Homesteading club members - discussion time

[homesteadmamma]

Lets discuss bread baking on the homestead. I'm going to post several questions for you to discuss. Then I'd like each of you to post your favorite bread recipe to this thread. If you can take a picture of your bread, that would be great too.

1. How often do you bake bread on your homestead?

2. Do you use regular flour or whole wheat flour?

3. Do you grind your own grain to make the bread?

4. Do you use organic flour?

5. How many loaves do you make at a time?

6. How do you clean your bowl once the dough is in the pans?

7. Do you use a KA type machine to knead the dough or do you do it by hand?

[kymom]

I bake 2 loaves everydayI just use regular flour. I change the flavors alot. I will have to find my recipe.I use two machine to knead it and sometimes by hand. And I always using boiling water and a linen towl to dry it.

[homesteadmamma]

1. How often do you bake bread on your homestead? At least once a week, sometimes twice. It depends on the weather mostly. I love baking bread on the colder days and warming up the house with the heat from the oven and with the smell of bread baking. Summer I make bread far less.

2. Do you use regular flour or whole wheat flour? I use whole wheat flour.

3. Do you grind your own grain to make the bread? Yes I have a Whisper Mill and love grinding the grain which I purchase in 50 lb. bags.

4. Do you use organic flour? Only organic here.

5. How many loaves do you make at a time? My recipe calls for 4 loaves. I sometimes make one batch and once its cooked, make another batch.

6. How do you clean your bowl once the dough is in the pans? I clean my bowl in hot water and soap and then dump it down the sink. I've read recently you shouldn't do that because the dough that has stuck to the bowl will clog the pipes. In all the years I've been baking bread, that has never happened yet.

7. Do you use a KA type machine to knead the dough or do you do it by hand? With having fibromyalgia, I always use my KA to do the major kneading. Once its finished kneading, I do about 1/2 min. of hand kneading.

[homesteadmamma]

My bread recipe:

2/3 c. oil
2/3 c. honey
6 c. warm water
3 tbsp. whole gluten*
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. yeast (instant)
2 tbsp. mill dough enhancer*
10-12 c. flour (freshly ground)

*(I've changed the above just a bit. I don't use dough enhancer nor gluten. I use 2 tbsp. lechitin granules and 2 tbsp. lemon juice to replace.)

Combine salt, oil, honey and water in a large bowl. Add in remaining ingredients. Mix in 4 cups flour, add another 4 cups and finally the last 4 cups flour. This recipe used freshly ground grain (reason for the gluten and dough enhancer). Knead by KA or by hand. Let rise until double in bulk. PUnch down and let rise again. Punch down and place in bread pans. Let rise and then bake at 375 degrees until done.

I've taken to using fast rising yeast. With fast rising yeast, you only have to let the dough rise until double in bulk once. Then place on table (flatten) and let sit for 10 minutes ONLY. Cut and divide into 4 loaves. Let rise and bake as above.

[homesteadmamma]

My bread recipe using regular flour

1 c. warm water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp yeast*
Let stand for 10 mins, then stir well.

Place in large mixing bowl:
1 c. milk (warm)
3 c. water (warm)
6 tbsp. margarine
6 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. salt

Add yeast mixtue to milk and water.

Beat in 4 c. flour
Stir in additional 4 c. flour
Stir in additional 4 c. flour
(That is 12 cups total).

Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (about 8-10 minutes). Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again. Place into pans and let rise. Bake at 375 degrees.

*Again, if your using quick rising yeast, you would not do the first part of this recipe. Instead you would mix your yeast (same amount) into the milk/water/margarine/sugar/salt mixture making sure you add your salt first and your yeast last. Let your dough rise once, place on table. Flatten down a tiny bit and let rest for ONLY 10 mins. Cut into 4 and place in bread pans. Let rise and bake as above.

Also if you want you can use 1/2 white flour, 1/2 whole wheat flour. Turns out nice too.

