A first time for everything

[ksmith]

I baked my first loaf of bread today.



I went to a new grocery store this morning, which to my surprise carried King Arthur white whole wheat and bread flours in addition to the usual all-purpose, and at a really great price. I had been pondering bread baking for a while, and when I spotted the bread flour, I decided oh what the hell and bought some yeast, too. I had planned on working in the yard when I got home, but it was so danged hot that I had to stay in. Hence, the bread experiment.

I hunted through the King Arthur website for recipes, and finally found an oatmeal sandwich bread that didn't require one of their special baking ingredients (dry milk, yeast booster, etc). I read the comments, and saw that some folks had substituted as much as 2/3 of the bread flour with white whole wheat flour. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have experimented with my very first loaf, but I've gotten away from straight white bread over the last few years, and wanted to inject a little fiber. I used my stand mixer with the dough hook, and followed all the instructions. Set it outside to rise because the temp was in the mid-80s.

Ta-da:


It looks nothing like the light, airy stuff in the KA website picture. It's dense but light, if that makes sense. Not dry at all. Very small crumb. It's tasty. I had it buttered with my luncheon salmon salad and toasted w/ marmalade just now. But it's like one of those misshapen loaves of artisan bread that you ponder at a farmers market. Slices aren't big enough for sandwiches, which is a shame because it would go well with ham or poultry. I may try it anyway. I think it would make nice rolls.

I'd like to make it again, but I think I'd back off the white w/w to 1 cup instead of 2.

By the time I took the bread out of the oven, the temp had dropped. So I worked outside for a while. Trimmed hedges and shrubs. Watered. Pulled the pathetic little purple bell pepper seedling, which wasn't going anywhere, and moved the cubanelle pepper in its place. The warm temps over the last week have worked wonders on the tomatoes and lettuces. The broccoli raab is almost tall enough to thin.

In closing, allow me to introduce you to the Indestructible Chive, which has some of the prettiest flowers I've ever seen.

Comments

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that looks yummy!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

It is good. Just not what I expected.

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Isn't that a wonderful feeling, the first time you take a loaf of your very own bread out of the oven? mmmMMMmmm - nothing better!

You didn't ask for advice so ignore this if you like: From my decades of bread baking, some notions:

Bread dough behaves differently according to local climate and immediate temperature and humidity. After you've made the same recipe several times, you might notice that it's drier on some days, and moister on others. It will *feel* different to the hand. Feel free to experiment with adding a bit more water, or a bit more flour, and see what happens. Even if it were possible to *exactly* duplicate all of your amounts of ingredients, the dough can change from one day to the next.

The only things you probably can't get by with fiddling with are the basic ingredients (and then, you could adjust the amounts to see what happens): water/milk/other liquid, flour, yeast. A bit of sugar, even in the savory loaf, helps the crust to brown. But it can be white granulated, brown, molasses, even maple syrup, if you like. The fat part can be oil or lard or vegetable shortening, or none at all (as in French bread).

You can add in any one or combination of enhancements: sunflowers, whole oats or wheatberries, flaxseed (might want to spin that in a hand-grinder a few whirls first), buckwheat, just about anything you can name.

The most wonderful bread book I own is an oldie: Dolores Castella's Bread Book. I finally tracked a copy down online. It's from the late 60s or early 70s and it's as much fun to read as it is to bake from. She wrote a second one, A World of Breads, and it's available if you hunt for it, too.

It's a lot like painting a picture! Congrats again and I wonder if there's any left of that first loaf already...lol

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's plenty left, as I'm the only one eating it so far. About 3/4 left. I'll probably have some for dessert tonight with coffee. It veers from savory to sweet pretty readily.

I appreciate the advice. I wondered if I needed to knead it more or less given the change in flour. I know from cake/cookie experience that the white w/w flour soaks up liquid, so perhaps I should have added a little more? The commenter who discussed the substitution didn't mention additional liquid, but you can assume, I think, that an experienced baker may leave out details b/c they assume everyone knows them.

I missed the yeasty aroma. It didn't smell like "baking bread" for some reason. I used brand new yeast, and dissolved it ahead of time in lukewarm milk before adding it to the mix. Again, maybe the flour?

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

And I see I misspelled the author's name; It's Dolores Casella.

[seachanges.livejournal.com]

This is all excellent advice!

I've been experimenting with baking over the last few months because I've developed allergies to the preservatives found in most pre-packaged things. At this point, if I want baked goods, I have to make them myself.

Varying the amount of liquids was the first thing I learned. Florida can be very humid, so the amount of water needed changes depending on how damp the air is. I also learned that you really can't skimp on the kneading, no matter how tired your hands get. First time I made kaiser rolls, I didn't knead them long enough, so they came out dense and kind of chewy. But. I've gotten the hang of it now, and the burger buns (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/beautiful-burger-buns-recipe) I made this week were soft and fluffy.

The thing I still have trouble with is shaping the dough, especially with things like rolls and buns. They taste great, but they tend to look a bit misshapen. I'm sure there's a trick to it I just haven't learned yet.

I haven't experimented much with substitutions because of the allergies. Butter, salt, eggs, sugar ... these are all things I know I can eat with no ill effects. And let me tell you, that first loaf of sandwich bread after weeks without? Absolute heaven. &hearts

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

Kneading - assuming you're doing it by hand, which is IMO the best way because it's 1) therapy and 2) the only way to know when it's ready to rise - isn't a rigorous science (heh). You want a cohesive mass that's still responsive and slightly springy to the handling. If it's sticky, or conversely, starts feeling like an inert lump of clay, you may want to sprinkle a little flour on the board or add a little moisture, respectively. it all takes experience, that's the fun part.

As for the yeasty aroma, I don't know. I certainly love it myself, of course, but I never included that mentally as one of my primary goals...lol. While you're soaking the yeast in milk or water, you could sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over it, give it a little kickstart...

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I used my stand mixer to knead. Maybe that was a mistake.

But I think the major issue was the white w/w flour. That dough came together way too fast, and the flour just soaked up the liquid.

[nlbarber]

I bake at least one loaf of bread every week (the Friday night challah for my sister-in-law) and sometimes more--right now I'm in a group baking through Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice--and I almost never hand-knead. My KitchenAid does all the work. I know there's that large group of bakers who feel hand kneading is essential to bread making, but I just want the bread, and found hand kneading to be messy and tiring and (probably) I didn't knead long enough anyway. Unless you have a deep desire for the experience, I say stick with the stand mixer.

I also have a great book of food-processor breads, if you have a full-size and fairly full powered food processor. It's out of print but used copies are out there: http://www.amazon.com/Food-Processor-Way-Beautiful-Breads/dp/B0006XER3W

Oh, and on this loaf specifically: I do think you probably needed more water to counteract the white w/w flour, and maybe a tablespoon of "vital wheat gluten" as w/w has less gluten than AP flour. Learning when a dough looks too dry is just one of those experience things.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info--I know KA sells that stuff. It's probably in stores as well.

I do have a full-size fp. Thanks for the tip!

[nlbarber]

I can find the gluten at my local Publix, in the baking section. Or sometimes in the natural foods area where the Bob's Red Mill stuff is, though the brand I have now is Hodgson Mill.