In an attempt to communicate in a little more normal way than Version One of how to make bread, maybe this will be better. (Is that really how I talk/write when my brain is only half working? What a mess!) Also, please note - the use of raise and rise feels a little tricky tonight, so please overlook any misuse herein.
1. Put dough hook on Bosch mixer. Find a large ceramic bowl (if you have one) or a stainless steel bowl will work, it just doesn't hold the heat as well. Fill half full with hot water and let it sit while you are mixing the dough. This will warm the bowl and will help make the dough rise faster. Just before you put the dough in the bowl, pour out the water and wipe the bowl dry; rub the bowl with a little oil so the dough won't stick as it raises.
2. Grind approximately 4 cups wheat (Note: if I am using Spelt, I use exactly the same measurements. I actually like Spelt better than whole wheat)
3. In a measuring cup, put 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Add 1 tsp sugar or honey. Add 2 teaspoons or one packet of yeast. Stir gently for just a second and set aside.
4. Measure 4 cups of very hot water and pour into the Bosch mixing bowl.
5. To the hot water add the following: 4 teaspoons salt; 4 Tablespoons sugar or honey; 1/3 cup oil.
6. Add all of the whole wheat flour
7. Use the on button on the Bosch that lets you turn the mixer on and off quickly. Turn it on three or four times until the flour is somewhat mixed in, then turn the mixer on so it stays on for about two minutes. Turn off.
8. Start adding the white flour, but read the remainder of #8 before you proceed. I honestly don't know how much white flour it will take, so you have to pretend you know what you are doing on this one. Gradually begin adding the white flour one cup at a time, until the dough is still really sticky, but not runny. At this point, let the Bosch knead the bread for about 3 minutes. Add a little more flour, mix again.
9. Now gently stir the yeast mixture in the cup and add to the bread dough. Mix really well, then continue kneading for another 3 minutes.
10. If the bread is still really sticky, and is clinging to the side of the Bosch bowl while it is kneading, add a little more white flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
11. Sprinkle a little flour on the cabinet top. "Dump" the bread dough onto the floured area. Knead just a little to form it into a ball.
12. Place dough ball into prepared bowl. I like to rub just a little oil over the dough so it doesn't dry out while it is raising.
13. Cover with a clean dishtowel.
14. The dough needs to sit in a place where it is kind of warm, and out of drafts. I generally use my oven, having turned it on for about 1 minute and then turning it off will give my bread a nice warm place to sit.
15. When the dough has come to the top of my bowl, or doubled in size, I dump it out of the bowl onto the floured surface, punch it down/knead it and return it to the bowl for a second round. If you are going to make rolls, or cinnamon rolls, you would take part of the dough out at this point.
16. Many of the recipes I see today are skipping the second rising - Mother always let it raise twice so I have just kept doing it that way.
17. When the dough is doubled again, remove from bowl onto lightly floured surface.
18. Grease 3 bread pans. Or two if you have made rolls. Divide the dough into even portions. Gently knead to work out the air bubbles and then form into your loaves. Place each loaf in loaf pan, roll around in the grease in the bread pan so the tops have a little oil on them. Or you can melt a little butter and spread it over the tops of your loaves.
19. Let bread sit until the dough is a little over the top of the pan so it makes a nice rounded looking loaf. Cover the dough while it is sitting. And try to keep it out of any draft.
20. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
21. Put loaves in oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Timing is a little tricky, so when the bread looks done, thump on a loaf. If it sounds hollow, it is probably done.
22. Hooray! If you have persevered and made it to this point, whatever you take out of the oven will taste wonderful and the house will smell ever so good. Just make sure you have some homemade strawberry jam to eat with it.
11 comments:
22steps. I'll never make it past 5.
Somehow I make something that is very simple sound really difficult. It really isn't.
I've been using a commercial yeast that does not require a second rise, comes out the same. 10 minutes and the bread is ready to rise, call one of the kids and the bread is ready to go into the oven, call one of the other kids and it's done baking, (call one of my sisters and it burns)..
I told you, just wait until Ann tells you how much of what to add!
Judy, where are you? Cell phone won't work and house phone says nobody is home. You must be in hiding.
You, too, can do this - I was really confident until I got to the iffy part - adding the white flour. Such finesse. I remember one time when I was quite young - I tried a batch of bread, which just wouldn't rise. In sheer desperation, I took it outside, dug a hole, and buried it. It took a night and a day, but it rose - oh, yeah! How embarrassing!
Judy is not lost. She just had her cell phone turned off. Just in case anyone wanted to know.
You left out the fact that you use a $44 bread bowl made from a tree from snake infested swamps to warm your bread. I figure my first loaf of bread will have an average cost of $95.
Dwight, is the bread done yet?
I can't find a snake infested swamp to get a bread bowl
I was trying to keep it simple. If I may explain just a little, for years I used just a ceramic bowl I had on the shelf and it worked ok. The wonderful wooden bowl has been a fairly recent acquisition and isn't necessary for success. It was a want, not necessarily a need. However, I think after I got mine, Elizabeth had Ron make her one.
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