Little House In the RedWoods- Baking Bread

Straight up White Sandwich Bread- no added healthy ingredients

UPDATE-
** So I wrote this post about 2 years ago, but never got around to publishing to my blog...  back to bread making simply due to recent circumstances...  I buy yeast by the pound, so we have lots of it.  I considered this time a great opportunity to teach my daughter (who will be 7 next week) how to make & bake bread, in hopes that she could do the whole process from beginning to end, on her own.  I started by measuring all the dry ingredients out for her and placing in a tupperware the day before.  Then her job was to add the wet ingredients and remember the steps and process and do lots of kneading and rising.  After that she got all the dry ingredients out to measure into the tupperware and get ready for the next bread making day.  Doing it this way, helps make the process go more quickly since we want to get our bread risen and baked by lunch time.  We pre-measure all our dry ingredients today, so that when we get at it tomorrow, all we have to do is add water, honey and oil... and then knead.  Once that step is done, we can take our time getting our dry ingredients ready for the next time we make bread.  Plus it breaks the process down into 2 parts, of less steps.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last month I stopped buying sandwich bread from the grocery store.  This was huge, considering we go through 3 loaves a week.  After finding a recipe that worked for me, I decided that eating fresh, homemade bread each day was worth the effort.  Because I stay home with my children, and enjoy homemaking- it is actually quite fun.  And it makes me feel a little more connected to the "Caroline Ingalls" within me.  

In the past few years I have found a few great recipes for Pizza dough & a rustic loaf of Italian bread. In my hunt for a good recipe for sandwich bread, I found that all 3 recipes were quite similar for ingredients.  I used to be quite intimidated by yeast and bread making.  The recipes were overly complicated and it felt like nothing I tried to make, ever turned out.  Some recipes call you to put the yeast in the warm water for 5 minutes, until it froths.  Other's tell you just throw it all into the bowl and mix together.  

Basically it goes like this:

3 cups of flour (any kind of flour- it does not have to be bread flour)

1 1/4 cups warm water (I now use the whey left over from making goat cheese + mixed with water)

1 Tbs. instant yeast (I buy yeast buy the pound)

1 Tbs. sugar or honey (Maple Syrup works too)

a couple shakes of salt

a drizzle of olive oil

I throw it all in my kitchen Aide mixer and mix until it is no longer sticky.  I end up adding more flour as needed.  Recently I made Challah Bread for Purim, which called for a lot more flour, 2 eggs, & a lot more honey..... and it turned out amazing!  And with double the flour, it still only called for 1 Tbs. of yeast.  So that made me realize it's not about having more yeast / flour ratio.  With that Challah success I sometimes throw in a couple eggs to my bread for added protein factor.  And the bread generally turns out... every single time. ** I now add wheat germ (added protein) and flax seed (omega3) and oats. Once your dough is ready, drizzle olive oil in a bowl and place dough ball in bowl.  Then cover with a wet towel and place in a warm spot.  I put ours in front of our wood stove.  **I have learned to quick rise my bread by pre-heating the over till it's warm.  Then I pot my covered bread in the over to rise more quickly than at room temperature.  

The most important factor I have found is that you must kneed the bread for a good amount of time.  The longer the better. And then of course allowing adequate time for the bread to rise.  I allow it to rise until it's doubled in size.  Then I pat it down and allow it to rise a 2nd time.  The double rise is key.  I also feel like using whey in place of water makes my bread dough have a smoother & lighter consistency.  So whenever I have whey left over from making goat cheese, I use it.

I also found a recipe that called for placing an empty pan in the over while it pre-heated.  Once it's ready for the bread, you dump a bowl full of ice into the heated pan (on the lower rack- below the bread).  The steam from the ice, makes the outside of the bread nice and crusty.  *I have found that simply having a pan of water (not necessarily ice) also works to give the bread a nice crisp crust.

So basically, this recipe makes my pizza dough, sandwich bread & italian bread.  I make a few variations to each recipe, like adding oregano/ basil to the pizza dough.  Oiling the top of the Italian bread, and sprinkling Adobo & sea salt.  

In the past month, we have only purchased 1 loaf of bread (per the Laird's suggestion because he's afraid of me getting burned out making bread).  It takes me about 15 minutes to get the ingredients all mixed together and the dough kneaded and ready to rise.  The more often I make bread, the faster I am able to throw it all together.  My kids and husband love having fresh bread.  And I get to add what I want to it.  I generally throw in a shake of Wheat germ & Flax seed- to add some omega-3 and other vitamins.  Once the bread is finished baking, it will sound like a hollow door when you knock on it.  Allow it too cool a little while before slicing into it.

Italian Bread- bake @ 350 deg. F  for 30 min.

Sandwich Bread- bake @ 430 deg. F for 30 min.  
*I have recently been baking @ 375 deg. F for 40min

Thin Crust Pizza- bake @ 425 deg. F for 12 min.

Happy Bread Making!  Homemade bread generally doesn't last long in our house because we eat it up by the next day.  However if that isn't the case for you, it only stays fresh for a couple days.  So eating it up the first day is definitely worth it.