Famous bread recipe *Free*

[RideFree]

Is anybody that is having the "falling loaf syndrome" at altitude?
Higher than I am (Mile High Denver), calls for a significant drop in the yeast.
This recipe is thoroughly tested for perfection at 5000 feet.
At lower altitudes, I would raise (no pun intended) the yeast content to:
two (2) level teaspoons.
At higher altitudes, the yeast can probably go as low as 1¼ t.

The ingredients are listed in the OP in order of addition. There is no need to "layer" them if you follow the order listed.
And, the only reason for the hole in top of the flour for the yeast is if you are going to delay the baking cycle. This only serves to keep the yeast out of the sugar water.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: ECartman
My friends and family now run when they see me ... for fear I will foist ANOTHER loaf of bread on them. I'm buying the 25lb bags of flour at Costco .... I cannot stop.

Do I need help yet?

Yes, get into a local food co-op where you'll have access to the 100lb. sacks of flour!
I see a new brand rising on the markets - EC's Geek Bread! - Good to the last byte! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

[Morpheux]

Thanks.... Now I'm starving! And at work, so no bread for me. I'll have to drag out my bread-maker after work. I received some bread for xmas and went through it in two days. Nothing better than home-made bread with home-made jam...... mmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Lithan]

Interesting post. I like homemade bread, but really only would bother with all the work for a sourdough loaf (cause sourdough's like $4 for a small loaf at a bakery). Got any great sourdough recipes?

 

[gergever]

I've been using my same old breadmaker off and on again for 10 + yrs. Once in a while the loaves don't rise allthe way. I think temperature plays a part.

One tip I have is to make your water lukewarm and put some sugar and all the yeast in the water first for a while. Get some yeast action going before adding it to the flour in the breadmaker. I always use more yeast than the recipe calls for. Also don't let the yeast come in direct contact with just the salt, make sure the salt is mixed in with the flour first.

Add some walnuts in there, a banana or two, raisins, oatmeal, herbs, whatever. experiment.

oh, and king arthur flour is great.

 

[mlegower]

Finlaly gathered all the ingredients together to take a crack at this loaf. Put it in the old Welbilt Bread Machine before I went to bed and, presto change-o, in the morning I've got a beautiful loaf of bread begging to be toasted! Thanks for the recipe, OP! Now that I've given it a test run, maybe I'll buy the ingredients in the bulk quantities necessary to make this bread a truly HOT deal!

The only thing is that it seems to be slightly doughy at the bottom, but I'll see how big of an issue it really is when I actually get to the bottom of the loaf! I did put the ingredients in the pan in roughly reverse order because that is how the bread machine's directions say to put the ingredients in (yeast in a corner, then flour, then water/salt/sugar). I imagine the only real issue with layering is to make sure the yeast doesn't touch the water/sugar mixture until it starts mixing so either way should work fine, but maybe for the next loaf I'll try it your way!

Oh and I also used light brown sugar instead of dark. Tastes fine to me

 

[BadNomad]

RideFree...... Indeed this is HAWT!

I have been making my own bread since the whole bread machine craze started 7-10 years ago. Made my 1st loaf of this stuff last night. I did use stone ground wheat flour. Incredible!!!! Great consistency. Now don't get me wrong... Land-O-Lakes butter is really good stuff however since the holidays recently passed I happen to have a little Plugra European butter left in the fridge. I only buy it around the Holidays (cause I'm cheap) as a little treat for us. It makes the best toast I have ever had in my life bar none.

thx again!

 

[ECartman]

Originally posted by: Lithan
....but really only would bother with all the work ....

dude it takes like 3 minutes to pour the crap into the machine, hit the button, and walk away.....even if it ain't sourdough

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: 2canSAM
good points, using Gold Medal so I will try to cut back the water and see how it goes. Any recommendations on how much water to cut back, 1 ounce, 2 ounces?

Any cutback on the water should be on the order of 1T. at a time!
If you cut an ounce, you'll be making bricks.

 

[RideFree]

And whoever it was that said he tested the yeast by mixing a little with sugar water to see if it was "working"...this is not a reliable test.
Anemic yeast will struggle to put on a good show but lacks the punch to bring that slag of ingredients to the full erection.
Yeast is the single most critical ingredient.
I was at the store today and on chance, saw that the yeast packets were 3/$2.49. Way too expensive!
Shucks, as little as those packets are, just tear one off and try it to see if your yeast's the problem.

