Bread baking

[graysalchemy]

I was merely justifying spending £9 on a piece of equipment which would make probably more of an appreciable difference to a loaf of bread, than a herms or a conical would to beer.

I agree though a tandoori oven to bake a few naans would be a complete and utter waste in time effort and energy.

:thumb: :thumb:

 

[mike383838]

Hey that's not fair, That Nan was absolutely Delish. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

[graysalchemy]

:lol: :lol:

I must say that if i am baking now i make sure I am using the oven for something else as well and bake two loaves, seems a little less wasteful :thumb:

Having said that as JP says making beer is very wasteful energy wise. I tried to square that one by using all the hot water from wort cooling to get another mash on which i did, but then i realised i would have to brew everyday to justify it and that just wouldn't be practical :lol: :lol:

 

[Baz Chaz]

Tried a new bread recipe today ...........

Beer and bacon bread :thumb:

and it was very tasty indeed ......

• ½ Onion, peeled & chopped fry until soft but not coloured
•3 slices Bacon, dicedcooked and cooled
•320ml Beer, flat
•500g Strong Brown Flour
•1½tsp Fast Action Dried Yeast
•1½tsp Salt
•2 tsp Sugar
•1 tbsp Milk Powder
•1 tbsp Mustard
. 20g olive oil

 

[PD]

Tss been doing that for years

Recipe...
flour water and yeast made into loaf 2 slices thereof
3 rashers of bacon lightly grilled both sides
drape bacon over one slice
place other slice on top
Cut cleanly in two halves


you may add flavourings of your choice before replacing 2nd slice....



:lol: :lol:

 

[Windy]

Having said that as JP says making beer is very wasteful energy wise. I tried to square that one by using all the hot water from wort cooling to get another mash on which i did, but then i realised i would have to brew everyday to justify it and that just wouldn't be practical :lol: :lol:

And I thought it was very green with everybody using "Solar Pumps" :?

 

[graysalchemy]

Having said that as JP says making beer is very wasteful energy wise. I tried to square that one by using all the hot water from wort cooling to get another mash on which i did, but then i realised i would have to brew everyday to justify it and that just wouldn't be practical :lol: :lol:

And I thought it was very green with everybody using "Solar Pumps" :?

Not unless your kettles are connected to a wind farm or powered by bio gas :lol:

 

[Windy]

Having said that as JP says making beer is very wasteful energy wise. I tried to square that one by using all the hot water from wort cooling to get another mash on which i did, but then i realised i would have to brew everyday to justify it and that just wouldn't be practical :lol: :lol:

And I thought it was very green with everybody using "Solar Pumps" :?

Not unless your kettles are connected to a wind farm or powered by bio gas :lol:

Well as I write this 7.1 percent of UK electricity consumed is coming from UK wind farms with another 3.5 percent from hydro electric sources and over the last 24 hours wind has averaged 7.8 percent :)

 

[graysalchemy]

Still not enough though.

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

Shame really as its been blowing a gale here all day

 

[Windy]

Shame really as its been blowing a gale here all day

Maybe that is why the wind figure has now reached 9.8% with a 24 hour average of 9.3%

If people didn't keep objecting to wind turbines and preventing them getting planing permission then it could have been a lot higher!

... so my new loaf in the morning will be 10% green :mrgreen:

 

[graysalchemy]

And countless less food miles for baking it yourself. :thumb:

 

[Windy]

And countless less food miles for baking it yourself. :thumb:

Well it got up to 12% wind power last night when the coal power stations went to sleep and left the job to the wind, although by the time the overnight loaf started to actually bake they would have been waking up again.

As for the food miles, one of the main reasons I use the bread machine is that I don't have to go to the shops every few days to get fresh bread, only when fresh milk is needed, which means less than half the trips - a good saving in fuel and time.

 

[Baz Chaz]

......... If people didn't keep objecting to wind turbines and preventing them getting planing permission then it could have been a lot higher!

People want to try living near them, they'd soon change their mind, lets stick to the topic of bread baking eh :!:

The beer and bacon bread that I put up the other day has a problem :?

It doesn't last very long :lol: it's delicious toasted as well :thumb:

Think todays bread is going to be ..... cheese and onion loaf :idea:

Beer and bacon bread :thumb:
• ½ Onion, peeled & chopped fry until soft but not coloured
•3 slices Bacon, dicedcooked and cooled
•320ml Beer, flat
•500g Strong Brown Flour
•1½tsp Fast Action Dried Yeast
•1½tsp Salt
•2 tsp Sugar
•1 tbsp Milk Powder
•1 tbsp Mustard
. 20g olive oil

 

[evanvine]

How come the recipe books tell you to bake bread at 200C for 30 mins?
My bread always came out a very dark brown!
Have great success at 140C for 30 mins + steam.

 

[LeithR]

I can strongly recommend taking a balanced approach. My American wife of 32 years introduced me to Sourdough bread, pancakes, American Biscuits as in Sausage and Biscuits (they are like scones and work great as cheese scones) - I think Andrew Jackson was president at the time??!!

. Basically, Sourdough is a mixture of water and flour and uses wild yeasts to create the fermenting medium. There is no need to invest in a Bread maker, they tend to be overlooked once you or SWMBO has developed the confidence to leave it in the back of the cupboard and getting on with just making Bread.

Here's a link to how to get started with Sourdough bread making:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/br ... dough.html

Good luck with your efforts, Remember - if at first you don't succeed - don't give up!! It takes a couple of goes to perfect something which could stay with you and the rest of your family the rest of your days - my kids are now asking for some of Mum's sourdough starter. That's part of the beauty of a Sourdough starter, you can share it from Fridge to Fridge.

My 2 passions are Breads and Beer, they go together like the proverbial Horse and Cart.

 

[graysalchemy]

I got this for Christmas

Not a bad book for sourdough, loads of recipes and some interesting info on soughdough cultures about how temps effect the taste of the bread. Keeping my culture tucked up at 21c now.

:lol: :lol:

Hopefully post some picture again at the weekend.

 

[evanvine]

OK. So no comment on 140C!

 

[graysalchemy]

I now bake at gas mark 8 with steam for 1 hr or until the bottoms are hollow. I was baking higher but the crusts were getting to hard, so I bake a little bit lower and plenty of steam. Steam makes for a chewy crust.

If you are baking free form then a granite stone is a great investment. I got a chopping board for £9 from asda. I bung it in the oven for 20 mins at gas 8 then put the bread in.

:thumb:

 

[evanvine]

Thanks GA!
I now use a flexible silicon bread "tin", the loaf just drops out.