Tell us some stories about baking bread. Do you have the perfect loaf figured out yet? Do you bake bread often?

I've baked our bread for the past three years. Each week I bake a different kind. I make a double batch and make a couple loaves and the rest into rolls for sandwiches.
I don't use a bread machine. I have a commercial mixer that I use.
I make all kinds, pepperoni, tomato, taco, corn, wheat, rye, white, buttermilk, potato, oat, cinnamon and I"m sure I've forgotten a few.

I have a recipe that was my grandmother's. It is very easy, and it makes 2 loaves. I have been making this for 20+ years, and my family loves it. I used to make it at home all the time. Once I moved out on my own and got married I continued to make it, and after having the kids, they loved it, thus, I am still making it. It is white bread, and I use this recipe to make cinnamon rolls, also.

What does everyone else make?

yolo

i'm embarrassed to admit that i have only ever made beer bread!!!:toothy: :toothy: :toothy:

i forgot to say that i would LOVE to have a bread recipe that is VERY EASY!!!!! does anyone have one that they wouldn't mind sharing????? PLEASE PLEASE:D
thanks so much!!
ps. i don't have a bread machine or a fancy mixer. :(

I would be glad to share my recipe. I don't have a bread machine either, and I don't use a mixer for this bread either:

White Bread (2 loaves)

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons dry yeast (or two packets)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons melted shortening
6 1/2 cups flour


Mix together water and yeast. Let set for a few minutes. Add sugar, salt, and shortening.

Add:

3 1/2 cups flour; stir and then add
remaining 3 cups flour.

Knead well.

Place in a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let raise in a war place for 1/2 hour. Punch down and knead. Divide dough into two equal parts. Place in well greased bread pans. Cover with a towel and let raise in a warm place for 1/2 hour.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I hope you like this.

yolo

Yummy! yolo, I am going to try to make your bread recipe this weekend!

I got this off of another site, can't remember which one since I am ALL over this internet! Sorry can't give credit where credit is due for it sure is good bread and easy. I don't have a BM either, just my two hands.

warm water 2 cups
sugar 3 tbsp
active dry yeast 1 tbsp
salt 1 1/2 tsp
vegetable oil 1/4 cup
all purpose flour 6 cups

In a large bowl dissolve the sugar in the water, stir in yeast. Allow to sit
for a few minutes until the mixture is foamy. Mix salt and oil into
mixture. Mix in 5 cups of flour, mixing in one at a time. With remaining
one cup flour, knead dough on floured surface, incorperating the one
cup or less of flour. Knead until dough is smooth. Tranfer dough to a
well oiled bowl, turn dough to cover with oil, cover with a cloth and let
rise for 1 hour or until doubled. Punch down dough, knead for a few
minutes. Divide dough in half, shape into loaves and place in two oiled
9x5 baking pans. Allow to rise for 30 min to 1 hour until doubled. Bake at
350 for 30 minutes. Makes two 9x5 loaves.

I don't make bread often at all - my dh and ds are not big bread eaters and I love bread which means I end up eating way too much of it myself. :rolleyes:

When I do make bread though, I make the Amish White Bread. I originally saw it on another site (I think mom2knk posted it here on Frugal Village a while back).

Betsy; I hope you like the bread. Good luck.

yolo

thank you sooo much yolo! your recipe sounds really easy!! i think i can do it! ;)

thanks again for sharing!:)

I have a machine that makes bread and butter, so my family loves me to bake bread.

Originally posted by yolo
I have a recipe that was my grandmother's. It is very easy, and it makes 2 loaves. I have been making this for 20+ years, and my family loves it. I used to make it at home all the time. Once I moved out on my own and got married I continued to make it, and after having the kids, they loved it, thus, I am still making it. It is white bread, and I use this recipe to make cinnamon rolls, also.

What does everyone else make?

yolo

Is the recipe a secret or can we get a copy? I'm dying to make HM bread (other than in the bread maker).

yes, yolo... will you share with us? :)

I am always happy to share recipes. I posted it up above. If you don't find it, let me know. I will make sure you get the recipe.

yolo

I have only made the Amish white bread and we love it. I can't wait to try your bread yolo!!! It sounds wonderful:D Thanks for sharing the recipe!!

