After that I turned on the breadmaker and let it do its thing. When it had around 5 minutes to go I put the oven on at the lowest it would go - around 30c. When the dough was ready I took it out, gave it another kneed then put it into the bread tin, then I put it in the oven! So it did its final rise in the ever so slightly warm oven and this worked brilliantly! Once it had risen I just turned the oven up to 175c and let the bread cook.
Final rise in the oven!
No sinking!
However, I still think it's far too dense. But this could have a lot to do with my frantic adding of more flour to the sticky dough at too late a stage?
But, it tastes lovely.
Next time I'm going to make it in my other bread tin to see if I like the shape better.
I'm pleased, but I still have a way to go.
Yay you! Keep trying - it's all worth it, & you'll get to the recipe and style you like the best & one that works everytime. However it turns out for you at present is still miles better than the stuff sold in the shops.
ReplyDeleteMy "challenge" is making cheese - I can't seem to do it properly so I have halted trying at present. You seem to do it effortlessly.
DeeJay from Whangarei
I was just down your way this morning! isn't it weird how some of us can make some things and not others. I have only really mastered feta cheese - but it's all I've tried. The hard cheeses will be way more difficult cos we don't have anywhere to keep them as they're maturing. You should try the feta, honest it's simple and fun.
DeleteI have never made bread, own a bread machine but it makes little square jobbies and it never came out right. On my list of things to do this summer is learn how to bake proper bread - may try the combo bread machine for kneading and bake in oven that you tried and proof the yeast - that is a good trick
ReplyDeleteI think making the dough n the machine does simplify things - I get bored needing!
Delete*Kneeding!
DeleteThe fun bit is trying and learning....looks lovely to me, I see you like a bit of toast with your butter just like me...!!!!
ReplyDeletegosh yeah! can't beat a bit of toast with your butter!
DeleteNothing beats homemade bread. My six year old has the kneading down pat. She's awesome! She does like to eat half the dough while she's doing it though so that becomes a problem.
ReplyDeletexx Susan
Oh lucky you having a 6 year old to do the horrible job!!!
DeleteLooks great. Whenever I've made Busy Peoples Bread using Annabel Langbeins recipe, I've used the yeast "sachets" and my bread has always come out with a dip. Slap-jack (very similar to soda bread but flatter) is our bread of choice at the moment. Have you tried Loukoumades? (greek doughnuts) very simple and oh, so yummy!
ReplyDeleteMmm now soda bread I can make. Haven't heard of Loukoumades. we were over at a friends for dinner tonight and she'd made dough, then she sort of flattened it a bit, then put raw garlic over it and spread butter on it, then rolled it into a sausage and cut it into chunks. Let raise for about 20 minutes then cook for about 30 minutes - it was AMAZING!!
DeleteIt looks good, I think you'll always find it a bit denser than shop bought bread, but by adding less liquid and therefore not having to chuck in extra flour I think you'll get there.
ReplyDeleteAnyway it looks delicious, well done.
Sue xx
thanks Sue :0) I'm enjoying the process as well :)
DeleteAh, bread! I too have been trying for years to make a truly loaf. I've used a breadmaker - but was never completely happy and the bread mixes had so many extra ingredients. I've bought many books that have promised the perfect loaf - and they have not delivered - well not via me anyway! This year I tried Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's recipe from his Veg book. He reckons bread only needs flour, water, yeast and salt. Apparently there's even some law in France to preserve this! So I gave it a go with white extra strong flour. It was pretty good. Then I put a slosh of olive oil in. It was brilliant - we had the most perfect Italian style bread with wonderful airy holes and great taste. But I wanted wholegrain bread - so I finally found a source for wholegrain extra strong organic flour (an Indian bulk supermarket in a nearby town - weird I know) and started again. It is a very wet recipe - but Hugh reckons that's good and you just add a wee bit more flour as needed on the second quick knead. Now the wholegrain bread is a lot denser than the white - but from what I've read, that's just inevitable. Whole grain is much heavier. So my bread looks like yours :-) I do find the olive oil helps. But Abby has declared she prefers the white bread. So I'm thinking a compromise is in order - half brown half white and we'll see how that goes ;-) So it's off to the bulk Indian supermarket again! Hopefully, one day we'll get there !!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of Hughs will definitely have to try that. I'm a huge fan of his. His soda bread is lovely. I just love Indian supermarkets - we used to have a lot of them in Glasgow so used them all the time. Sadly our wee village doesn't have one!! Not surprisingly really - it doesnt even have a proper shop!
DeleteYep, u can do amazing things with just a basic white dough Laura. "Pull aparts" - divide dough into golf ball sized pieces, dunk in melted butter, garlic and chopped parsley, pile them into a tin and bake. Once cooked, you can just "pull apart" to eat. I guess this is another take on the version you mention above. Sweeter version, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. lol
ReplyDeleteOh YUM!!!!
DeleteI literally drooled when I saw the photo of the oozy melting butter and tea... my idea of tastebud heaven. I am actually inspired to make some butter (just a wee bit but with extra salt the way my Aunty taught me) then I'll get Hubby to bake the bread - he's the bread maker in the house - and then it's kettle and cosy blanket time methinks! Well done and thanks for sharing! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm always a bit scared of butter - I had some homemade farm stuff eons ago from a market and it was rather rancid! Sadly I've let this put me off! :(
Delete