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

 

 

 

 

BREAD RECIPE

My wife and I have been making our own bread since 1985 when we taught in an Athabaskan Indian village in remote Alaska.   There was no store in the village so commercial bread was not readily available.   My wife was teaching kindergarten, first and second grades, and I had the easier job of third, fourth, fifth and six.   All of our time was spent either teaching or planning lessons so there was no time to become bread bakers.

 

That year we bought our first bread maker that looked similar to the R2D2 robot on Star Wars and produced a cylindrical loaf. 

Since that time, we have always made our bread with bread machines. 

This is my favorite bread recipe: 

1 cup of milk

3 tablespoons of water

1 ½ cups of white all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups of whole wheat stone ground flour

4 teaspoons of sugar

¾ teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of butter

1 teaspoon of yeast

If you measure carefully the bread comes out perfect almost every time.   Just before the last rising we remove the dough, remove the paddle, lightly kneed and shape into a ball and return the dough to the bread machine for the final rise and bake.   We find the 1 ½ pound recipes give a better consistency bread than the 2 pound recipes. 

We have had numerous bread machines.  The worst one was a terribly expensive, two paddle machine made in Sweden – the bread came out lousy.   The one we like the best is the Bread Machine Ultra that cost about $90 on line. 

 

We have made breads, cakes, pizza dough and rolls with our machine – the machine does most of the work.

My favorite bread machine recipe book is: Bread Machines and Beyond by Jenny Shapter, my next favorite is Better Homes and Gardens Bread Machine Cook Book.   I like the first one best because it has pictures – I like pictures

Enjoy some fresh bread

the Ol’Buzzard