I cheat, I'm always using my bread machine. But hey, it's still alot cheaper than buying bread. Yesterday, I made an oatmeal bread. Usually, I like whole wheat. It makes an awesome pizza dough as well. I just hate getting gunk under my fingernails, LOL :D

Laura

I bake a lot of bread in my bread machine. I have noticed the loaves are getting distorted. I am wondering if this could be due to old yeast sitting on store shelves or something not right with the bread machine. :(
I would very much like to do more bread baking by hand vs. machine.
I think I am going to start trying out some recipes and posting my reviews on them.
Anyone want to bake with me? LOL Let's get a good list of bread recipes going here.

Sara

I still like my Amish White Bread. :)
I made it the other day with tomato juice instead of water... and oregano, basil, and parsley. Yummy! I forget who told me to try that, but thank you!! :)

i sure do! :)

i make mostly soda breads (as dh can't have yeast due to health concern).
so i make white soda, wheat soda, rye soda (my fave!) breads.

they're quick and easy and I LOVE not having to wait and knead and all that.

otherwise, i probably would have invested in a bread machine.
but since no yeast in the house, no need! :)

I make a decient bread... i use it for everything from rolls to loaf bread to pizza dough.

I by no means believe its perfect... i really would like to make a more artesian bread that uses less yeast and is not sweet. Yet i have to make sure it doesn't have a hard crust because Joe wouldn't be able to eat it because of soft teeth because of his medicines.

Since we moved i haven't baked much of anything i have tried repedatively,but given up because my oven burns the bottom and leaves the top gooey and just in general takes FOREVER to bake:pdoff:I am starting to hate my landlord:pdoff: Cause baking is relaxing and i enjoy to do it.

I by no means believe its perfect... i really would like to make a more artesian bread that uses less yeast and is not sweet. Yet i have to make sure it doesn't have a hard crust because Joe wouldn't be able to eat it because of soft teeth because of his medicines.


I brush my loaves with milk when they come out of the oven and are piping hot. It softens up the crust and seems to keep it soft till the bread is gone.

I make almost all of our bread products. They are by no means perfect but the family gobbles them up so they taste good even if they aren't picture perfect. I make
ww bread
french bread
foccacia
biscuits
english muffin bread
soda bread

and not really breads but quick breads and muffins

How do you use bread dough for pizza crust? Do you just flatten it out on the pan and cover with toppings?
Thanks for the recipes everybody. My dh loves homemade bread so I think I will try them.

Andrea

I have started using my bread machine more often now that I have found a recipe that I like. I don't like the shape of the bread (square) from the machine so I just use the dough cycle and take it out and let it rise and then bake in the oven. I have made it three times already and each time it came out perfect. I brush the top with butter for a softer crust. It is really a good recipe.

I still like my Amish White Bread. :)
I made it the other day with tomato juice instead of water... and oregano, basil, and parsley. Yummy! I forget who told me to try that, but thank you!! :)

Would you be willing to share your Amish White Bread recipe? I would be interested in this one as well.

Thanks so much!
Michelle

what a crafty idea!!!

tomato juice instead of water!!!

I'd love that recipe as well, if you're willing to share, Mommy2Tyler.

:)

Thank-you, Homesteadmomma for starting this thread and also to Yolo for sharing her recipe.

I love homemade bread and actually had a really good Challa bread recipe from a book that I checked out from the library but of course can't find it now.
That was the only recipe that I had found that my whole family liked consistently.

I'm looking forward to trying some of these recipes.
Thanks to everyone for sharing!

Michelle

I make bread often, not as often as I'd like though...lol.

Today I baked up 6 loaves of bread, 4 hoagie style buns and 1 dozen hamburger buns. these are using ww flour some oatmeal and a bit of flax seed. the house smells divine!

Since the oven was hot I tossed in a banana bread to use up a couple bananas that were going dark.

I make almost all of our bread products now. Sometimes I'll use the bread maker to bakes loaves and sometimes I'll use it for kneading rolls. My latest and favorite recipe is SUPER EASY and makes a great "rustic" loaf. It takes 16-18 hours to sit, but the actually hands on work is less than 5 minutes total. I saw this same loaf of bread in a deli last week for $4.29!!! The recipe is here: http://thriftyjinxy.blogspot.com/2008/02/bread-prices-rising-again-what-can-you.html

This is a really good all purpose bread recipe from Allrecipes.com. It's on the sweeter side so you can reduce the sugar a little if you want. I cuts really nice and has a good crumb. It would work well for sandwiches because it cuts really well...Enjoy!

Amish White Bread

Makes 2 loaves
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45
degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.