Do any of you bake bread?

[bjones9942 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bjones9942]

I use my kitchenaid to prepare bread almost every week. Most of the time I use a simple recipe:

• 3 Cups White Flour
• 2 Cups Wheat Flour
• 2 Cups Water
• 3 Tbs. Molasses
• 2 Tbs. Yeast
• 3 Tbs. Oil
• 1 tsp. Salt

The amount of water can vary. This makes 2 loaves. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes.

Sometimes, when I'm 'in a mood', I'll make what I call 'breakfast bread'. For this, I use all white flour, no molasses, and add coarsely chopped hard boiled egg, chopped bacon and shredded cheddar cheese. I roll it out jelly roll style before putting it in the loaf pans to rise.

[nicklinneh Member Find all posts View Profile Close nicklinneh]

to katie

I would use gluten at high altitudes. Certainly your yeast would work well there but it might tend to fall w/o the extra gluten. Especially with whole wheat and rye flours that don't have as much gluten. -ken

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Here's the sour cream rye recipe. It's from Cooks.com. Sometimes I have gluten on hand, sometimes not...I used to use it and I found it didn't really improve the bread. I do use bread flour.

For this I use the Zoji to mix and warm the dough, and then I shape the dough into a free-form loaf and let it rise once more at the back of the stove. Or I turn my oven on to its lowest setting (175 degrees), then immediately turn it off and put the dough in the oven to rise. (I have a really cold kitchen!) Use a sharp knife to make a slash before you put it to rise.

When I bake bread in the oven, I put a shallow pan of water on the lower shelf and the baking bread goes on the upper shelf. The water makes the crust crustier.

SOUR CREAM RYE BREAD

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup bread flour
1 cup rye flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
2 1/2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water

Add ingredients to bread pan in a bread machine in the order recommended by manufacturer. Recipe recommends using whole wheat setting or use the sweet bread setting.

Wacky...is it one or 2 rises....at what temp do you bake this?

I would use gluten at high altitudes. Certainly your yeast would work well there but it might tend to fall w/o the extra gluten. Especially with whole wheat and rye flours that don't have as much gluten. -ken

Yes, I am now trying wacky's recipe which calls for the gluten...I am also going to experiment a bit with it in other recipes (wheat bread)....do you have a recommendation for how much per cup of ww flour?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Two rises, and I think I bake it at 400, which is how I bake most bread. I also flip the loaf over halfway through cooking. You bake till it sounds hollow when you thump it. I hope it worked!

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I just looked at some other rye bread recipes and they said 350 degrees. I think my oven runs a bit cool--I find most things cook better at 400. At 350 I seem to get hard, heavy loaves that are still damp in the middle.

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

wacky, I sent you a PM....when I get a chance I will post my results and hopefully a picture! Thanks.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I hope it's good! Remember, you can swap out the rye for whole wheat or other grains. I used to make whole wheat with this recipe and throw in some sesame seeds or flax seeds, whatever I had on hand.

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Best Bread yet

wacky ... I made two loaves using your directions, one rye and one wheat....I thank you very much.....next will be my attempt at jericap's recipe. I tried to post, but the pics are too large....but truly, the bread came out the best yet. Thanks!