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More easy bread recipes

Postby Pepper Pig » Sun May 17, 2020 11:29 am


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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby Sakkarin » Sun May 17, 2020 1:52 pm

Very wordy intro to an article that is about "easy" breads! Buying a bread book is like joining a gym?

What on earth is that yellow thing with a green knife sticking in it in two of the photos? Looks too dark for butter, even for most cheeses, and a bit too scruffy a clump of whatever it is for a celebrity baker.

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby Pepper Pig » Sun May 17, 2020 1:57 pm

This is Dan Lepard. That’s what he’s like!

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby karadekoolaid » Sun May 17, 2020 2:35 pm

The recipes do look easy. What a shame I´m missing some of the ingredients - and no supermarket open today.
There´s a recipe of his which I use for straightforward white bread - it all seems a bit sloppy, but it works, which is the most important thing.

The only thing I find a bit wierd is the first photograph. Entitled " Dan Lepard´s oatmeal soda bread", it´s a picture of someone, stage left, making pasta; a couple of sturdy pots; a few broken eggshells and two types of bread!

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby KeenCook2 » Wed May 20, 2020 12:27 pm

This is our go-to easy bread recipe for a 2lb loaf tin. I got it off a friend. I believe you can also do a shorter, 3-hour or so version if you use hot water.

Miracle bread recipe
Ingredients

1. 400g strong white bread flour (experiment with wholemeal flour, flour with seeds in etc)
2. 1¼ teaspoon of salt
3. ¼ teaspoon of fast action dried yeast (this normally comes in a pack with a number of sachets and I open one extract the ¼ teaspoon and then seal and put in the freezer until needed for the next loaf)
4. Dash of extra virgin olive oil (just pour in a splash for taste)
5. 400ml water

Tools

1. Large mixing bowl
2. Measuring spoons
3. Small measuring jug (for water)
4. Pyrex casserole dish (or cast iron Le Creuset or similar casserole dish) I use a normal 2 lb loaf tin
5. Tea towel (to cover mixing bowl (see later)
6. Spatula/mixing spoon
7. Wire rack (for cooked bread to rest on)

Preparation

1. Put all ingredients in the mixing bowl adding the water last
2. Mix in the water so that all the dry ingredients are well mixed in (no need to knead!!!!)
3. Wet the tea towel and use it to cover the mixing bowl so that the dough doesn’t dry out/form a crust (but don’t worry too much if it does as it happened to me once and the bread came out fine)
4. Leave overnight to rise (8 hours is fine)

Baking

1. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pyrex or cast iron casserole with olive oil (I use extra virgin olive oil) – this is to stop the bread getting stuck in the casserole dish which happened in the early experimental stages
2. Put casserole dish (lid on it) in the oven and heat to 230 degrees C (you can experiment a bit with temperature from 200 – 250 if you like but I suggest you start with 230)
3. When the oven has reached the correct temperature extract the hot casserole dish and pour/scrape the dough mixture into it It's surprisingly wet!
4. Replace the casserole dish in the oven (don’t forget to put the lid back on) and set the timer for 30 minutes As I use a normal 2 lb loaf tin I just use a bit of foil
5. When the timer goes, remove the lid and reset the timer for 15 minutes
6. When the timer goes, remove the miracle loaf and leave to rest on a wire rack

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby scullion » Wed May 20, 2020 1:21 pm

Sakkarin wrote:What on earth is that yellow thing with a green knife sticking in it in two of the photos?

my suggestion is a lump of earthenware clay with some yellow stain mixed in, delicately shaped to fit the brief with a modelling tool.

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby PatsyMFagan » Fri May 22, 2020 10:56 am

I am going to start making Miracle Bread today ... only because it seems to take such little yeast ;) Also because time is something I have plenty of at the moment :thumbsup

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby KeenCook2 » Fri May 22, 2020 2:16 pm

PatsyMFagan wrote:I am going to start making Miracle Bread today ... only because it seems to take such little yeast ;) Also because time is something I have plenty of at the moment :thumbsup


:thumbsup :thumbsup

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sat May 23, 2020 12:24 pm

Well, here is the finished product ... Not quite what I expected, but not a failure. The crust is quite tough and it hardly rose at all. You can see the pot I used - I will try again, this time using a loaf tin now I know the volume it makes. I was surprised there was no sugar .. would that have made it rise more in proving ? The finished dough is much more moist than when I make bread using a normal recipe (flour, more yeast, less water, sugar, salt) with a decent knead (in the bread maker) However it was simplicity itself, so those without either bread maker or strong enough hands/wrist to knead, it is a doddle to make. :thumbsup

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby KeenCook2 » Sat May 23, 2020 12:34 pm

Looks great!
Yes, the dough is rather moist, isn't it. The first time I made it I was a bit concerned, but it's easy to pour into the tin!

The no kneading is absolutely a godsend for those of us who can't unfortunately do it.

What flour did you use?
The friend who gave me the recipe said she'd made it each time with a complete hotch potch of flours as she used up a load of different open packets. I've not made it with proper bread flour yet as I haven't had any, but I'll be interested to see how different it is when I'm able to include some.

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sat May 23, 2020 12:47 pm

I used 50/50 strong wholemeal, and (strong) white. But included spelt 50/50 with the white.

