bread – That's Just Me

No Knead Bread – Redux

My first real experience with homemade bread was no-knead bread was over two and half years ago. I found it terribly sticky & very difficult to work with every time I tried it, and I gave up and haven’t tried again in a very long time.

I stopped messing with no-knead, and concentrated on mixing my bread dough with the bread machine.

But I’ve been getting bored with my bread lately, wanting a more “artisan” bread, so last night, I decided to give no-knead one more shot. After almost 3 years of dough-handling experience, you’d think it would be a piece of cake, right?

Yes, it’s still a super sticky mess, but I’ve learned over the years, that water, not flour is the key for handling dough.

I always make sure my (clean) hands are wet, and I’ve found it’s a lot easier to shape my bread loaves. I admit, this dough is way more stickier than normal and still difficult to handle, but I did it!

no knead bread - artisan and gorgeous

Link to Mark Bittman’s original No-Knead Bread post from NYTimes

Here are my adapted recipe details:

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour
1 cup Whole Wheat flour
1-1/4 tsp salt
approx 1/3 tsp active dry yeast (if using instant yeast, use only 1/4 tsp)

Directions and Notes:

Whisk dry flour, salt and yeast together in large bowl.
Add water and using a wooden spoon, mix until blended – the original recipe suggests 1-5/8 cups of water (which translates to 1-1/2 +2Tbsp of water) – I found it wasn’t enough so I added more water to ensure it was a “shaggy mess” of dough.
Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to sit, undisturbed for at least 12 hours. The dough will expand and become bubbly.
After its all-day or overnight rest, using wet hands, sweep and scoop the dough from the edges of the bowl. It’s going to be a sticky, hard-to-handle mess, but do your best.
Wet hands again, and carefully pick up dough, shaping it into a round loaf. Place it (flat) on a large piece of parchment paper. Lightly sprinkle a little flour (whole wheat or white) on top. Allow to rest/proof for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
A few minutes before the dough is ready, set oven to 450F and place a heat-proof covered baking pot inside (enameled cast iron is best). Original no-knead recipes online state to heat oven & pot for 30 minutes, but I find that to be a energy waste, plus it’s not good heat an empty pot for too long. I have found that it works just as well, with 10-15 minutes of preheat time
Carefully remove hot pot and gently transfer the dough to the pot, keeping the parchment under the dough and in the pot. Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 15-20 minutes. I baked for 20 minutes covered, and 20 minutes uncovered.
Remove bread from pot, allow to cool on rack, then eat and enjoy!

I’ll probably try 2 cups of whole wheat and 1 cup of AP flour next, and eventually work up to 2-1/2 WW & 1/2 cup AP. I know I messed with 100% whole wheat no-knead breads in the past, and it really wasn’t great, but I wasn’t as experienced, so we’ll see how it goes.

UPDATE 2013/02/13: I’ve tried 1 cup AP flour and 2 cups whole wheat and it makes a denser loaf. I’m happier with a 50/50 mix but I’ll keep experimenting. I’ve also found that its easier to keep a tighter bread shape when I use my 2 quart cast iron pot for proofing (with parchment) and then transfer the dough with the parchment to my larger 4 quart cast iron. It helps keep the bread from spreading out while it’s proofing.

no knead bread - artisan and gorgeous

I made tuna sandwiches for lunch and the bread was soft with a chewy crust! Delicious!

no knead bread - artisan and gorgeous

Instant Yeast & GMO (Genetically Modified) Ascorbic Acid (Vit C)

I home bake a lot of bread, about 2-3 loaves per week (kneaded in my bread machine). I don’t use an excessive amount of yeast (only about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp), as I like my dough to rise slowly, sometimes overnight in the fridge, depending on how quickly it’s needed (or kneaded, ha, no pun intended.)

I have been buying jars of Fleischmann’s Bread Machine (instant) yeast. It’s quite expensive; Last time I paid $5 for a 4 oz jar, but it lasted me over 4 months.

I had been hearing a lot of recommendations for 1 lb SAF Instant Yeast – it’s packaged as an air-tight, vacuum-sealed “brick” and it will last close-to forever stored in your freezer or even fridge.

I was tempted to purchase from Amazon’s Subcribe & Save – under $12 for a bulk pack of four 1lb packages…..but what would I do with all that yeast!? So, I phoned Whole Foods and asked if they carried it. Yes, and their price was $5.49, so I added it to my shopping list for my next visit.

Made In Mexico

So, here’s where I learned my first lesson.

