Home Made Bread

[Anthony Micallef]

Ok, so having watched River Cottage Everyday last week I thought Id make my own bread. This is the recipe I used.

500g Strong white flour
300ml warm water
7g sachet of quick acting yeast
Salt (supposed to be 15g but I have no means of measuring this)

I added all the mixture together and neaded for 5 minutes to a dough which was then placed in a bowl, covered and left in a warm place for 90 minutes to rise. Then I flattened it gently and left if for another hour to prove for the 2nd time. It then went in to a fan assisted electric oven at 250c for 10 mins then a further 30 mins at 190c.

When it came out the crust was rock hard and the bread inside very heavy and doughy. I was just wondering where I went wrong and if anyone has any advice to make it a bit lighter.

[OneDs]

Anthony Micallef said:

Ok, so having watched River Cottage Everyday last week I thought Id make my own bread. This is the recipe I used.

500g Strong white flour
300ml warm water
7g sachet of quick acting yeast
Salt (supposed to be 15g but I have no means of measuring this)

I added all the mixture together and neaded for 5 minutes to a dough which was then placed in a bowl, covered and left in a warm place for 90 minutes to rise. Then I flattened it gently and left if for another hour to prove for the 2nd time. It then went in to a fan assisted electric oven at 250c for 10 mins then a further 30 mins at 190c.

When it came out the crust was rock hard and the bread inside very heavy and doughy. I was just wondering where I went wrong and if anyone has any advice to make it a bit lighter.

5mins is not enough for hand kneading, I use the dough hooks on the electric whisk and give it a good pounding for 10mins.

You need the water to be very warm almost hot to get the yeast to activate (2 parts boiling to one part cold)

You don't need to re-knead and re-prove the dough when done with dried active yeast.

Add a teaspoon of oil and two teaspoons of sugar to the mix (one teaspoon of salt).

If you want to, get a good bread tin thick non-stick metal, grease it.

When you have finished kneading the dough, squash it flat into the tin, leave covered with cling film (baggy but secure round the edges) under lights in a room temperature place to prove for 2 hours.

(Alternatively shape the dough too your required shape on a baking tray & cover with a clean & dry tea towel)

Remove the cling film (cover),
Scar the loaf (6 or 7 scars 2cm deep diagonally)
Stick in the preheated oven for 30 min on 200c
Take out of the bread tin
Tap the bottom to see if it is hollow and if the crust is firm not springy
If it's been in a tin I find you need to turn it upside down and put it back in the oven for another 15min to get a good even crust.

If you want really crumbly crust, put a roasting dish full of water underneath the shelf you have the bread on.

Do not open the oven until at least 30mins.

Edited by OneDs on Tuesday 9th November 16:06

[Anthony Micallef]

Excellent thanks for that. I'll give it another go. I did think that 5 mins was too short but the rest of the method was followed as per the River Cottage recipe.

[Hugo a Gogo]

how about a tiny bit of honey with the yeast?

[dreamer75]

Can't help with the handmade, but (hope this isn't heresay on here!), we got a breadmaker as a wedding present and it's fantastic! The bread is delicious.

Usually seems to include a little bit of sugar, and oil. And for granary some lemon juice.

[ajcj]

Powder a vitamin C tablet and put it in - helps the rise for some reason - and makes the end result even better for you!

[21TonyK]

Hugo a Gogo said:

how about a tiny bit of honey with the yeast?

Or just a tiny pinch of sugar will help and don't go too hot with the water, 37 degrees C is a starting point but more than mid 40's can kill the yeast off.

[motco]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The Panasonic is the only one I'd buy after going through a number other brands. Works a treat - every couple of days a superb wholemeal loaf. Oh and at a far better price than from the supermarket too.

[SplatSpeed]

there is bread machine yeat and hand yeast

you need the right one

also you need to activate the yeast first or it will not work

[bint]

Anthony Micallef said:

Excellent thanks for that. I'll give it another go. I did think that 5 mins was too short but the rest of the method was followed as per the River Cottage recipe.

Really? When we watched Monday I thought he said 10 mins, took notes on the phone too as MOH apparently wants a bread bake off on Saturday.

[Ace-T]

Recently got a breadmaker from Tescos. £37.50

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.204-7334.aspx

The bread is lovely. Light, yet substantial and we use a flour combination I got from Rude Girl (1/3 of strong white, strong wholemeal and granary). There is a hole in the bottom where the paddle is but it is not very big. Makes really nice brioche too.

We use it a couple of times a week.

Trace

[Anthony Micallef]

bint said:

Anthony Micallef said:

Excellent thanks for that. I'll give it another go. I did think that 5 mins was too short but the rest of the method was followed as per the River Cottage recipe.

Really? When we watched Monday I thought he said 10 mins, took notes on the phone too as MOH apparently wants a bread bake off on Saturday.

Yes he did say 10 minutes, I was saying that I did it for 5. I got bored after 5 mins thats why I stopped!

[OneDs]

Have you tried again?

I love breadmakers for convenience and no mess, when you have to have a fresh home made loaf everyday or two they can't be beat. On the downside they're not small pieces of kit and they don't fit in most kitchen units so are permanently using up worktop space (which is fine by me but not the OH who likes a minimal look in the kitchen).

However most of the time I find I make bread sporadically just for the hell of it. Also there's nothing quite like kneading the crap out of lump of bread dough to make you feel good and relieve some stress.

If I just hand knead then its a 20 minute affair, proper exercise almost, but to get the lightest dough I find that about7/8mins with the hand whisk with the dough hooks on and a few minutes to finish off by hand with a final bashing it flat into the tin delivers the best results.

Edited by OneDs on Thursday 11th November 11:26