Does anyone make and bake their own bread ?

I'm looking for an easy bread recipe that I could make in the oven every few days - with seeds/ grains - not too doughy

Hmm, you might find mine a bit dense. I've been making it since 2011 and I make sure I never run out of it (I bake two loaves at a time, one goes in the freezer to be used after the first is finished and then, when I've nearly finished the 2nd one, I make two new loaves). That stuff they call bread in the supermarkets, I don't know what it is but it's not bread. Probably something from Pluto.

Now this recipe stands being mucked about with really well so if you want to make it 100% wholemeal, just go ahead and do it - you'll get a glorious brown bread loaf. If you want to substitute some other dry ingredient (within reason) for the kibbled stuff, just go ahead and try it. Etc. I've made loaves with vegetables in them (kumara, potato, pumpkin...), fruit (banana...), other seeds and grains.....there's never been a failure - just watch your wet/dry ratios. Currently, instead of 70g sunflower seeds, I grind up (in the food processor) sunflower seeds and (separately) pumpkin seeds and put 4 tablespoons of each of those in instead (I keep a big jar of each in the fridge).

You DO NOT need to get the yeast going separately first. I think this idea of first activating yeast is a throwback to the days when people's yeast got all old and/or there were no fridges to keep it in, etc, so they had to test whether their yeast was still alive before they wasted other ingredients on it. The yeast we have these days is generally not old or dead so this step is NOT necessary.

DAILY BREAD
2¼ cups (315g) white flour
2¼ cups (315g) wholemeal flour
½ cup (75g) kibbled wheat
¼ cup (35g) kibbled rye
½ cup (70g) sunflower seeds
¼ cup (22g) rolled oats
1 tspn Bakel’s yeast or 2 tspns Surebake yeast
2 tspns salt
3¼ cups of warm (30-35°C) water (total 810ml)

Combine all in a large bowl and mix till a shaggy dough. Place in loaf pan and leave on top of hot water cylinder (or other warm place) for 5-6 hours or until risen to the top of the pan. Bake at 220°C fanbake for 40-45 minutes.

I could give you more hints/tips, etc (e.g. I always line my tins with baking paper) but this will be a start if you're interested.

Ha, J1 the stuff they call bread in the supermarkets is made from aerated cardboard!
D.

I found this No Knead Bread recipe quite good. (It helps to line base of tin and up two sides, which makes the loaves easier to get out.)

No Knead bread is wonderful if you make a big batch and keep it in the fridge, using a portion each time you want a loaf of bread. As the days go by, it becomes like sour-dough, with a lovely flavour.

I should also add that if you buy one or two of those silicone bread pans, you don't need to line them with paper first. They are totally non-stick and just need a rinse in warm water under the tap.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2016 11:53PM by Lorna.

Thanks for mentioning the silicone bread pans Lorna. I'm interested in having a look at those. I really like my metal pans' size and shape (chosen very carefully) but am interested to see if I can get something similar in silicone to cancel the baking paper need. So many bread pans are too narrow, too wide, too long, too short, too low, too high, too straight, too angled.........



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2016 01:21AM by J1.

The quick wholemeal bread recipe on the Ruth Pretty Catering website is easy and delicious. I use a mix of flours (haven't been able to get kibbled grains recently, so have added bulgar wheat). It adds sea salt, and I quite like the little "tang" you get from an undissolved crystal every now and then. I've also made some in wee pie dishes to get "hamburger" buns, which worked quite well. It is risen in the oven and you don't knead, so it's a very user friendly recipe. Janet

Just in case anyone's making the Daily Bread, for awhile now I've put 200g (approx.) of grated kumara (scrubbed but not peeled) in INSTEAD of the kibbled rye and kibbled wheat. I reduce the water to 2½ cups (625ml). This makes a lovely bread and I prefer the flavour profile.

J1, do you soak the kibbled wheat/rye first?

Hi Chris, no I don't soak the kibbled wheat/rye first.

I just remembered I have a photo of the loaf using kumara -



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2017 11:29PM by J1.

J1, have you tried a commercial release spray instead of baking paper? I use it for anything I cook in a loaf tin and very rarely have s problem with sticking.

I buy this one from Gilmours. There are several different brands on the shelf.

[www.unileverfoodsolutions.co.nz]

Hi Jenna, thanks for that. That looks like a good cooking spray. I've never tried one. At one point I did try coating my bread pans with olive oil to see if that would prevent sticking but it wasn't satisfactory enough so I guess I assumed cooking sprays wouldn't do any better. Some of them seem to have dubious ingredients too, which puts me off them, but your Real Ease cooking spray seems fine (I avoid canola oil but that small amount wouldn't matter). I'll see if I can buy it from somewhere. Mind you, sometimes I forget the loaves are rising in the hot water cupboard and the baking paper helps to hold the overflow in!

Yeah, I've avoided others because of the ingredients. I think lecithin is the key ingredient for the non-stick qualities, with canola being a good delivery medium. I don't use canola either, but this I've made peace with as it is such a minute amount. The bake paper is probably quite useful as handles too, rather than having to tip the loaf over to get it out of the tin. Although a hearty loaf such as this probably isn't in danger of collapsing like a lighter style.

I made this recipe several years ago when you first posted it, but I did something wrong and ended up with a thoroughly over proofed loaf oozing all over everything. I had even bought the right size Baker's Secret deep loaf tin too! I'm going to give it another go this week though. Just want to check that the quantities you give are for a singe loaf.

Yes, quantities are for a single loaf. I do just tip my loaf out of the tin - rather roughly too! The loaf takes it well

I use an Alison Holst no-knead recipe, where you begin by toasting 1 cup of mixed seeds, which you then soak in hot water. It uses 100% wholemeal flour, which I like, and I make it in my very ancient (and probably well-seasoned) metal bread tins, which I brush with oil before use. I find if I leave the bread in the tin for 5 mins before taking it out, it doesn't stick. The whole process from toasting the seeds takes about 2 1/2 hours, and the bread is a good texture and very flavoursome.

Now I'm making my bread with the 200g of kumara as mentioned above, 3 cups of water, and 500g wholemeal flour and 130g stoneground ryemeal flour, plus the other usual ingreds - yeast, salt, rolled oats. The ryemeal has added a new layer of deliciousness.