So I live in Canada, I’m originally from New York but I married a Canadian and moved up to the great white north. What does living in Canada have to do with bread? Quite a bit, you see in the two plus years I have lived here I have been searching for good bread. I love bread, I really do, I love variety in my bread too. Up here I feel limited. The only bread I like that can be bought at the grocery store is either d’Italiano or the frozen Italian bread you bake to go with lasagna. (Oddly enough, one of the two brands I like is also d’Italiano, the other is the M&Ms Meat Shop brand) The bakeries aren’t that helpful either, I have bought some bakery bread at the farmers market and while it was good, it was too expensive to buy on a regular basis.
I have been wanting to bake my own, I used to work in a bakery and I know it’s time consuming but how hard could it be? I have the kneading tool for my mix master so that part, the really hard part would be done for me. Three people I think are kinda awesome both make bread a lot, (@vividmuse, @encaf1 & Sport) and when I hear about them making their own bread my mouth waters and I just want to try it. Then I found out that my sister got a new bread machine for Christmas. She was happy because she couldn’t use her old one anymore because she had used it before her daughter was diagnosed Coeliac disease, since the flour gets into all the parts of the machine, she can’t use it to make Gluten free bread. So I of course ask what is she going to do with her old machine. She didn’t imagine making any Gluten bread so she said I could have it. Now my sister hasn’t been making her own bread recently (meaning the last few years) but since her daughter has been diagnosed the idea of baking her own was appealing since the store alternatives are not that great. When I went to visit I saw her whole family just in love with the gluten free bread, and that bread was really good. So thanks @caelann for the bread maker.
My first loaf was a basic white bread that I used the recipe from the manual. It came out really good, so today I experimented, I combined two recipes to make an oat cranberry bread and it turned out mostly amazing. I added the cranberries a little late, the machine didn’t beep when I thought it would, to let me know when the kneading was close to done. Next time I will get it right. As it is now though it is damn tasty. Each time I took the bread out of the machine I gave the first slices to my husband, my gunia pig, and he loved them both. This time though, the oat cranberry time he kept going back for more, so I take that as a win.
So now I need some more fun recipes, got one for potato bread, I plan on trying that one.
Does anyone have tips for me? How to make the crust softer? Good recipes? How to keep the bread softer for longer? (I have been wrapping it in a towel for now. Anyone out there making bread too? Got stories to share? Please, share them.
OMNOMNOMNOMNOM BREAD GOOD!
;)
My mom has made hand-made bread for my entire life, and it is among the best breads in the world. I even managed to get her to write down a recipe for me, and I’ve made it, and it’s good. It was really hard for her to write down a recipe, really, because it was so innate to her and was very much by feel..
I don’t have the practiced technique of that many years, so I’m slow at it — but the bread maker has been a great substitute, and I love it well.
In fact, when my old one broke once, I went out *that day* and bought a new one..
Lately, I haven’t been making as much bread, but I’m returning to it, and your own journey will serve as further inspiration..
I haven’t learned that much about what makes the best bread, but a few things I can offer:
* be careful with garlic and onion flakes; they do *not* operate on the philosophy of “more is better”! If you add too much, they seem to absorb too much water and the bread is heavier and harder than normal. I’m going to add more water to balance next time and see..
* keep your yeast fresh. I got really discouraged for a while when my loaves weren’t puffing up and were very heavy. It turned out that my yeast was too old and inefficient. Now I plan to throw out my yeast about every 6 months or so, or make so much bread that I won’t run out..
* keep stocked up. Once you make a bunch of different recipes, you’ll start to see some pretty regular ingredients pop up, and it’s nice to have them on hand so that you can spontaneously make any bread you like. Things like: powdered milk, liquid honey, brown sugar, white flour, whole wheat flour, bran, rye flour, vegetable oil, molasses, salt. I also keep dried raisins, bran cereal and 12-grain cereal on hand, as well as poppy seeds. I’m going to go out and get some more ingredients soon, too. Most of these keep forever, so you can wait for a sale or buy it in bulk to save some money.
* bad milk still makes good bread. I tend not to drink all of my milk, and it gets a bit sour. This will still make good bread, and makes a bit lighter bread than the powdered milk. I also find that my eggs are often a bit old and are rubbery if fried, but work just fine in a few bread recipes.
* find a book with lots of recipes to experiment with – and one that suggests changes. I found one I’ve used loads of times just wandering through the book store, and got it for 30% off: “250 Best Canadian Bread Machine Baking Recipes” by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. I like this one because there are loads of recipes, but also a variation or two for each. That said, I’ve probably only made about 20 of the recipes so far, but mostly because I can’t find buttermilk powder easily or forget to pick up ingredients like caraway seeds. If you want some of the recipes from this book, maybe I can find my way to scan a couple.. ;)
* bread machine bread is for toasting. I haven’t found that many recipes which are light enough for sandwiches, but I really love a good heavy bread for toasting and putting peanut butter on. Let me know what your lightest recipe is, and I’ll give that a try.