After reading reviews online, I learned that SAF Instant Yeast is “Made in Mexico“. Nothing personal against Mexico or Mexicans, but I make it a point to stay clear of food imported from Mexico and China. I double-checked the label on my Fleischmann’s yeast and it’s “Made in Canada.”

But I use such a small amount of yeast, will it really make a difference either way, where it’s made? It’s not like eating an apple, or is it?

I decided to take a chance and go for budget-friendly, so I purchased a 1 lb brick of SAF Instant Yeast at Whole Foods.

Instant Yeast Contains Genetically Modified (GMO) Ascorbic Acid (Vit C)

Here’s where I learned my second lesson. There’s GMO in the yeast!

Ascorbic Acid (synthetic Vitamin C) is a man-made product derived from genetically modified corn. Ugh. Who knew!

And it’s also an ingredient in “instant” yeast. And would you also believe, ascorbic acid is the reason why so many bakers love “instant” yeast vs “active-dry” yeast? Ascorbic acid helps doughs “rise” better and faster, and also also acts as a preservative.

I’m thinking it might be worth the extra effort to start using “active-dry” yeast and perhaps just add a smidge of real lemon juice or vinegar to make up for the lack of synthetic ascorbic acid.

Well, I need to make a decision PRONTO, because I just used up the last bit of instant yeast in my bread dough this afternoon.

Do I just forget it, go with the cheap Mexican-made instant yeast, with a small amount of a GMO ingredient? Or perhaps the Canadian-made instant yeast with with a small amount of a GMO ingredient?

Or probably the best way: vote with my fork and go for the active-dry yeast with no GM ingredients (that I know of).

I think I’ll invest in a couple of little packets of active yeast, just to see how easy or difficult it is to work with. Online sources say you must “activate” in warm water first, and others say you can use just like instant yeast, and toss it in dry, unless you don’t know if it’s still viable, and it’s best to test in warm water with sugar added.

So, we’ll see!

UPDATE July 15, 2012: Well I tried the active yeast and it did work but I’ve decided to go back to the instant yeast even with the ascorbic acid.

I preciously only used 1/2 tsp of instant yeast but with the active yeast, I was using at least 1 tsp and it rose alright but not as easily as with instant, and the texture of the dough isn’t as smooth.

So, my reasoning is I’d rather use as little yeast as possible (for a longer rise) and since I’m using such a small amount, I’m hoping that any GMO ingredients are incidental. Plus I’ve decided to stick with Fleischmann’s brand that is made in Canada.

UPDATE December, 2012: I’ve gone back to active dry yeast! In october I purchased a 1 lb bag of the “Frontier Naturals” brand active dry yeast from iHerb.com. It works fine whether I “bloom” it ahead of time or just whisk it together with my flour.

Whole Wheat Bread is Full of Sugar!

No wonder people on “diets” give up bread! Commercial whole wheat bread is loaded with refined sugar!

I only baked two very small loaves of bread for our vacation, so I figured I’d pick up a loaf if needed at the local store while we were away.

Stopping at a little local grocery/convenience store, I found many whole grain bread choices, but wow, was it shocking to read labels. They are full of sugar! I ended up with a loaf of Nature’s Pride “Healthy Multi Grain” bread. One slice was 4 grams of sugar! So, for a normal sandwich, that’s 8 grams of sugar! No wonder Americans are so obese! Sugar is hiding in supposedly healthy foods! The fiber grams for one slice is 3g, funny the sugar outweighs the fiber and it’s whole grain! Pretty sad!

I’m so glad that I don’t mind baking my own bread, where I can control my own ingredients and indeed make something worthy of the description “healthy” – by the way, an equal serving of my homemade baked bread is 2 grams of sugar, and I could probably even reduce it or even remove sugar altogether if I really wanted.

Experiment: Whole Wheat, Cornmeal, Barley Sesame Seed Bread

whole wheat bread made with cornmeal and barley with sesame seeds

I love experimenting with cold fermentation for developing flavorful bread dough. I started a new (for me) bread experiment yesterday, based on the technique of Peter Reinhart’s book “Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor“. In the book, Peter advises to mix both a mash and a biga, refrigerate for at least 12 hours, then mix up a new dough with the two plus a small amount of ingredients.

I decided that I would try mixing one biga mash together with no sugar, oil, salt and just a touch of instant yeast, refrigerate for a day, then mix up a new dough using the biga mash with new flour and ingredients.

The result was a fair success! A yummy fluffy high rising whole grain bread. I love a hearty dense loaf, but sometimes you just want bread to be light and airy!

