I've attempted to write a weekly schedule of things to do around home that gives one or two tasks to complete each day of the week. Wednesdays, for example, are bread baking days, Thursdays are "wash the bedding" days, and Fridays are deep clean the bathroom days. This is just to spread out housework so that I don't get overwhelmed with doing EVERYTHING in one day - which is usually the case. It doesn't mean that I avoid general house upkeep the other days. It's a way for me to ensure that housekeeping is a priority around here.
This week has not followed the schedule yet, but I plan on taking it up next week. So, instead of baking bread yesterday like I intend to in the future, I'm baking it today.
The recipe that I'm using today is simply the tastiest bread I've ever made. Caution: it does contain white flour. Contrary to popular belief, white flour is not the devil. Just putting that out there. However, this bread does hold some redemptive qualities for those who aren't quite convinced. It contains other goodies: corn meal, rye flour, and whole wheat flour. The resulting bread is nice and fluffy and just plain tasty.
What I want to do is give beginners a tutorial on how to make bread. If you're like me, you've built up Those Women Who Make Their Own Bread on a bit of a pedestal - such creatures surely must not be earthly beings! If you're like me, you're daunted by phrases such as "proof dough for XX minutes" and "add enough flour to make it such and such". And, if you're like me, you do not own a standing mixer (or perhaps you did, but quickly realized how it didn't fit your small house/felt bad about how much it cost/realized what you should have spent the money on was a crib and mattress/got it out of the box and found that it didn't work).
So, never fear, kindred spirits! I give you this step by step tutorial on how to make Tasty Bread That Doesn't Turn Your Hair White In The Process...
...alternately entitled Homemade Bread for Dummies. Please feel free to stop reading if you are one of those aforementioned heavenly women who's been baking since she was 18 months old. ;)
Some quick pointers to keep you sane:
- put your white flour (or the flour you use the most) in an air-tight container and keep a 1 cup scoop in it at all times. Seriously. It will come in handy.
- reuse measuring cups as often as possible. Dry ingredients don't really dirty the cup, and as long as you're pouring the ingredients into the measuring cup, you can reuse it as many times as you like - just leave the sticky things until the end and rinse/dry out cup after measuring wet ingredients.
- put away ingredients as you finish using them. It keeps your working space pleasing to the eye and makes the whole process of bread making seem like much less of an ordeal.
- test drive different utensils for mixing. For the beginning processes of making dough, I like to use a whisk to ensure that my base is thoroughly mixed. As I add flour, however, I switch to a spoon. Wooden spoons are great, but I find they stick to dough too much and don't have enough of a curve to them. Right now I'm using a plastic spoon with a metal handle that has a nice bend to it - more than your standard stirring-a-pot spoon, but less than a soup ladle. It's important that you have a spoon that will not break under pressure (hence the metal handle).
- rinse/soak any utensils/dishes you are done with as soon as you're done with them. Again, less clutter and less to clean up = a better baking experience.
- one package of yeast = 2 1/4 teaspoons. Honestly, you need to know this. Often jars will tell you, but it stinks to be well into the recipe and realize that you don't know what "one package" means.
- INSTANT YEAST IS NOT THE SAME AS DRY YEAST. Dry yeast takes time to soak in warm water before it becomes active. Instant yeast is mixed in with the dry ingredients and will activate as soon as you've added warm water to the entire mixture. Sometimes recipes will specify dry yeast when you only have instant yeast. All it takes to remedy that hiccup is a little re-ordering of mixing and a little ignoring of instructions. But I'll show you how that's done later.
- oven temperatures vary, so don't go using an oven you are unfamiliar with. Some cook hotter, some less. I'm fortunate to have a (beastly green) oven that cooks at exactly what it says it does. It may not be purdy, but it's my buddy.
- know exactly what the recipe requires before you go at it. I think that's pretty self-explanatory.
adapted from More-with-Less
Add yeast to cornmeal mixture.
4 1/4 - 4 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size. Punch dough down; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half and knead a second time for 3 minutes. Shape dough into 2 loaves and place in greased pans. Cover and let rise again in warm place until double in bulk. Bake at 375 about 45 minutes.
That's the recipe straight out of the book. Because I use instant yeast and am interested in reducing dishes whenever I can, here is how I rework the recipe (the highlighted bits are what I've changed/added):
Combine in a medium sized bowl:
Gradually pour into bowl:
2 1/2 c. boiling (or *just*-was-boiling) water
1/4 c. oil (any sort will do - I chose extra virgin olive oil)
Add yeast to cornmeal mixture.
In a separate (large) bowl, combine:
Once the cornmeal mixture has cooled so that it is warm but not hot to the touch, whisk it into flour mixture.
4 1/4 - 4 1/2 c. unbleached white flour, adding a cup or two at a time. I will generally add about 4 cups, then plop it out for kneading. I add the remaining 1/4 - 1/2 c flour as I need it.
Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic - at least 5 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface (I use the original mixing bowl and nix the greasing). Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size. Punch dough down; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead a second time for 3 minutes. Divide dough in half. Shape dough into 2 loaves* and place in greased pans. Preheat the oven to 375 while you cover the dough and let it rise again in warm place until double in bulk. Bake for about 45 minutes. Pop loaves out of pans almost as soon as they are taken out and let them cool down fully on wire racks before bagging them.
*Shaping isn't hard. I take the dough, flatten it out as best as I can into a rectangular shape, roll it hot-dog wise, and tuck down the edges so the loaf is nice and rounded and doesn't have a mysterious swirl at the ends.
And there you have it! I hope that's a clear as mud and makes you want to get out there and start making delicious homemade bread. I find it to be a very enjoyable task - lots of time to take breaks, the satisfaction of seeing dough rise, and the smell of baking bread permeating the house.
There's nothing left for you to do now but go and get your baking on!
