Wednesday 27 February 2013

Making Bread and Dishcloths

 
Making bread is something I've been doing for years now.  When the boys were little it didn't happen much, usually just when we ran out of bread and all that was in the house was some flour, and not always even with yeast, I would knock together a quick batch of little buns to serve with homemade soup to fill their small tummies.
 
Recently I have been making bread for other reasons, for one we are trying to save money and making your own bread gives you lovely quality bread for pennies compared to the artisan loaves you would have to buy to get a similar taste.  But also I have been making it for the flavour,  for the lovely homely smell it gives to the kitchen, for the workout it gives to my arms .....
 
 
 
... true this wonderful gadget does the first five minutes kneading for me, but as I have discovered recently there can never be too much kneading.  Once I prise the dough from the dough hook and slap it on the floured worktop I set to kneading, stretching and generally pummelling the wonderfully tactile mass of promise.
 
For that's how I see it,  a blob like the top picture all warm and smooth .... the promise of a loaf to come.
 
 
 
 
I tend to let my dough rise twice, first in the bowl from the mixer, balanced on a table mat between the table and the radiator, then once risen to epic proportions I knock it back and then choose my shapes, usually loaf shaped and in a tin, but occasionally I make buns or as has happened recently I will make a loaf but cut a handful of the dough off and form it into a Focaccia bread, wonderful warm straight from the oven if you are having soup or a pasta dish or just fancy a snack.
 
 
 
 
I am getting much more consistent with my bread making, I always know I'm there with a recipe when I can gather the ingredients together from memory, without resorting to my many 'post-its' dotted around the kitchen.  With my standard loaf I am there, and it's consistent :-)
 
Of course there are days when something goes wrong.  Last week I did exactly as I always do, and then I forgot all about the dough nestled in it's tin for rising in the usual position balanced over the radiator.  I went out to feed the chickens and stayed out longer than I meant to, walking the dogs through the paddock and then talking to our neighbour.  When I came back in I spotted it straight away, huge under it's cosy tea towel.  I gingerly removed the towel, and carried it over to the worktop to brush the top with some milk.  Of course the mere act of brushing started a collapse of epic proportions.
 
It deflated and draped itself over the outside edges of the tin in an outrageously 'cuddly' fashion, but I baked it anyway.  When the resulting bread came out of the oven and then the tin it had curious hook shapes at either side that defied being popped into the toaster without  a quick trim.  The bread itself was still as delicious, I should have photographed it, but we were too busy laughing ....and then eating!!
 
My bread recipe.
 
500g Bread Flour (I use 200g brown and 300g white)
If your yeast is very fresh you can get away with adding up to another 100g of Flour, this will give you enough extra  dough for a whole Focaccia bread, a pizza base or a couple of large buns as well as a good 2lb loaf)
7gms/2 flat tsp Quick Action Yeast
1 tsp Sugar
1.5 tsp Salt
300mls warm water
15mls Olive Oil
 
Simply tip all the ingredients into your mixer and then drizzle in the water and oil at the same time with the dough hook running.  Leave kneading in the machine for five minutes then tip it onto the worktop and take out the stresses of the day on your dough, it will love you for it.  Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size and then give it a good thump, it will deflate in a very satisfying way and then you can give it another quick knead and choose the shapes you want to bake.
 
(picture from Google Images, the most similar looking one to mine)
 
This is where I tear off a fistful for a Focaccia bread.  Simply use your hands to flatten out the dough onto a baking tray, make indentations with your finger and insert little sprigs of fresh Rosemary, leave to rise, covered, for the same time as your loaf.  When they have both risen nicely (to reasonable proportions...lol), brush the loaf with beaten egg or milk and sprinkle with a topping if you fancy one (we like some oats or sesame seeds).  Drizzle the Focaccia with Olive Oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and pop them in the oven.  A hot oven for the first 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature for another 10 mins for the Focaccia and 20 - 30 for the loaf.
 
All ovens are different this is the timings for mine.
 
Leave to cool .... if you can and then eat.
 
 
 
As well as homemade bread I have turned into a real 'domestic goddess' well a pretty rustic goddess,  and made my own dishcloth.  It's not a fancy one following any pattern, although I think they look brilliant, this is simply a crocheted square made from a 10p ball of cottony type wool that I got from the charity shop.  I had wanted to have a go at this for a while and when I spotted the ball of 'wool' I jumped at the chance.
 
 
 
It may not be the most beautiful thing in the world but it is really practical and gets the pots lovely and clean, what more do you really need from a dishcloth.
 