I still need to work on this technique though, although the taste is fantastic, the “crumb” is usually too crumbly and the top crust pulls away. By the time I get to the middle/end of the loaf, it’s usually difficult to slice thinly. I think it might be an issue of not shaping my loaf properly, or it could be over-proofing (final rise). I don’t think it’s an issue of too much milk and/or oil but maybe my dough needs more water. It’s also possible that I am not kneading long enough, but that seems hard to believe since I’m using a machine for the final dough. I’ll have to do some additional reading on the Fresh Loaf web site, and maybe re-read Peter’s book. There is still so much to learn!

whole wheat bread made with cornmeal and barley with sesame seeds

Anyway, here is my process.

Biga Soaker – Day One

It only take a few minutes to mix up the biga soaker dough.

Note: I use the West Bend 41300 Hi-Rise Electronic Dual-Blade Breadmaker for all kneading.

Biga Soaker Ingredients

1 cup milk product. I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk, but I have used almond milk in previous recipes.
1/4 cup water
4 oz whole grain flour = I used 1.5 oz cornmeal and 2.5 oz barley flour
8 oz King Arthur white whole wheat flour, (for a total of 12 oz for ALL flours)
1/4 tsp instant yeast

NO salt, oil, sugar just yet

Bread Machine Biga Directions:

It’s possible to process the bread dough using the “dough” setting, but you should NOT allow it to rise the bread. Shut off the machine after the kneading process finishes, and remove the dough before the warm rise step.

Here’s what I did:

Machine knead for about 10 minutes
Stop the bread maker for an autolyse rest for 20-30 minutes. During this resting time, leave the dough in the bread machine pan.
Re-start the machine and knead again for 10 minutes
After 10 minutes, shut off machine again, and allow a short rest of 2-3 minutes before transferring the dough (using wet hands) to a bowl.
Cover bowl and keep in fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days.

Bread Baking Day:

Take the dough out of fridge, allow to warm up for at least two hours.
Chop up dough into several smaller pieces, using pastry scraper or sharp knife.
In bread machine pan, add dough pieces with the following ingredients:

1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 oz white flour
2 Tbsp sucanat sugar
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1.5 tsp instant yeast
Optional seeds or nuts (1/4 cup)

Baking Day Directions

Using the bread maker dough setting, combine all ingredients in bread maker and allow the machine to do it’s thing including the rise.
When machine is finished, wet hands, and pull dough out of the pan.
Gently form into loaf shape and place into loaf pan (lined with parchment paper)- this is where I might be going wrong. I think I am not shaping the loaf correctly.
Allow to proof for 30-60 minutes
In preheated 375F oven, bake for 30 minutes
Or until internal temperature of bread reaches 190F
Remove from loaf pan and allow to cool for at least an hour.

Makes one 30 oz loaf (after baking and cooling) – even better, it’ll also make two smaller loaves too!

whole wheat bread made with cornmeal and barley with sesame seeds

Nutritional Data:

Calories: 97
Total Fat: 3.5g
Saturated: 1g
Monounsaturated: 1g
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 13.5mg
Potassium: 14mg
Carbs: 14g
Fiber: 1.5g
Sugar: 1.5g
Protein: 3g
Calcium: 1.5%
Iron: 5%

Peter Reinhart’s Transitional Whole Wheat Bread – Using a Bread Machine

Peter Reinhart Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor

I’ve been experimenting with bread dough, and have found that a long slow fermentation makes the most flavorful, delicious bread! I experimented with my own recipe, but wanted to keep exploring.

I’m all about whole grains, so reading Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor seemed like the next logical step!

I’m really not into hand kneading, even when authors say how easy it is. I have no patience for it, even if it’s only for a few minutes. I use my bread maker and I am very happy with it! I started with a one paddle Breadman, and recently purchased a West Bend 41300 Hi-Rise double paddle breadmaker, which I absolutely love!

Anyway, my first crack at his recipes (Multigrain Stuan recipe – page 102) was a semi-disaster, but I was so proud and happy to finally be working with a soaker and biga! Whoo hoo!

My second try at the same recipe was better. My soaker consisted of random amounts of cornmeal, barley wheat, wheat germ, oat bran, and wheat bran. The cornmeal gave it a pleasant texture.

Next, I tried the Transitional Whole Wheat sandwich bread recipe (page 99) and yum, it really turned out well.
Just look at the oven spring!

Awesome oven spring!