 

[scdill]

Originally posted by: RideFree

Originally posted by: 2canSAM
good points, using Gold Medal so I will try to cut back the water and see how it goes. Any recommendations on how much water to cut back, 1 ounce, 2 ounces?

Any cutback on the water should be on the order of 1T. at a time!
If you cut an ounce, you'll be making bricks.

Agreed, once your close, 1T of water makes a big difference. However, again, measuring flour by volume can lead to considerable differences in the volume of flour used. If there is several ounces of flour more than the recipe called for (which could easily be the case if the flour is scooped in, rather than spooned in to the cup), 1T would make only a barely noticable difference. While its kneading, you have to look at your dough, feel it, and if necessary adjust it -- especially when you are doing a new recipe.

And slightly off topic but an interesting new gadget, link to the ICEBOX breadmachine with built in UPC scanner and networkable.

 

[KKCC]

Amazon has a bread maker in their Friday sale:

Friday sale

Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker for $89 (seems high to me, but we have had our bread maker for about 10 years) With the A9 discount you can bring this down a bit.

With this recipe can afford to make great bread.

Thanks OP.

 

[ChurchOfSubgenius]

Originally posted by: knightc2

Originally posted by: ChurchOfSubgenius
Try out this beer bread recipe, people ask me to bring it wherever I go. I don't own a bread maker so it is written as such.

3 cups self-rising flour (reg flour with yeast and such would be better but I have never needed better)
1/3 cup sugar
2 beers (12 oz) (I find that reds give it the best taste)
1/2 cup melted butter (I have never used margerine, it might produce off-taste)

mix in large bowl and tranfer to two greased loaf pans, push dough to edges and try to flatten as much as possible, pour equal amounts of butter on each loaf top, bake @375 for 30 mins
let cool for at least an hour (wire rack preferred) slice off a peice and toast till slightly crispy, top with light coat of honey butter and die happy.

How do we convert this over for a use in a bread machine???

q]

What's a bread machine?

 

[rml]

marked for later

 

[scdill]

Originally posted by: KKCC
Amazon has a bread maker in their Friday sale:

Friday sale

Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker for $89 (seems high to me, but we have had our bread maker for about 10 years) With the A9 discount you can bring this down a bit.

With this recipe can afford to make great bread.

Thanks OP.

Walmart.com has the Breadman Ultimate for $60. The machine has some good reviews. On the plus side it appears to have a program cycle, while on the negative side it has an odd shaped pan.

 

[ECartman]

yeah! finally folks are posting some good links to bread maker machine deals!

I may need another one now, can't produce enough with my 10 year old Regal.

Pics of Bread and "the Recipe" for posterity

 

[McPhreak]

Originally posted by: KKCC
Amazon has a bread maker in their Friday sale:

Friday sale

Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker for $89 (seems high to me, but we have had our bread maker for about 10 years) With the A9 discount you can bring this down a bit.

With this recipe can afford to make great bread.

Thanks OP.

This is a great bread machine. I have one that I got a year or 2 ago. It has a yeast compartment on top that will drop the yeast in after all the other ingredients have been thoroughly mixed. Only downside to this machine is that it does not have a window you can peek into while it's operating.

I made a loaf of the above bread and it was good. Not spectacular, but good. It was a little chewy for my tastes. I'll try and fiddle around with the recipe a little and see if I can make a better loaf.

 

[RideFree]

Sumbeam Breadmaker for $39.XX
Although I can't vouch for this breadmaker, the price is certainly right for a 2lb. capacity machine.

If it doesn't work, you can always take it back...save the packaging material.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: scdill
Walmart.com has the Breadman Ultimate for $60. The machine has some good reviews. On the plus side it appears to have a program cycle, while on the negative side it has an odd shaped pan.

My daughter just brought over a loaf of her "World Famous Recipe" whole-wheat-light© bread
Not only did she get the Breadman Ultimate from Santa, but he also delivered her first bags of flour, yeast and dark brown sugar. She should be set for 2006.

In inspecting her Breadman Ultimate, it specifically stated 1½, 2 & 2½ lb. loaves.
I note the Wal-Mart site states that this is a 2 lb. machine. Can someone please resolve this discrepancy?

