[Sca-cooks] partly on-topic, partly off: bread

Susan Lin susanrlin at gmail.com
Mon Jan 25 07:56:15 PST 2010


First - if you have a gluten allergy you're gonna have to get crafty with
your bread because a LOT of breads have wheat flour in them or other grains
that have gluten so you're not going to be able to use them.  I am not
gluten intolerant but I know a lot of people who are.

I know spelt and buckwheat are usually okay as well as rice and corn
flours.  I'm sure there are others.

If you are not gluten intolerant your options are greater.
For the bread machine - mine says to put things in in the order given.  Will
your come with a book - that'll give you the general "layering" - it usually
arranges things with the liquid stuff on the bottom (and the salt) then the
dry stuff and then you make a divot in the top and add the yeast.

I live above 5,000 feet so I do not try to make a 2 pound loaf as it always
rises over the edges of the container and that makes a mess - I stick with a
1 1/2 pound loaf.

You can use whatever flours you want - just try to keep  the proportions the
same.  And, because some of the specialty flours are very heavy you may have
to add a lighter flour just so you don't come out with a brick.  You'll have
to experiment but I'm guessing some people here will have suggestions for
you (I see an "update" to this thread as we speak).

As for the dried out sides - on my machine I can say if I want a light,
medium or dark crust - the darker the thicker the crust is and yes, it can
be too dried out so I usually stick to medium.

Home made bread does not have the preservatives that store bought has so it
will not last as long.  Eat it and enjoy or it becomes breadcrumb fodder
very quickly.

Good luck and have fun experimenting.

Shoshanna

On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 8:46 AM, Ian Kusz <sprucebranch at gmail.com> wrote:

> Okay.  In an advanced state of hubris (is hubris a state?), I'm going to
> ask
> questions on a topic that is a lifetime's study, expecting simple, short
> answers to what is, no doubt, a highly complex issue.
>
> I'm full of fun, and soup.
>
> On the making of bread.  Someone's going to buy me a used bread machine,
> something called a "Welbilt."  So, naturally, I have some questions about
> bread making, and I'll be mostly referring to the machine, but some of my
> questions are general questions about bread, which, I suppose, is arguably
> period in topic.
>
> First, my sister said that when she'd used a bread machine, the outer inch
> or inch and a half was unusable, as it was stale.  I read the florilegium,
> and one section recommended "misting" the bread, and another buttering the
> surface of the bread.  Do either of these help, and during what stage do
> you
> do them? Is there some other way to avoid this?
>
> I've been told that if you open the oven during baking, it can make your
> bread collapse.  Is this true?
>
> I've heard (from you lot, I think) that some flours are not high enough in
> something (gluten?) to rise.  I presume I can add these flours to "regular"
> flour (say, what, 1/4?) and make something out of it.
>
> Okay, here's the point.  I"m trying to find a way to eat healthy on a
> budget, and I've tried "craft" breads, and always felt more satisfied,
> full,
> and, I dunno, just better after eating them.  I'm hoping the machine will
> allow me to make something healthy.
>
> My dad, from Poland, always said that, in this country, our bread wasn't
> really bread, it was cake (being not very nutritious, and too fluffy).  And
> I've heard things about pyramid bread, and alternative grains, and looked
> up
> some of the nutrition information on other grains, and, WOW.  so, I'm
> hoping
> this'll allow me to make something good.
>
> The ones I'm interested in are:  oat flour (for cholesterol management),
> teff, spelt, and any others someone else recommends.  Store-bought bread
> always disagrees with me, slightly.  I'm not sure why.  Of course it has a
> number of things I've found my body doesn't like, including sodium
> silico-aluminate (which is also used in some salt as an anti-clumping
> agent), corn syrup, and possibly wheat gluten, though I'm not sure if
> that's
> one of my problems, or not.
>
> Any recommendations of grains to try?  I'm hoping for bread that's heavy,
> nutritious, but not inedibly brick-like.  Ideally, if you get hit with it,
> it should cause a concussion, but not fracture your skull.
>
> Here's hoping.  BTW, I've never cooked with yeast bread, before.  Just
> self-rising (baking soda).  I am checking the Florilegium, but it's a
> fairly
> big section.
>
> Ian of Oertha
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