I've been making my own bread for a few months now. There's not much point in posting a recipe here as I think any pretty basic bread recipe will do once you're familiar with it.
I use a recipe I picked up at the Winchester City Watermill. Essentially 750g flour (combination of wholewheat and white, to your taste) and 450ml water. They also add butter which is not essential but seems to make my bread nicer!
Here is what I've discovered through my own experiments:
Your surfaces need not be too clean. I used to wipe down my service with an antibacterial wipe before I started needing. This is daft because as well as killing the bacteria on your kitchen surface it kills the yeast in your dough. This goes for hands too; obviously you'll want to wash them, but too much antibacterial soap will also kill your yeast.
Keep everything nice and warm, especially in winter. I use wheatbags (the ones you heat in the microwave and use to soothe your aches and pains) to warm the surface I'll be kneeding on, and also sit them beneath my 'tins' as the bread rises. I usually melt my butter into my flour by putting the whole lot in the microwave. The butter melts and the flour is nice and warm.
Add a dash of sugar (not too much or you get sweet bread) after you've knocked out the gas and kneed it in before putting your dough into 'tins' for its last rising.
I use silicone 'tins' not real metal ones, as the bread turns out of it so nicely. The trouble is that they are very flexible and if you aren't carful you can knock them flat when you're transferring to the oven. So I make sure they are sitting in a metal tray for their last rising (wheat bags under the tray). Then transfer tray and tins into the oven to bake.
To get the most delicious crusty crust and fluffiest lightest most yummy bread you'll need to use steam. I have an old baking tray at the bottom of the oven and pour in a much of water just as I transfer the bread into the oven.
Make sure the oven is VERY hot. Mine is fan assisted and electric (so I'm probably voiding my warrantee by using steam...) and heat it to about 220 degrees; you'll lose some heat when you open the door to put the bread and water in.
I'm not sure if I can blame the steam, but once our heating element gave up and we had to replace it. It would have cost at least £100 to call a man out to fix it. Or else order the part you need online and do it yourself. We found a video online that showed what an easy job this is. I'm not sure this is strictly related to the baking of bread, but it's useful nonetheless.
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| Bread rising |
I use a recipe I picked up at the Winchester City Watermill. Essentially 750g flour (combination of wholewheat and white, to your taste) and 450ml water. They also add butter which is not essential but seems to make my bread nicer!
Here is what I've discovered through my own experiments:
Your surfaces need not be too clean. I used to wipe down my service with an antibacterial wipe before I started needing. This is daft because as well as killing the bacteria on your kitchen surface it kills the yeast in your dough. This goes for hands too; obviously you'll want to wash them, but too much antibacterial soap will also kill your yeast.
Keep everything nice and warm, especially in winter. I use wheatbags (the ones you heat in the microwave and use to soothe your aches and pains) to warm the surface I'll be kneeding on, and also sit them beneath my 'tins' as the bread rises. I usually melt my butter into my flour by putting the whole lot in the microwave. The butter melts and the flour is nice and warm.
Add a dash of sugar (not too much or you get sweet bread) after you've knocked out the gas and kneed it in before putting your dough into 'tins' for its last rising.
I use silicone 'tins' not real metal ones, as the bread turns out of it so nicely. The trouble is that they are very flexible and if you aren't carful you can knock them flat when you're transferring to the oven. So I make sure they are sitting in a metal tray for their last rising (wheat bags under the tray). Then transfer tray and tins into the oven to bake.
To get the most delicious crusty crust and fluffiest lightest most yummy bread you'll need to use steam. I have an old baking tray at the bottom of the oven and pour in a much of water just as I transfer the bread into the oven.
Make sure the oven is VERY hot. Mine is fan assisted and electric (so I'm probably voiding my warrantee by using steam...) and heat it to about 220 degrees; you'll lose some heat when you open the door to put the bread and water in.
I'm not sure if I can blame the steam, but once our heating element gave up and we had to replace it. It would have cost at least £100 to call a man out to fix it. Or else order the part you need online and do it yourself. We found a video online that showed what an easy job this is. I'm not sure this is strictly related to the baking of bread, but it's useful nonetheless.
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