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby ZeroCook » Thu May 28, 2020 11:43 pm

,

What is your Miracle Bread PatsyMFagan?

KeenCook2 wrote:The no kneading is absolutely a godsend for those of us who can't unfortunately do it.

And to those who can but dislike!

Autolyse - i.e. leaving the dough to hydrate after mixing but before kneading - is the (only) way to go.

In the 1970's a French researcher baker found that it takes about 20 minutes or so for flour to hydrate fully in dough and that kneading it for a full 20 minutes after mixing, which is the most common - and offputting - breadmaking instruction step which is actually unnecessary if you just let the dough sit for that time. After that, only quite minimal kneading - or stretching then folding in 3 like puff pastry - is ... needed.

Had I not discovered this I doubt whether I'd have bothered to get as enthused about bread making as I am. I never knead; I only fold.

https://tinyurl.com/ybcfbs9a

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby KeenCook2 » Fri May 29, 2020 1:33 pm

Gosh, that's fascinating, ZeroCook :thumbsup Thanks for the link!

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby PatsyMFagan » Fri May 29, 2020 2:22 pm

Just seen your post/question Zerocook ...

If you scroll back on this thread, you will see very exlicit instructions from KeenCook2 of how to make 'Miracle Bread' ..... it involves a miniscule amount of (instant) yeast, plenty of water, salt, NO sugar and a long first prove ....And NO kneading ...

Whilst it wasn't my favourite bread, it certainly gained points by the NO kneading bit and it makes fabulous toast. Had my last piece yesterday ... :yum

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby KeenCook2 » Sun May 31, 2020 4:02 pm

Made a delicious Miracle loaf overnight, with 300g of the Waitrose Very Strong Canadian and 100g of Tesco Wholemeal bread flour.
It's a bit holier than usual but tastes terrific. I wonder if it's because I inadvertently added a little too much yeast, probably a bit more than the quarter teaspoon specified in the recipe.

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sun May 31, 2020 4:31 pm

KeenCook2 wrote:Made a delicious Miracle loaf overnight, with 300g of the Waitrose Very Strong Canadian and 100g of Tesco Wholemeal bread flour.
It's a bit holier than usual but tastes terrific. I wonder if it's because I inadvertently added a little too much yeast, probably a bit more than the quarter teaspoon specified in the recipe.


I was going to have another go .. the ease of making it certainly makes it a very attractive proposition :thumbsup


Yesterdays bread (dough mixed in my breadmaker ) was a bit of a failure .. I was on auto pilot and used 100% wholemeal without increasing the liquid, so a very stiff dough and hardly any rise . :roll: :oops:

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby KeenCook2 » Sun May 31, 2020 5:00 pm

PatsyMFagan wrote:I was going to have another go .. the ease of making it certainly makes it a very attractive proposition :thumbsup

Yesterdays bread (dough mixed in my breadmaker ) was a bit of a failure .. I was on auto pilot and used 100% wholemeal without increasing the liquid, so a very stiff dough and hardly any rise . :roll: :oops:


Ah, what a shame, I hope you haven't had to dump it? Wholemeal flour has been harder for us to get hold of, at least from the online delivery hubs they use round here, or in the shops themselves.

I remember the very first time we used a breadmaker, many years ago (we saw three out to the end of their lives!), I used yeast that was obviously too old and open and certainly hadn't been kept in the fridge or freezer. It was 100% wholemeal and barely rose. We didn't realise it was the fault of the yeast and thought that homemade bread was always like that until we ran out of yeast and had to buy some more :oops: :oops: :lol: :lol:

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby ZeroCook » Sun May 31, 2020 5:50 pm

Just thought I'd post some old and good Dan Lepard links that don't ramble on and don't have strange and bizarrely constructed & composed photographs :D :

The DL classic easy loaf:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/10/bake-your-own-bread

10 DL bread recipes
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/australia-food-blog/2013/jun/13/baking-best-bread-lepard

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sun May 31, 2020 5:55 pm

KeenCook2 wrote:
PatsyMFagan wrote:I was going to have another go .. the ease of making it certainly makes it a very attractive proposition :thumbsup

Yesterdays bread (dough mixed in my breadmaker ) was a bit of a failure .. I was on auto pilot and used 100% wholemeal without increasing the liquid, so a very stiff dough and hardly any rise . :roll: :oops:


Ah, what a shame, I hope you haven't had to dump it? Wholemeal flour has been harder for us to get hold of, at least from the online delivery hubs they use round here, or in the shops themselves.

I remember the very first time we used a breadmaker, many years ago (we saw three out to the end of their lives!), I used yeast that was obviously too old and open and certainly hadn't been kept in the fridge or freezer. It was 100% wholemeal and barely rose. We didn't realise it was the fault of the yeast and thought that homemade bread was always like that until we ran out of yeast and had to buy some more :oops: :oops: :lol: :lol:


I will convert this to breadcrumbs and freeze them so they won't go to waste. While the yeast had a use by date of 2017, I have been using it successfully. I think it was definitely not enough liquid and I rarely use 100% wholemeal, usually 50/50 with white ...

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Re: More easy bread recipes

Postby Pampy » Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:20 am

I put some vitamin C powder in the mix when I make 100% wholemeal bread.

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