STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

wicked · Coach

Does anyone else bake their own bread?

thrillme · BCBG

Did you form it into a roll? The rolling out part may have cause that too... did you let it rise in the pans before you baked or just before you rolled it out? Any of those may have been the problem but I'm pretty new to bread baking too and have had many of flops... those are the suggestions my grandma gave me the last time my bread flopped.

wicked · Coach

Yeah, I did roll it and I think next time i'm gonna skip that part. I did let it rise for an hr after putting it in the pans, maybe that wasn't quite long enough.

Thrillme- Do you roll it out, then roll it up again? The recipe I used today is the first time i've ever seen that step, i'm thinking it's unecessary?

ETA: I meant to mention that this was my 1st time making bread with a mixer as opposed to kneading it by hand.

-- Edited by wicked at 08:40, 2006-10-16

thrillme · BCBG

I normally don't roll it out. After I finish kneading it I usually just tuck the sides under until the top is smooth.. Have you ever made buns? IF you have I make my bread loaves like that except on a larger scale. Depending on your elevation you may have to add more flour than the recipe calls for. I don't know a whole lot about that but when I lived in a different state it took a different amount of flour.

kittenheels · Coach

I haven't made bread in a few years, but I have never rolled out the dough. I would normally knead, let rise, punch down and then shape...then rise again. What sort of bread did you make?

Metric · Gucci

I have used the Kitchenaid recipe too and it didn't turn out for me either. I think it might be a crap recipe.

wicked · Coach

Kittenheels and Thrillme- It was plain ol' white bread and your methods are exactly how I've always thought bread was supposed to be made. As for adding extra flour, I really really wanted to, but the recipe was like "absolutely do not add more flour than the recipe calls for!"

Metric- I think you're right, when I read the recipe I was like "huh?" The instructions were different from any other bread recipe i've seen. I think i'm gonna use a basic Betty Crocker recipe next time or search on-line for something.

One last question: when using a mixer, can you really omit kneading by hand or is KitchenAid off their rocker?

My goal is to make a batch every weekend until i've perfected my method.

blubirde · Chanel

I don't bake bread but my dad and my grandmother do, and I've watched them enough times to know at least a little about the process.

Neither of them have ever rolled out the dough, so I think that part stinks in the recipe.

As for kneading, my grandmother does it via machine and hand and my dad does it via machine with maybe a tiny bit of hand kneading. It depends on the dough because it will get tough if you just leave it in the machine to be kneaded. Plus, isn't the hand kneading the best part?