Thursday, January 29, 2009

Bread

I got a wheat grinder for Christmas...i know...my mom REALLY thinks I am Martha Stewart these days-I did decide that I will use it (it is absolutly FANTASTIC...I will no longer buy wheat at the store..well maybe some white but this thing is great!!!) ANYWAY to use it I decided that I Was going to make homemade bread for my family-which has been a work in progress for the past couple of weeks. My friend Emilee gave me a great tutorial...a one on one lesson to making bread. It looked easy smeezy ...so I came home and gave it a try- according to Emilee my "dough enhancer" wasn't very good, my bread was dense.ok...so I called up another friend Kate who said why don't you start off with my "really easy" recipe. Basically you dump everything in the mixer and it does all the work for you. That was easy...but then of course I let my bread rise too high so now it looks like I made pancakes instead of bread for my family. This task is proving very difficult...maybe I should just continue to make cookies and such with my wheat. But, since I have stubborn in my blood (thanks Dad...as it is a Martino trait I think) and I will not let it get the best of me. SO- although I already made 4 pancakes today...or loaves..I am going to make another batch right now. If it turns out, you might hear from me.... if it doesn't we will be eating alot of dense flat sandwiches for the next couple of weeks.

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, you could think of them as "pita bread!" Just a little humor.... :)

Mom P. :)

jamie t. said...

I make my dough in a bread machine and then let it rise in a loaf pan. I just grind the wheat first and then dump everything in. I love having homemade bread in the house and can't stand the store bought stuff. I'm going to be in big trouble as our family grows and I have to make more than 1 or 2 loaves a week. Let's see pictures :)

Tanya Searle said...

Here is my recipe if you want another one to try.
Tanya’s Wheat Bread

2 C. Warm Water
2 TBL. Dry Yeast
2 1/2C. Warm Milk (2 ½ C. Water 2/3 C. Powd. Milk)
2/3 C. Oil
2 TBL. Salt
2 Eggs
2/3 C. Potato Flakes
2/3 C. Vital Wheat Gluten (this helps hold the bread together)
2/3 C. Honey or Sugar
9 - 11 C. Whole Wheat Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix milk, oil, honey or sugar, salt, eggs, and potato flakes. Add yeast/water mixture and blend. Add Vital Wheat Gluten and 5 C. wheat flour and mix. Mix in remaining flour a little at a time. Dip your finger in flour and then tap the dough. If it sticks to your finger, you need a little more flour, if it doesn’t you are done. The dough will be sticky. Knead for 8 min. (mixer). Place dough in a greased bowl, spray dough with ‘pam’ and cover with plastic wrap (this helps prevent dough from drying out). Let rise until double. Punch down and fold in sides. Form into loaves (it is easier to form the loaves with wet hands). Place in greased pans, cover with plastic wrap and let raise until double. Sprinkle tops with milk (this gives it a soft crust) and bake at 350 degrees for 27 – 30 min. Brush tops with butter and cool on a cooling rack (this helps prevent soggy bottoms) Wrap tightly when cool. Bread slices best when it is cool. Optional: You can make garlic bread or cinnamon raison bread by adding desired flavorings while dough is rolled out. Yield: 4 loaves. (3 loaves if using oversized bread pans)

Hoosier Mama said...

I spent 2 years searching for a great bread recipe and had 2 seasoned bread gurus teach me how . . . I finally found a recipe that worked for me. If you are interested, let me know.

Rachael said...

That so sounds like me. I have always had trouble with bread or rolls (even Rhodes rolls). Good luck with that and share with us if you find something that works! :)

Amy said...

I'm all about the bread machine. Fool proof.

Darin & Misty Ralphs said...

I totally can sympathize with this story, I too got a wheat grinder for Christmas and have yet to make a decent loaf of bread. If you have any tips. Please let me know!! I couldn't even make bread in my bread machine.

Diane Jaggi said...

Keep trying! It is so much healthier and cheaper. My tip for your bread is: freeze it! I make my own too - if you have any questions let me know.

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