Continue reading “Peter Reinhart’s Transitional Whole Wheat Bread – Using a Bread Machine”

First Soaker and Biga!

Well it was my first try at a soaker and biga. Whoo hoo!

I followed a recipe from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor

I followed the Multigrain Stuan recipe on page 102. Actually I shouldn’t even be calling them recipes, (thanks Pen!) they are actually called “formulas”

I started out very well. I added a whole mess o’ grains and flours to the soaker. I mixed a combination of corn meal, barley flour, wheat bran, oat bran, oatmeal, and rye flour, added the salt, whole wheat flour, powder buttermilk and water. I kept it on the counter until this morning.

The Biga was just as easy to mix. I used my bread machine, and mixed the whole wheat, instant yeast and water. Shaped it into a ball, and allowed it to rest in the refrigerator until this morning.

This morning, I warmed up the Biga for a couple of hours, then, along with the grain soaker, I cut it up into smaller chunks with my pastry cutter.

This is where I went astray. I mistakenly read the wrong section on the page, and thought there was 3/4 cup of liquid. oops. That was the Biga! So, for the final dough, I poured water and the rest of the ingredients into my bread machine and let it knead. Hmm, it looked awfully soupy and that’s when I realized my mistake! Ugh!

I had to add a ton more flour, I kept adding and adding until it finally looked normal. I figured since it was so messed up, I better allow the machine to go through its paces. I kneaded for 10, then rested for 20, then kneaded again for 10.

Then I removed the dough and let it rise in a bowl near our wood stove for about 60 minutes. There was really a lot of dough, so I figured it might work better as two loaves; I divided the dough with my pastry cutter, and shaped into loaves.

After baking and cooling, I started slicing for tomorrow’s lunch sandwiches. Eh, not so good. The crust came apart from the crumb. Oh well. I had a few bites of crust, and it was surprisingly alright, considering the salt and sugar flavor was diluted from all the extra flour.

I’m not giving up, and will definitely try again. It was a great learning experience, and a mistake that I will probably not repeat again! haaha!

Most Delicious Flavorful Whole Grain Bread!

I’ve been experimenting for a few weeks, and I think I’ve found the trick to making delicious flavorful bread dough. It’s easy, but it’s time consuming, taking about 2 days to complete.

whole wheat barley bread after long cold fermentation in refrigerator

You can use any whole grain/whole wheat bread recipe, but reduce the yeast amount to 1/2 or 3/4 tsp.

Here’s what you do:

Continue reading “Most Delicious Flavorful Whole Grain Bread!”

Ordered West Bend 41300 Bread Machine

Well I did it, I ordered a new bread machine!

My older Breadman bread maker seemed to be on its last legs. I know I’ve been saying that for months, but it just keeps on going! My husband has tinkered with it several times bringing it back to life when I thought it was a goner. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the poor thing won’t last much longer!

It’s served me very well throughout these months on my bread journey. I’ve learned so much and I’m still growing and learning. Bread is amazing! But I think it’s time to move on.

After a lot of thought, I decided to go with the West Bend 41300 Hi-Rise Electronic Dual-Blade Breadmaker. I just placed the order through Walmart.com and it’s estimated to arrive at a local Walmart store in a couple of weeks. Then I’ll have 90 days to test it out, put it through its paces and decide if it’s the right model for me.

Continue reading “Ordered West Bend 41300 Bread Machine”

Baking Bread Blindfolded!

Ha! Well, the title is a bit misleading. I don’t think I could bake bread blindfolded, but I do have my base recipe for bread memorized. I am so proud of myself!

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp of water (optionally includes 1-2 Tbsp of honey or molasses or OJ)
12 oz of flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 – 2 tsp instant yeast

That’s been my base recipe for making bread dough in the bread machine for months, and I can’t believe I can throw the ingredients in without looking at my notebook! Never in a million years would I think I’d be saying that!

I’ve always hated baking, too much precise measuring! But now I actually have a sort-of routine and it’s so much easier. I am starting to understand the whole process, and am having a little bit of fun too! Ha! Who would have thunk it!

Barley Flour

Bought some Arrowhead Mills Barley Flour this week. I’ve been wanting to branch out into baking with different whole grains and barley seemed like a good option to start with.

I’ve been reading a few good books on whole grains, so it’s been interesting to learn about new ingredients! I added 1/2 cup of barley flour to my bread dough this afternoon. We’ll see if there is a noticeable difference!

Update: the bread is delicious! I made whole wheat sunflower rosemary bread. So good! I’ll use a little more barley flour next time!