Thursday 19 April 2012

Today's Appreciation: Fresh Baked Bread

I bake all our family's Bread and Buns from scratch.  I have been doing this for over a year and a half and would likely choke on a piece of "store bought bread" because of the change in taste. 

We have adjusted to our homemade baked food to the point that it is now difficult to even look at the bread aisle in our local grocery store.  This goes for cakes, muffins and pastries as well.  Interestingly enough, while at a neighbour's home, I opened up a package of store bought bread and it took my breath away.  It smelled like a cross between vinegar and formaldehyde. 

I was prompted to write this post after meeting with a neighbour this morning who wanted to make her own homemade bread, however, had difficulties kneading dough for any period of time.  While speaking with her, I remembered an older Bread Machine that I had in my garage.  Today, I gifted the machine to her and walked her through how to use the machine on the dough cycle - this would do the kneading quite nicely.

I look forward to hearing of her breadmaking adventures as her skills evolve - I get excited about this kind of stuff.  Plus, it makes me feel good to help someone else learn new sustainable skills.

I do have to admit that breadmaking is somewhat of a skill.  In the beginning, I remember baking loaves that could have been used only by a brick layer, however I was determined and it has paid off.  I have also mastered the art of making Sourdough Bread which I will be describing shortly in one of my posts.  There are a lot of tricks with making sourdough that you won't always find online - it's all trial and error.


Here's a super easy recipe that we use for our Daily Bread.  You can make it either by hand or by using a Bread Maker.  We like to bake our bread at a lower temperature if baking in the oven as it helps to ensure that our bread is cooked all the way through and is golden - without burning the outer crust.

White Bread Recipe (1 lb loaf)

1 cup of lukewarm water
1 tbsp. oil (butter or margerine will also do)
2 cups of white flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. traditional yeast
1 tsp. salt

For Bread Machines: 
Put all of the ingredients in breadmaker in the order given.  Set machine for "light" and 1 or 1 1/2 pound loaf.

By Hand:
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in water.  Add remaining ingredients and knead for 10 minutes.  Place dough into a large and lightly oiled bowl.  Turn the dough to ensure that it is lightly coated in oil.  Place a teatowel over the bowl and let rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.  Punch down, then form into a loaf and place into a lightly greased loaf pan.  Cover again with a tea towel and let rise for another hour. 
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Voila!  Don't forget the butter!

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