WHEN IT’S BROWN IT’S COOKING – WHEN IT’S BLACK IT’S DONE

 

 

If I am making toast out of store-bought bread, I like it burnt, otherwise, to me, it is tasteless.

 

I knew an old man in Newfoundland who lived around the bay.   His wife made homemade bread almost every day.  He called the store-bought bread Bakers Fog.  

 

My wife and I started making homemade bread in a bread machine in 1985 while we were teaching in a Native village 150 miles north of Fairbanks.   It was a six-hour drive on a single lane road across the tundra, if the weather was good.  It was a potentially dangerous trip at the best of times.

 

Our first machine was made by DAK and looked like the R-2 D-2 robot in the early Star Wars movies.  

 

After that the Breadman was our choice of bread machine; but their quality went to crap along with a collapsible paddle that would pop lose during the breadmaking process.   We have even tried the expensive Swedish, two paddle machine which turned out inconsistent quality.   We now have a Cuisinart and I am extremely pleased with it.  (I like most Cuisinart products, but their toaster sux).

 

Bread making is so easy and the quality of bread is so good, I don’t know why most people don’t own a bread machine.

 

I think people that have tried bread machines, but found them inadequate, probably tried artisan and sourdough breads before mastering the basic white bread.  They ended up with doughy or grainy or just bad tasting results.   It is like signing up for karate classes and then jumping into a cage with a mixed martial arts fighter.   

 

The basic white bread recipe is easy:

1 1/8 cup of water

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp of sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

In that order.  Exact measurements of flour, olive oil and water are critical.  Many recipes call for more than one teaspoon of yeast – but I have never found it necessary.

 

The next step is optional:  The Cuisinart beeps after the final kneed.  At that time, I pause the machine, remove the bread pan, dump the dough onto a floured surface, remove the paddle, reshape the dough and return it to the pan and the bread machine.   Otherwise, the paddle gets baked into the base of the bread and you end up with a hole in the bread when you removing the paddle. 

 

I let my bread sit for about four hours before sealing it in a plastic storage bag.  I let the bread sit on the counter overnight before slicing.

 

The hardest part of the whole process is slicing.  I have ended up with a bamboo bread slicing gismo that I like; but it has taken me many loafs of bread before becoming proficient.   

Just like karate, you need to practice.

 

You can not beat the taste of toast made with homemade white bread.

 

Did I run and

And am I tired?

the Ol’Buzzard

 

 

 

 

A BLUE MOON IN MY EYES

Woke up this morning, a blue moon in my eyes:  headache – BC Powder – writing a blog post.  

Finally, shake the headache and get the munchies.  

I once knew a man in Newfoundland that wouldn't eat bought bread; he called it baker’s fog.    I understand his prejudice: there is nothing like a slice of crisply toasted homemade bread slathered in butter.

My wife and I have been making bread in a bread maker since the mid 1980’s.   We still buy ‘baker’s fog’ on occasion; but our preference is for our own homemade bread.

 

Here is our favorite recipe:

One cup of milk – warm or room temperature

One half cup of water

Three cups of all-purpose flour

One cup of stone-ground wheat flour

One and a half teaspoons of salt

Two teaspoons of sugar

Two tablespoons of butter

One teaspoon of yeast

Pretty simple…

For those that haven’t made bread in a bread machine:

After the mixing begins check the bread pan – if ingredients are not forming a ball add one table spoon of water.   Wait two minutes and check again: add another tablespoon of water if needed (careful - the tendency is to add too much water and the dough becomes sticky.)

So this morning it is a cup of strong sweet tea and homemade toast - well done (if it is brown it is cooking if it is black it is done)- slathered in I Can’t Believe It Is Not Butter. 

Have a Good Morning:

the Ol’Buzzard