* once and a while, make bread ready for when you wake. I don’t do this often, but since most of the ingredients are safe at room temperature (for example, using milk powder instead of milk, and no recipe with eggs), you can set it up to start ~3 hours before you get up. Fresh bread when you wake up! And the smell of it to wake up to! You can also do it to coincide with when you get home, if you’re out for the day or something, but my day isn’t regular enough right now to do that.
* find a safe spot for your breadmaker. I put my breadmaker too close to the edge of the table once, and it shook itself half off the table. Fortunately, I caught it before it fell. ;) But those things can really rock ‘n’ roll! Heh.. “roll”.. :D
I don’t make much bread using the machine as just a dough maker, but I’m hoping to have more time/energy to do that this summer.
Have fun with it!
Thanks Mark, these are some great tips. I already knew about the placement of the machine, my manual specifically warns about that, with little cartoon pictures and everything :)
Old milk is good, I will have to remember that. I’m using powdered milk atm, but tossed my old powdered milk and bought new the other day when I realized it was a year past the expiry date. That should tell you something about how infrequently I use it since powdered milk is good for a year and a half normally.
I have been using dry yeast, not the fresh stuff like we used to use in the bakery, I wonder how much of difference that makes. I will have to test that out.
I have been using Seltzer/Club soda in place of water, I think it lightens up the bread, as it does with the cakes I bake.
@vg_ford told me if I don’t bake in the bread machine but in the oven the crust will be softer so we shall see, but I love just leaving it and not paying attention.
As for setting the bread to cook for waking up, that is a brilliant idea. Sounds like a lovely way to wake up
You can actually just bake it in the oven. The kneading is the hard work but if you have a mixer you can buy a kneading hook for it. I just lucked out in the bread machine. I didn't see myself buying one
Canada rocks. I am amazed we haven't met up yet. You live so close. :)
Canada Does indeed rock Jack. Sadly the bread choices are poor, but that's a fine trade off for me.We were both at HalCon, and yet never saw one another, sadz.I forsee us not meeting till after I move away, that's just how life is :P
ain't no where in the world can make bread like they do in New York!
To keep my bread fresher longer, I add more fat, up to 4 times as much. I also find this lightens the crumb of the bread in the end.
That’s a good idea, though 4 times as much fat while tasty might not work with the whole idea of making healthier choices in my eating :) I have to say, a slice of bread rather then a few bowls of chips so far I think is a better choice in my life :) *is a carb addict*
Sweetie, don’t blame the oil in your bread. It’s the difference between (typically) 1 tablespoon of oil in a loaf and 4 tablespoons of oil in a loaf. Not exactly a big deal, yanno?
this is true, though so far all my recipes call for butter not oil, but again, 1 or 4 tbs, how big a diff is that over a whole loaf?
Texturally, it makes a big difference. Calorically, not so much. I also tend to increase the salt in recipes to make my bread taste like bread and not flour, but that increases fermentation times significantly. Also also, I’m a big fan in adding extra gluten, mostly because I use really cheap flour.
Yogurt can also be used as a substitute for most of your oil, and it’ll tender your bread nicely, but it won’t keep it from going stale.
I was reading that a lot of sourdough breads require yogurt so that sounds feasible. Will be trying that soon. I swear this is like a science experiment, if I was a kid in school I would make my science fair project this year all about baking bread hee hee
Oh, totally science. Science and animal husbandry.
Mmmmm bagels. I heard that Tony :)
Well, as for poor bread choices, I think you're just in the wrong area. I'm surrounded by three different bakeries, and Pete's has a number of options too. Although, I think making your own bread is more fun! My grandparents met at a bakery. IT was a Romeo and Juliette story. Their families had rival bake shops, and a young John James or rather Jack Ward was looking in at the competition and mmm… Saw something he liked over the counter.Of course, Nan Guthrie was equally smitten. She remembered thinking that after two years of emigrating to Canada from Scotland "He was the most handsome man in Canada".And ironically, just after that story my bread machine went off for this morning's load! Cheers!
Well Jack you are in the city, I'm in a 5K population town, there is a difference. We have one bakery for miles… it's just too expensive for weekly useAnd the story, that;s a great story :) Love itMy grandparents were immigrants too, they met working in the Savoy Plaza in NY, it was slightly forbidden too because if anyone found out they would be fired. When the decided to marry they left the hotel and grandpa found work on the mail train. Grandma worked at the local bakery, which is slightly amusing and she would tell me stories when I started working at a bakery in school
Well I did it, I made the same bread with three times the butter, well twice the butter because I was running out and then once more in measurement with oil and the bread’s crust was amazing! I just devoured a heal and it was perfect. I also took the advice of putting the loaf in a bag right away and did that, so hopefully it will stay soft.
thanks to both (Mer) @braindouche and (Hannah) @caelenn
yay!
Rye pumpernickle I made once and that came out nice :-) So happy you're baking your own bread and having a great time up in Canada (althou i do still miss you)
MK we should hang out this week, I'm in town
I have given up on finding good bread locally where ever I go. I lived in Europe growing up and the vast array of breads there leaves everywhere else lacking. I have learned to make most of the ones I like. I am glad you have also learned this. It makes life very good.