ATTENTION BREAD BAKERS!!!

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Well....maybe next time...it was still a dense loaf :sad:. Thanks for rootin' for me y'all :smile: I think I need to learn a little more before I tackle this again.
 

Wart

Banned
... American Test Kitchen ... This particular bread begins around the 14 minute mark. The whole video is wonderful and and a great learning tool. Unfortunately, I've not been able to fast forward to the multigrain bread but the whole video is good if you have 22 minutes to watch it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/burn1cesharpe/ATKRollsAndLoaves#5454222156213267490


Thanks for the vid, I may give this type a shot.

Did you see how they treated their KA? Damn! If Kitchen Aid saw that the warranty would be voided.

The slowest they ran the mixer was setting 3. All literature and stickers state explicitly to use ONLY setting 2 when kneading bread. Run the mixer faster and it over strains the machine, run the machine on setting 1 and the motor does not spin fast enough for the fan to move enough air to keep the machine 'cool'.

The important thing mentioned in that video was the autolyse.

I was making white bread last night, unbleached Bobs for the sponge (pre-ferment?), KA bread for the remainder. After a 30 minute autolyse the bread just didn't want to 'knead'. No smooth 'baby butt' there.

However after the first rising kneaded out just fine. Smooth, elastic and springy.

//

On the whole wheat flour, have you considered using White Whole Wheat?

I use whole wheat as a preferment, and white whole wheat and bread flour for the balance.

And, Honey is hostile to yeast. The rawer the honey the more hostile it is.

And finally, for now, If you're going to make yeast breads buy your yeast by the pound.

Red Star can be had for $4.99 for two pounds at GFS, SAF is $3 for a single pound. Compare that with whatever you're paying fr those little packets. Or even what is paid for the tiny jars of yeast at the grocers.

I get SAF yeast because its easier to handle single pound bricks than it is to handle two pound bricks. Well, their bricks till the vacuum is broken. Then they become sacks of grain yeast which needs stored in an air tight vessel or bag in the freezer or fridge.

If you get a two pound brick you WILL have jars of the stuff in the freezer.

I can't imagine going back to packets of yeast. When you start buying yeast by the pound you stop thinking in terms of 'packets' and start thinking in terms of how much yeast you actually want to use.

If you're thinking that you wont go through a pound of yeast before it 'expires', well, yeast kept in the freezer will outlive all of us.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Thanks Wart. You know, I didn't notice that they were using the KA on speed 3. I only used speed 2 so maybe my problem is not kneading it long enough. THANK YOU for pointing that out. I think I'm gonna try this recipe one more time in the next couple of weeks. I'm gonna try cutting the recipe in half and making it in the bred machine and see if THAT makes a difference.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Okay....here we go. I made a couple of adjustments. I cut the recipe in half. I increased the honey to 1/4 cup. I used 2 1/2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast and I also added 1 Tablespoon of Vital Wheat Gluten. I put it in the bread machine on the dough cycle. It's running now. Wish me luck!
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Okay....here we go. I made a couple of adjustments. I cut the recipe in half. I increased the honey to 1/4 cup. I used 2 1/2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast and I also added 1 Tablespoon of Vital Wheat Gluten. I put it in the bread machine on the dough cycle. It's running now. Wish me luck!
Good luck Mama!!

My mom and aunts never used/use Vital Wheat Gluten is it really necessary? Just wondering. Also I use bread machine yeast all the time (I like to measure it) and I don't use a bread machine. Is there a big difference in the bottle/bread machine and the envelope? I really don't see any myself.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
I actually think that the bread machine yeast works better than the rapid rise. As for the vital wheat gluten. I have noticed a considerable difference when using it for the honey wheat bread. It seems to give the wheat bread that cottony texture that I'm looking for.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
uhmmm, for bakers there's fresh yeast (aka "cake" - kept refrigerated)
then there's 'active dry yeast' - that's the stuff that's been around for centuries
then there's "instant yeast"

the 'instant' stuff is processed differently allowing it to 'come back to life' faster

instant, rapid rise, fast rise, bread machine, etc are all the same thing, just the marketing mumbo jumbo varies.

