Bread

This past week I decided that I would try my hand at bread making. Although I do consider myself somewhat of a cook, I have never delved into the world of baked goods. So what better time than the present to learn? The timing of my sudden interest was impeccable, as baking bread at home seemed to be in keeping with our new goal of eating on the cheap. As luck would have it, one of the cheapest items in the grocery store is flour. This along with some yeast, sugar, and various other (cheap) ingredients can, depending on your competency, potentially produce bread. This post marks my first attempt to create cheap and tasty breads, which you can do at home.

My knowledge of bread baking previous to this experience was similar to my knowledge of cars.

Cars: Gasoline ignites in cylinder---pushes piston---turns a crank thingy---something about a transmission and gears---car moves forward.

Bread: mix flour, yeast and unknown elements X, Y, Z, etc. together in a bowl----knead dough---place into some sort of baking implement and bake in oven at ??? degrees---produces bread.

As you can see, I had the gist of it in both cases, although my knowledge would not allow me go as far as to either work on cars, or bake bread. So I decided to do a little research on the prestigious Internets. Here I found multiple tutorials that explained the properties and behaviors of flour and yeast, recipes, and how-to guides to mixing, kneading, and baking. Armed with my new knowledge in bread making, I set out for the kitchen.


In a medium sized bowl mix:
1-cup warm water (about 105 degrees in order to provide a suitable living environment for yeast)
2-tbs yeast
¼-cup honey
3-eggs
Once all these ingredients are mixed, add a 1-tbs of salt. Be sure to do this at the end as mixing salt and yeast too early can (according to some guy on the internet) kill the yeast.



After all the wet ingredients are mixed together, add 4-5 cups of flour. Flour's ability to absorb water varies so be sure to start slow and add more as the dough requires. Mix until the dough starts to pull away from the side of the bowl. Once the dough becomes a sticky, and stringy blob, remove it and place it onto a solid floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes and then place into a bowl lined with a drizzle of olive oil. Here the dough will sit for about 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.

*This dough has doubled in size*

Remove it from the bowl and give it a brief light kneading a second time. Cut the dough in half and roll both halves into an elongated shape. Place both halves into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Dab the tops with water and slice the tops with a sharp knife being careful not to use too much pressure or cut too deep. Bake for 20 minutes at about 400 degrees (cook time and temperature will vary depending on the oven, bread shape, ingredients, etc.)



Here you can see my first attempt at baking bread turned successfully.


My second loaf was placed in a deeper bread pan in the hope that I might create a loaf resembling that which you find at the store. Although the shape turned out ok, it was not cooked sufficiently in the middle. Although we did sample this loaf, my other roommate Ben claims that uncooked breads may contain live yeast that can cause extreme flatulence. This has yet to be confirmed.