Baking bread

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I don’t know if it is because I bought a jar of yeast instead of the little packets, but I have been on a bread baking kick.
My husband and daughter like sliders and I have never seen those little rolls in a store so I found a recipe for those and made them the other day…last week I made English muffins because I saw a recipe posted on Facebook from William’s Sonoma…they were a lot of fun and turned out great !
Today, for Easter dinner I made Parker House rolls.
There is just something so satisfying about making homemade bread.
I am not much of a baker …don’t ask me to ever bring a cake anywhere and I wish I was talented enough to make all of those decorative cookies I see on Pinterest , but I can make bread :slight_smile:
Any other bread bakers out there ?</p>

2

<p>I used to make all of our family’s bread. Since I basically can’t eat it now, I’ve stopped. :frowning: Same thing with jams/jellies/pickles/chutneys.</p>

<p>I love baking. I’ve made many tiered cakes, including wedding cakes. Love pies, and have never had an issue with pie crust. But nowadays I very rarely bake, except to make a special cake for an event I’m going to.</p>

3

<p>I have graham bread from my great-grandmother’s recipe rising right now. It’s a very dense dough and rises very slowly. But its taste is amazing, and you can’t buy it in stores.</p>

4

<p>I make whole wheat bread a few times each week in my machine. I used to make a lot of sourdough and country french loaves by hand, but I’m off of white flour now and short of the time and desire to make them. You might enjoy reading 52 Loaves by William Alexander–about his quest for the perfect loaf of bread. I also like the recipes for rustic loaves in Bread Alone by Daniel Leader and Judith Blahnik.</p>

5

<p>What is bread? :)</p>

6

<p>Can you share your grandmother’s graham bread recipe? It sounds interesting.</p>

7

<p>Food of the gods, Idad. :smiley: Along with potatoes and pasta. Alas, as a flawed mortal, I am not allowed to consume it.</p>

8

<p>I think the pinnacle of my bread making endeavors was making, from scratch, those [Indian</a> poori bread things](<a href=“http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-16n9tS6riB4/T-Kzucey2uI/AAAAAAAAH4k/Xq4mj1e-Zns/s1600/DSC_8886.JPG]Indian”>http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-16n9tS6riB4/T-Kzucey2uI/AAAAAAAAH4k/Xq4mj1e-Zns/s1600/DSC_8886.JPG) that puff up like a balloon.</p>

9

<p>Would love to get your wheat bread recipe, plantmom. I’ve struggled with wheat and my bread machine.</p>

10

<p>I’ve become a big fan of [Artisan</a> Bread in Five Minutes a Day](<a href=“http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/]Artisan”>http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/). I bake a loaf or two a week. It takes a little effort to make the first few loaves but once you get the hang of it, it’s very easy.</p>

11

<p>Onward: I’m working on a cookbook of my great-grandmother’s recipes, but… basically, the Graham bread uses Graham flour in place of white flour in a basic recipe, milk in place of water, then adds about a quarter cup of butter and 1/4 cup of honey for every two pounds of Graham flour. Graham flour is a whole wheat flour ground using a different process, which creates a coarser texture, so make sure you let it rise for a good long time.</p>

12

<p>The Parker House rolls were something my great grandmother used to make , thought I haven’t had them since I was very young. No one in my family is a bread maker but me.
I wish I could say that she taught me, or my mother or grandmother…but I am self taught. I don’t have a machine. I learned the ins and outs of yeast years ago.
I make a lot of different types of breads from simple to complex…can’t eat that much myself either…who can ?</p>

13

<p>I used to bake rolls a lot, using the bread machine to make the dough, then shaping/rising/baking. I learned that the secret to getting perfect dough from the bread machine is to check it after it’s mixed well, but still has some mixing time to go, and add more liquid or flour depending on how it looks. It’s easy to get it to the right consistency, and then the rolls come out well. </p>

<p>I don’t make bread as often now that I’m minimizing carbs.</p>

14

<p>My grandmother used to bake for her family, but also bake to sell things to regular customers out of her home–bread, rolls, coffee cake, cinnamon rolls. My dad then took over the family baking. I like to bake. I do a little bread, but not too much. But every once in a while (about ever 6 months), I get the urge to make croissants. It takes all day, so I usually make 10-12 dozen and freeze them.</p>

15

<p>Here’s a limerick for you, lje62 :)</p>

<p>A corpulent maiden named Kroll
Did something exceedingly droll.
To a masquerade ball, she wore nothing at all,
And backed in, as a Parker House Roll.</p>

16

<p>Mrscollege, here’s what I use. I have a horizontal loaf machine with two blades, and the loaves generally look pretty good although sometimes I get a lopsided one.</p>

<p>1 cup plus a TBSP or two water
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur)
1 TBSP powdered milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast (I use the more finely divided bread machine yeast)
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP honey</p>

<p>I use the regular bread cycle (vs. whole wheat cycle), and usually set it up in the evening on a timer so it’s ready in the AM. So…that means putting the ingredients in so the yeast doesn’t get wet too soon. The bread is fairly dense, and will mold in four days or so if it isn’t eaten. I will put it in the refrigerator if I know we’re not going to eat it quickly. Hope it works for you.</p>

17

<p>Consolation, you are wicked! (as in: that was wicked funny)</p>

18

<p>I’ve baked bread regularly for at least 20 years. This is my current favorite. <a href=“Recipe: No-Knead Bread - The New York Times”>Recipe: No-Knead Bread - The New York Times;

19

<p>Thanks, Plantmom. I’m just terrible when it comes to working with yeast and wheat flour but I will give it a try!</p>

20

<p>Love the limerick , Consolation !
@vballmom…that is a great website …I need to find some people to give bread away to since we can’t eat it all</p>