[Sca-cooks] question about breads

[Huette von Ahrens]

When I bake bread for a large feast, I usually make the loaves about two days before.  If
you properly cool your bread and then wrap the uncut loaves very well, they will stay reasonably
fresh unrefrigerated, unfrozen for two days.  The loaves have to be uncut, or they will become
stale rapidly.

Also, when I do bread in advance, I don't have time to do any other cooking.  The day is devoted
to bread, bread and more bread.  I usually do my bread in workable batches.  I make batch one,
then set it to rise.  While it is rising, I start batch two and set it to rise.  I punch down
batch one and let it rise again.  I start batch three, punch down batch two and divide batch
one into individual loaves and let rise again.  I start batch four, punch down batch three,
divide batch two, and put batch one in the oven for baking.  If I need more, I start batch
five, punch down batch four, divide batch three, take out batch one from the oven, put in
batch two, put batch one on racks for cooling, wash bread pans and re-grease them for to
put batch three in.  I usually don't have any down time until the last batch is finished baking
and I am too tired to do anything else.

The only frozen bread dough that I have used has been the commercial frozen dough.  It takes a
long time to thaw and usually thaws unevenly.  I had several loaves with one half still frozen
and the other half starting to rise.

In freezing already baked bread, this is valuable if you make the bread weeks in advance.
Otherwise it is pointless.  Before freezing, make absolutely sure that the bread is no longer
warm.  When defrosting, take the bread out of its wrapping because there might be trapped
condensation which would make your bread soggy.

Good luck!  Happy baking!

Huette



--- Alexa <mysticgypsy1008 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I will be making bread for an upcoming event.  Due to
> time and lack of large kitchen space, per norm, I
> would like  to premake the bread.  Any suggestions? 
> 
>  In a few modern cookbooks I have read the dough being
> frozen prior to rising, then when needed, bring dough
> out of the freezer, cover and let thaw and rise, then
> bake.  Has anyone tried this?  With everything else I
> will be doing the day or 2 before, I think it would be
> easier to thaw in stages and bake, then to have to
> keep stopping in the middle of chopping veggies, ect
> to mix dough,etc.  
> I have also heard of completeing the process and then
> freezing the baked bread then thawing to serve.  My
> only experience w/ this was w/ bread bowls that we
> made for stews.  At that point, you want it kind of
> day old/hard or you end up w/ mush. I don't want hard
> bread for feast.   
> 
> Ideas??
> 
> Alexa
> 
> 
> 
> 		
> __________________________________ 
> Discover Yahoo! 
> Find restaurants, movies, travel and more fun for the weekend. Check it out! 
> http://discover.yahoo.com/weekend.html 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
> http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/sca-cooks
> 


Remember that while money talks, chocolate sings.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com