Carb Control
If anyone in my family had any sense of carb control, I would bake bread a lot more often. But the truth is, if I make a loaf of homemade bread, the addicts consume every last crumb before it has a chance to cool down.
But for the rest of you, homemade bread is a great way to save money and eat better. You can purchase some pretty healthy and delicious bread at the store, but generally, the healthiest store bread, is often the most expensive.
Here are a few bread making tips that have helped me get great results every time.
I use my kitchen Aid. I’ve never been able to make good loaf by kneading it with my hands. That is truly an art I would love to have the time to perfect. When mixing, I always leave the bowl mixing for a good 5-8 minutes.
I use half to 3/4 whole wheat flour, and the rest white flour. I carry both in large amounts so I always have some when we need it.
I only rise once! I place the dough, just after mixing, into the loaf pan. I let it rise about 30 minutes, or until barely reaches the top of the loaf pan. (covered with plastic wrap)
Then, I go straight to baking. I place the pan in the oven, then turn it on right away. Then my baking time is usually only about 30 minutes.
I take it out of the pan right away and place on a cooling rack, so the sides and bottom don’t start weeping with condensation. I will sometimes cover it with a dry towel to keep it from getting stale.
Then, we don’t even have a chance to use it for sandwiches, because they eat it by the huge slice, right off of my cooling rack.
Other tips:
- I buy Saf Yeast. Not only is it the best price, it has always produced a rising bread for me. When I’ve used the other brands (in the envelopes), Half the time, my bread would not rise.
- I rise and bake the bread with a warm, steamy bowl of water in the oven with it. This keeps the bread moist!
- This recipe has given me great results, every time.
- When I had a bread maker, I would always set it on the dough setting, then rise and bake it in a real bread pan. I hated the shape of the bread maker loaves.
- If I have a problem with my bread, I usually find out what went wrong on this website: http://www.baking911.com/bread/problems.htm
Do you have any bread making tips that has helped you?
Posted: December 3rd, 2009 under Whole Grains.
Comments
Comment from Vennesa
Time December 3, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I haven’t tried Becca’s bread recipe yet, but you used to have the perfect bread recipe on your site. It was called Whitney’s bread. I absolutely love it, and make it all the time. Which is why I haven’t tried this recipe.
Comment from Amy
Time December 4, 2009 at 5:09 am
Jessica: I love my bread pan! I like that it is longer than a normal bread pan, giving me more bread. And I love that my bread never sticks to the pan. It comes out pretty clean. I got it for probably about $10 at the Bosch Kitchen store.
Venessa: I forgot about Whitney’s recipe! She’s a girl in my ward. She always makes the best food ever. So I’m not surprised hers is fabulous. I always make her chocolate chip cookies too.
For those of you who are curious, whitney’s recipe is here. http://lovinfromtheoven.blogspot.com/2007/01/honey-whole-wheat-bread-half-batch.html
Comment from Teri
Time December 4, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Amy, I have a great wheat bread recipe if you want it. It comes out perfect everytime. I grind the wheat in my grinder and use 100% wheat flour. I don’t have a Kitchen Aid, I knead it on the counter for 10 min. Just spray the counter with Pam first instead of using flour. It’s supposed to be a moist sticky dough. – On an unrelated note, how many patties does your black bean burger recipe make?
Comment from Teri
Time December 4, 2009 at 1:02 pm
scratch that last part – just checked my email, sorry 
Do you think it will feed 6?
Comment from Hannah Mautz
Time December 16, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Be proud–I’ve been baking my own bread for over a year now, and have only bought bread from the store in an emergency. I’m so spoiled now I can’t stand it from the store. And, once the novelty wore off, we didn’t consume it all in one sitting. The three loaves last us about 1 week. And FYI–I use your recipe, but I actually use all whole wheat (no white flour)–and when I grind the wheat myself it gets really fluffy. Still totally yummy!
Pingback from Healthy Food Ideas for Super Healthy Kids » More Bread
Time December 29, 2009 at 7:50 am
[...] (my cousin) commented that her family too used to eat all the homemade bread as soon as it would come out of the oven. But she said, Once [...]
Comment from Jessica
Time December 3, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Do you like your bread pans? I was thinking of getting some like that? What size do you have?