Baking Bread

I've never been fearful in the kitchen, I cut my teeth on Julia Child's "The Art of French Cooking", however,  baking bread scared me. Bread dough seemed so mercurial, proof the yeast, knead the dough, watch the humidity. The process of making the dough consumed an entire day: punch the dough down, let it rest, set in a warm place to rise for 2 hours then repeat the process.

The result after hours of work and being tied to the house did not appeal to me; just one loaf of bread, maybe two. If I slaved in the kitchen multiple hours then I expected something more filling, like pot au feu, and awe inspiring, like caramel cake with a hazelnut dacquoise and Italian meringue. Then I purchased a bread machine and the process was demystified. Now everyday is fresh bread day at my house.

 You will find a variety of machines on the market. When I bought my first machine it made vertical loaves that insulted my sense of how bread should look. By the time I was ready to upgrade I knew enough about bread machines to make a more intelligent decision. Fortunately, the bread machine market had improved to offer better machines with usable features. My second bread machine came from Zojirushi. I consider it the king of bread machines because of its versatility and smart design. Here's what I like about it:

• Horizontal loaf up to a 2 lb loaf of bread
• Wheat and white cycle
• Personalized cycle
• Dough cycle, 2 hours
• Quick dough cycle, 45 minutes
• Beeps when it is time to add things to the dough (raisins, sun dried tomatoes, seeds, herbs)
• Timer for delayed start (best feature ever!)

Basic Wheat Bread
If you are using a bread machine add the following ingredients in the order given to the bread pan. If you are daring and want to make this recipe in a mixer you have to follow a different order. (That's right, I didn't tell you how to do it in a mixer because I think you're nuts to try it.)

• 1 1/2 cup water (not cold or hot!)*
• 3 tblsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 3 cups of bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 1/3 cup of wheat flour
• 1/3 cup of gluten**
• 2 1/2 tsp yeast

1. Add the first 7 ingredients to the bread pan in the order given building a mound in the water.
2. Make a well in the gluten and put the yeast in the well.



The dough is ready!

3. Set your bread cycle and go do something!

 

 Not Your Average White Bread
I add flax seed to my white bread for an healthy touch. Flax seed is flavorless and packs a lot of fiber.

• 1 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tbslp sugar
• 2 tblsp. butter, room temperature and cut into bits
• 1/4 dry milk powder
• 4 1/2 cups of bread flour
• 2 tsp flax seed



Dough on the board ready to be shaped

• 3 tblsp yeast

1. Add the first 5 ingredients to the bread pan in the order given.
2. Add two cups of the flour then place the flax seed in the middle of the flour.
3. Add the remaining flour and the yeast.
4. Set the bread cycle for white bread or dough.



Dough cut into mini rolls