SC - Bread

[Reia M. Chmielowski]

Stacie wrote:

> Good Morning,
> i am new to the list and am anxious to share and to learn. I have a
> question,,,
> I like no love to bake bread. Does anyone have good bread recipes, is there
> a good webpage for old fashioned bread recipes? etc...I'm looking for the
> kind that gggggmother's would make  8-)

Well, I don't have web page addresses, but I tend to make my bread the
old-fashioned way.  

I always start with a bread sponge.  Put about a cup full of flour in a
bowl with some yeast (I never measure--but typical bread recipes use two
packages of dry yeast) and add roughly the same amount of warm to hot water
gradually--stirring all the while.  Cover the bowl with a damp towel and
set it aside for an hour, or over night, or until you remember to get back
to it.  

It should look much like a sponge when it is ready.  Then I add more warm
liquid (sometimes water, sometimes milk, sometimes water that I boiled
vegetables in--whatever) and flour (sometimes white, sometimes white in
combination with whole wheat, or rye, or barley, or whatever I feel like
today, but if I'm using lots of "heavy flours I'll add some gluten to keep
the dough soft), a bit of salt, and perhaps some sweeter (honey, molasses,
sugar, whatever) in small quantity.  If I'm feeling decadent I'll also add
butter (or some other shortening or flavored oil), +/- egg(s), and then any
other extras (like fresh peeled garlic cloves with herbs, or dried fruit,
or nuts, or whatever).  

All that bread really needs is flour, yeast, water, and salt--the rest is
optional depending on today's inspiration.  Once I've mixed it all together
and kneaded it well I set it to rise and hour or three or more and then
punch it down and let it rise again before shaping. Many recipes say to
omit second rising to save time--but if you are doing the bread in small
bursts of energy while working on some other project it is really worth the
extra time in terms of texture.  I often set the sponge either the night
before, or in the morning before leaving for work, then I'll have time to
do the rest later.

Yes, this is more of vague description than a recipe, but that is the way I
cook--I pinch of this, a dollop of that, and different every time, but
always delicious!  Oh--yes, I recall that she wanted bread to go with a
stew.  In that case I'd tend to be using a fair bit of rye or other dark
flour and put in powdered milk (much cheaper out here than the real stuff)
and butter for richness.  I'd also try to time it so that the bread was
done around the same time as the stew--so start the sponge the night
before, knead the dough first thing in the morning, have it punched down by
lunch time, shaped two hours before the meal, and then it should be baked
right on time...

- --Kareina



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