[forestdale]

CJ, you forgot your flour in your first ingredients list.


1. How often do you bake bread on your homestead?
Every second day.

2. Do you use regular flour or whole wheat flour? My favourite is a combo of rye flour and corn and barley flour but I also use wholewheat flour, soy and linseed flour and leckerbrot flour.

3. Do you grind your own grain to make the bread? Never. I always buy it from my organic bulk goods store.

4. Do you use organic flour? Always.

5. How many loaves do you make at a time? One.

6. How do you clean your bowl once the dough is in the pans? I clean it in the sink with dish detergent and water.

7. Do you use a KA type machine to knead the dough or do you do it by hand? I usually put it in the bread machine for most of the kneading then finish it by hand for 2-3 minutes.

[forestdale]

My favourite bread recipe - this can use any flour

2 teaspoons dry yeast
2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water
Place the above ingredients in a cup and mix a little, then leave for 5 minutes till it's frothy.

Into the bread machine place, in this order:

1 heaped teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 heaped tablespoons powdered milk
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups flour

Then add contents of the yeast cup.

Turn on machine to dough setting and let it go until the machine finishes. Take the dough from the machine, knead for 2 -3 minutes, shape it into a loaf, put it in bread pan and sprinkle on poppy or sesame seeds. Let rise for about 30 minutes. When it's the size I want I cook it to about 30 minutes on 375*.

[homesteadmamma]

Thanks Rhonda.

Can you give the perportions of flour you use in your recipe. I've got some rye flour here I'm itching to grind up and use.

[forestdale]

CJ, I find that just using rye alone gives a VERY sticky dough that's almost impossible to work with. I always dilute my rye with something else - the corn and barley flour or wholewheat is delicious with rye. I generally use half rye and half the other flour.

[homesteadmamma]

Thanks Rhonda. One more question. When cooked, do you find rye makes heavy bread.

And what is leckerbrot flour? Never heard of it.

[QuilterMom]

1. How often do you bake bread on your homestead?
Used to be every 1.5 to 2 weeks. Now I get overheated easily so we'll be purchasing bread until I'm feeling better.

2. Do you use regular flour or whole wheat flour?
Both.

3. Do you grind your own grain to make the bread?
Not yet. It's a goal of mine.

4. Do you use organic flour?
Absolutely.

5. How many loaves do you make at a time?
Two.

6. How do you clean your bowl once the dough is in the pans?
Wash with hot water and dish detergent.

7. Do you use a KA type machine to knead the dough or do you do it by hand?
I let my KA knead it.

[QuilterMom]

This is my ds's fave............

1 T. yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup butter, softened
6 T. honey
1 tsp. sea salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Let the yeast dissolve in the water for 5 minutes. Add the butter, honey, and sea salt. Add both flours and knead with dough hook until smooth. Leave in mixing bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Punch down and divide dough into 2 greased loaf pans. Cover with clean towel and let rise 1 hour. Bake for 35 minutes at 375*.

[DaisyLady]

Much to my children's dismay, I have stopped baking my own bread for the time being. It was adding to much stress to my life and so in the interest of simplicity I stopped.

However, I used to bake bread every second day. I've never ground my own grain but I try to buy organic, whole grain, non bleached flour when possible. I use a KA type mixer...it's not as hard on my back this way.

Hoping to start baking again in the fall especially now that bread is up to $1.49 a loaf

[forestdale]

CJ, my rye bread is a fairly dense bread but the addition of the other flours makes it lighter than normal rye bread.

Leckerbrot is a German-style flour that is a mix of wholemeal, wholegrains, mung beans and various seeds. It tastes like wholegrain bread but it has a nutier taste.

Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for a sourdough starter?

[homesteadmamma]

Our very own Sara has a tutorial on sour dough starter. Here you go

http://www.frugalvillage.com/modules...rticle&artid=2

Then again this is what she used it for. Scroll down and see what Gabe had to say.

Sara, did you ever do anymore "sour dough starter"