vital wheat gluten - good call. "whole wheat" has proportionally less gluten than the more refined white cousins. whole grain loaves can be more bricks than loaves - and adding "gluten" does help it retain the rise.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Well, the texture of this loaf turned out much better. I still need to make a little more adjustments to the recipe but this was definitely better :clap:
 

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lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Well, the texture of this loaf turned out much better. I still need to make a little more adjustments to the recipe but this was definitely better :clap:
That looks awesome!! OK when you are happy with it I would love the final recipe. I hope you are keeping track of the amounts. LOL
 

MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
It looks nice and soft and moist, Mama. Surely, those are two of the qualities you were aiming for. I've thought about giving you the recipe I use for nice soft wheat bread, but it surely will not work the same for you as it does for me. Being right at sea level, the salt air from the bay, the warmth and the humidity - all of those unique factors combine to produce the best bread I've ever made. AND, it is better in summer than it is in winter.

If you want it, though - it's an old KitchenAid recipe for making bread in your KA mixer, let me know and I'll either post it or send it to you.

Hmmmm - I think I'll make some bread tomorrow! I have a new freezer (hooray!) and now I can stock up a bit better.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
It looks nice and soft and moist, Mama. Surely, those are two of the qualities you were aiming for. I've thought about giving you the recipe I use for nice soft wheat bread, but it surely will not work the same for you as it does for me. Being right at sea level, the salt air from the bay, the warmth and the humidity - all of those unique factors combine to produce the best bread I've ever made. AND, it is better in summer than it is in winter.

If you want it, though - it's an old KitchenAid recipe for making bread in your KA mixer, let me know and I'll either post it or send it to you.

Hmmmm - I think I'll make some bread tomorrow! I have a new freezer (hooray!) and now I can stock up a bit better.
Karen I would love to see your recipe also.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Congratulations on the new freezer! What kind did you get?

The bread was indeed soft and moist. The loaf was a little oddly shaped that's why I didn't take any pics of the whole loaf :lol:

I'd love your recipe for wheat bread. The honey wheat that I've been making lately is wonderful but you can never have too many good bread recipes. I think I just keep coming back to this one because it is such a challenge and I LOVE a challenge. It's kind of a PITA to make and once I conquer it, I'll probably never make it again :lol:
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
Sounds like you're getting what you want from your bread. As I have developed a particular bread formula, I continually make notes on ingredient amounts, and when it's dialed in to OUR particular tastes, I finalize the formula by weight so it's repeatable. As pointed out before, baking without following a formula by weight is nothing more than an experiment each time because environmental conditions are constantly changing and ingredients weigh differently each time they are measured by volume. Granted, Grandma probably did not have a scale, but she made bread so often she just KNEW when the dough was right and knew when to add more water or flour, but the professional bakers have always used weight measurement to maintain repeatability of a formula for their customers. If every time you bought a loaf of bread it had a different crust or crumb, you would find another bread source who's bread was the same time after time. Keep plugging away, I can hardly wait till you decide to make baguettes...talk about easy...great for dinner parties.

P1020447-1.jpg
 

MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
Thanks, Mama - I am thrilled with my new little freezer. It's just a small chest freezer (Frigidaire). I got it on sale, so I was very pleased...even after I bought my new refrigerator a few months ago, with the bottom drawer freezer, I didn't have enough freezer space. Now I can bake bread and stock up, and also take advantage of mango season (I've got mangoes freezing in there as I write this.)

I posted my honey oatmeal bread recipe here

I didn't post a picture, but I'm going to make some tomorrow (hopefully) and will post it then. We DO have a hurricane on our doorstep, and that may change my plans...
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
:ohmy: Stay safe!

I think I've made that bread before back when I first got my latest KA. If it's the one I'm thinking about, it is indeed a wonderful bread. I had forgotten all about it..thanks for the recipe and the reminder!

Those are beautiful Joe! I'll have to try my hand at those soon!
 

MexicoKaren

Joyfully Retired
Super Site Supporter
Thanks, Mama - we are hunkered down. Hurricane Beatriz should reach us sometime tomorrow.
 
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