Peter will probably roll his eyes at me but after the whole freshly-purchased-moldy-bread-roll incident I haven’t bought any bread from a supermarket and buckled down and learned how to make my own.
Like most cooking it’s a knack thing – the important factor with bread is patience – the actual active preparation time is pretty short (10 mins mixing, 10-12 minutes kneading) but the proofing time needs to take place over a few hours to get a really great loaf.
I’ve been pretty pleased with my success – the white loaf I made last week was just absolutely delicious, but yesterday I decided to try my hand at a wholemeal loaf. Adding wholemeal does make the process a bit trickier and put you at greater risk of failure. The difference seems to be that wholemeal dough needs almost twice the proofing time of white – at least with the combination of regular wholemeal flour and bread flour I used. Or perhaps yesterday wasn’t as warm? Or maybe the batch of yeast not so keen? So many factors who can say?
Never had bread this fresh before. And the crust is just AMAZING. Extra bonus – doesn’t need butter!
Previous dinner posts from gomichild
- Crispy Skinned Salmon - B12 Booster! - March 28th, 2013
- Rather Flat Green Egg Pie - March 26th, 2013
- Chickpea & Baked Butternut Pumpkin Curry - March 25th, 2013
- Simple Salad - March 23rd, 2013
- 3 Courses - March 21st, 2013
What a great looking loaf! My loafes usually end up flat …did you put eggs and milk in it?
o, and mold is not this bad, or bad for you- see “cheese”
rolls eyes!
….on his way to buy flour etc…we’re going to give a go tomorrow in Cowes. You are an inspirashion, as usual !
Regardless of good or bad – moldy bread tastes awful and makes me question their hygiene practices!
No eggs in bread – well only for the final egg wash on top. Milk powder not milk. I use flour ground for bread not just normal flour. Salt. Vegetable oil. Water. Yeast. Caster sugar.
2 rounds of proofing of at least an hour each time. And no skimping on the kneading!
o, c’mon, just a little mold…
, milk powder..hm, ok , what is “flour ground for bread”? I am very tempted to get a bread machine…they proof and work no matter what goes on with the temps, kids running around, drafts, etc. but then … why?