kneading. Plus I've heard of a book call the 'Bread Bible' that helps you make all kinds of really good bread and teaches you how to make them come out looking really good!

Melyssa said...

HAHAHAHA! This cracked me up, Jenn. The only bread I've made was from one of the frozen Rhodes loaves. I've been wanting to learn, but it intimidates me. Oh so funny. I wish you lived closer. We could make bread together. :)