Sue xx

20 comments:

  1. Hi Sue - since having a machine like yours, I've tried to make bread but the results are very hit and miss - Can I just a question approx how long do you leave it to rise each time and what heat settings do you use for your oven - thats another battle that I'm having - we had a new cooker last year and it's really fierce with the heat - I will try your recipe though - thank you xx

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    1. I find it very reliable using the dough hook, time the five minutes kneading the first time you do it, it's longer than you think!

      I leave it to rise until it is double in size, it's impossible to give a time as it depends on the temperature, if it's very warm it could be as little as 30 minutes, if it's quite cool in the house I can leave it for up to 4 hours, use the size of the dough as your guide.

      With my oven (electric, not a fan oven) I start it off at 220 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce to 200 for the rest of the time. Then when the loaf is cooked I turn off the oven, tip the loaf out of the tin and let it sit in the cooling oven for 5 more minutes to get a nice crisp crust.

      Hope this helps. But I have found that you have to experiment a lot to get it 'standard'. Good luck with yours.

      Sue xx

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  2. I'm going to try your bread recipe as alas, my bread usually TASTES like a dishcloth! Unfortunately I don't have a dough hook, so looks like the puny muscles will have a workout.

    In answer to your comment question no, I've not completely sold out but at one bootsale I dropped all the remaining bits off at the tip on the way home (such a wonderfully liberating feeling!) and then saw it all for sale on someone else's table the following week ;))

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  3. Dishcloths, :-) obviously you got over your crochet rage :-)

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    1. Nope.....Lol !! I used all the wool for that dishcloth then packed away the hook. It will only reappear if I get some more dishcloth wool from anywhere really cheap.

      Crochet Rage ..... a new but continuing phenomenon!!

      Sue xx

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  4. I have to admit to mostly using the breadmachine for our loaves, although I would like to get back to the habit of letting the machine do the mixing and kneading and then baking in the oven...you're right about the smell too....mmmm!

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    1. I do have a 'proper' breadmaking machine, just a small one, but we don't like the hole in the bread, so it seems to live in the cupboard. My mixer is a much more multi-functional tool, (main bowl/food processor & liquidiser attachments too) so it has earnt it's place on our limited worktop space.

      Sue xx

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  5. My husband is on a breadmaking quest at the moment, so I will definitely show him your recipe :) I'm a new reader of your blog and just want to say I think it is fab, so inspiring! I p,an to go back to the beginning and read it all with a brew and a notebook and pen! Thank you for sharing your journey and ideas with people :)

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    1. It's perhaps something I should do one day, go back and read all my own posts. I could be permanently repeating myself!!

      I've just had a look through your blog and read all the posts, it's looking good, keep it up :-)

      Sue xx

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  6. I love baking our bread ! My son loves the bread we make and thinks shop bread is nasty in comparison to the real stuff - he is only 8 !
    The only problem is trying to make it last lol, tea in our house is regularly just warm bread straight from the oven with butter, cheese and an apple ! May not sound much but half a big loaf of wholemeal bread between us and we are stuffed :-)
    Your dish cloth is fabulous !!!! Think I may have to make a few myself :-) x

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  7. It has taken forever for me to knit 5 dishcloths and need 8 to replace the old flannels I am currently using. I like to wash and dry them first though as that seems to set them into a good thick cloth.

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  8. Your loaf looks beautiful and I'm sure delicious too. I share your enthusiasm for homemamde bread too, in fact we haven't bought any for about 4 years now as I always bake my own and just the smell when it's in the oven is worth it let alone the taste.

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  9. I have started bread making recently, our favourite is poppy seed :-)

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  10. Like yourself we also have been making our own bread for years, but have you managed to make toast from it? I find if I toast it it comes out too hard and I do love eggs on toast, it's not the same if it's eggs on bread.We use basicaly the same receipe as yours but use an egg instead of oil,we also sometimes add a small handful of sunflower seeds to the mix, makes a nice cruchy change.

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  11. I make at least two loaves at a time and freeze one. If I forget about the dough and it goes ballistic in the tins, I just knock it back *again* and do a third rising. It's always better with a third rising anyway.
    I'm a handknitted/crochet dishcloth evangelist. Once you've used one you'll never go back! :-)

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  12. I'm currently knitting a dishcloth but it's slow going! I did have a brilliant idea of making some (and some soap) for a few little Christmas gifts but I think I might try to finish mine first :)
    Cheers Judy xx

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  13. Home made bread is wonderful. The bread machine suits me at the moment, because time is scarce. But even with the hole in the bottom it's still streets ahead of shop bought bread.

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  14. You will never go back to bought dishcloths again. I started salivating on reading about your bread. Yum. :)

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