 

[scdill]

Originally posted by: RideFree

Originally posted by: scdill
Walmart.com has the Breadman Ultimate for $60. The machine has some good reviews. On the plus side it appears to have a program cycle, while on the negative side it has an odd shaped pan.

My daughter just brought over a loaf of her "World Famous Recipe" whole-wheat-light© bread
Not only did she get the Breadman Ultimate from Santa, but he also delivered her first bags of flour, yeast and dark brown sugar. She should be set for 2006.

In inspecting her Breadman Ultimate, it specifically stated 1½, 2 & 2½ lb. loaves.
I note the Wal-Mart site states that this is a 2 lb. machine. Can someone please resolve this discrepancy?

It looks like Breadman likes the word "Ultimate". Out on their web site there are several different machines with the word "ultimate" in the name. http://www.esalton.com/control/catalog/category/~category_id=C20003 It looks like the "BREADMAN ULTIMATE DREAM MACHINE TR400" fits your numbers while the Wally-world box more closely matches the "BREADMAN ULTIMATE 2LB - TR2200C".

 

[ECartman]

and you didn't even look at the Breadman penultimate machines

:;

 

[jtw99]

A question for more experieced bread machine users.
I have a round loaf machine, which doesn't lend it's self well to slicing for sandwiches. Question: are the rectangular, horizontal loaf machines a big improvement in that regard?

 

[Optimus Primal]

Originally posted by: scdill

Originally posted by: KKCC
Amazon has a bread maker in their Friday sale:

Friday sale

Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker for $89 (seems high to me, but we have had our bread maker for about 10 years) With the A9 discount you can bring this down a bit.

With this recipe can afford to make great bread.

Thanks OP.

Walmart.com has the Breadman Ultimate for $60. The machine has some good reviews. On the plus side it appears to have a program cycle, while on the negative side it has an odd shaped pan.

Thanks for the heads up...might go and give it a look at BM

 

[Thump553]

6200+ reads of this thread. I wonder if we should have a breadmaking forum?

 

[Poobah]

Originally posted by: scdill

Originally posted by: 2canSAM

Originally posted by: scdill

Originally posted by: 2canSAM
Tried this a few times and not much luck. Bread always collapses during the bake cycle. All fresh ingredients, Water temp at 83 degrees F. This last batch was made using 1 1/2 of Yeast instead of 1 3/4. Any thoughts? BTW Breadmaker is the Westbend Bread and dough maker.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/2canSAM/Bread1.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/2canSAM/Bread2.jpg

Been there. Couple of things that have caused this for me:
-- Too much yeast
-- Too slack of a dough (too much water in the dough)
-- Low protein flour

First item -- you've already cut back on the yeast

In reference to the second. For my breadmaker, an old don't even know the name of it machine, I like to finish the kneading cycles with a single well formed ball around the paddle. The ball can be tacky but not sticky. At the start of the kneading cycle there is some dough on the bottom that is not part of the ball.

Item three. There can be quite a difference (usually protein) between a good quality flour and a cheap house brand generic. Two good consistant flours for me are Gold Medal and King Arthur. Some house brands also work good. An interesting link on the testing of several flours http://www.sourdoughhome.com/flourtest.html

good points, using Gold Medal so I will try to cut back the water and see how it goes. Any recommendations on how much water to cut back, 1 ounce, 2 ounces?

Long round-about answer: When I first started this bread-baking addiction I had a problems with what "a cup of flour" meant. In weight, a cup of flour can go anywhere from 4ozs. to almost 5ozs. depending on how loosely or tightly packed it is in the cup and other things.

I read somewhere that a better way of measuring flour and water is by weighing them. My bread machine and the recipies I typically make work out best at about 62-63% of the flour weight in water. Example: if I were making a small loaf that called for 2 1/2 - 3 cups of flour, I would use 10 ozs of flour and 6.2 or 6.3 ozs of water. Being anal does help.

For what it is worth,

When I first started college (the 80's!), I worked in a bakery for a couple years. Nothing was by volume, we weighed EVERYTHING (flour, salt, water, you name it) on one of those scales with a pan on one side and big weights on the other.

Stuff was very consistent (and alas, yummy)

Enjoy.
-Ken