Tuesday, October 23, 2018

MAKING BREAD







My wife and I have been making our on bred for thirty-five years.  We have gone through numerous bread machines, but years ago settled on the Breadman Ultimate.
 

Our fall back recipe, the one we make the most, is wheat germ bread.   It has a great consistency, easy to slice and is delicious toasted.


Wheat Germ Bread
  • 1 cup Buttermilk (we use the powdered buttermilk available in the baking isle of the supermarket.)
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 cups of all-purpose flour (we don’t use bread flour.)
  • ½ cup if wheat germ
  • 1 ½ tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 3 tablespoons of butter (not margarine.)
  • 1 teaspoon of yeast 


The buttermilk and egg mixture goes in first, then the dry ingredients: the sugar on one side of the bread pan and the salt on the other.   The yeast goes in last in the middle of the dry ingredients. 


An hour and a half before the bread is done (just before the final kneed) we take out the dough and remove the paddle, then place the dough back into the machine for the final rise and baking.  This way you do not end up with a hole in your bread from having to remove the paddle after baking.


Note:
You have to bake a few breads to discover the best consistency of dough.  The biggest mistake most new bakers make is adding too much water and ending up with a wet, sticky dough.   If you measure carefully you should get the right dough.  If I still see flour in the bottom of the pan during the first kneed I will add 1 tablespoon of water – only one!
Better the dough be a little dry than too wet.


Homemade bread is a simple pleasure
the Ol’Buzzard

6 comments:

  1. I'm going to have to try this when I get a kitchen with enough room for my bread machine... thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I tried your "pull the paddle" tip the last time you mentioned it & was sorry I didn't think of that years ago!

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  2. We still do it old school, although the S.O. uses a stand mixer with a dough hook more than he used to. He likes making sourdough bread. He's nicer to his starter than he is to most people we know.

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    Replies
    1. I use the stand mixer ONE time and now I'm using it more than I used to? As for being nicer to the starter I feed it when I remember every three/four weeks or so.

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  3. I always make my own bread the old fashioned way. It's something of a physical therapy thing for me, kneading the dough and baking it in the oven. It also gives me pride in my work. I f**king love baking!

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  4. Mmmm, nothing makes a house smell more delicious than baking bread! And hey, there's such a thing as powdered buttermilk? I must find some! Every time I make a recipe with buttermilk, I always end up with leftover buttermilk in the carton that I don't know what to do with! Powdered would solve that.

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