Guest Post by Wendy from Wendy Rozier Photography
Photo by Wendy RozierI recently worked for almost a year in the bakery of a local grocery store that is well known for its fresh-baked bread and goodies. And just like everything else, the behind-the-scenes view sheds much more light on what a customer really gets. The customers at this store were willing to pay top dollar for their goods because they really believed it was worth it. While there is some little truth behind that belief, I often thought that these customers would be shocked if they realized how much of this “fresh-baked” bread was really par-baked, frozen and shipped to us (usually defrosting at least a little bit before we could get it moved from the truck to our freezer), and then eventually simply placed on a pan and baked to completion. And they are paying between 3 and 5 dollars for each loaf. I cringe at the thought.
So people, it’s time to get your forearms ready for a little work because you can produce a much better product than you will find in any mainstream grocery for a fraction of the price. You don’t need an automatic bread maker (my personal belief is that they are much too expensive for the service they offer). If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook you’re all set. But if all you have is the two hands God gave you (and if He didn’t give you two you’ve figured everything else out at this point, so give bread a shot) you can make excellent bread. Here are a few tips:
- Always proof your yeast. Mix it with water that is about 110 degrees and if it is not foamy within 5-10 minutes do not use it.
- To knead the dough by hand, grab the side closest to you and flip it over away from you onto itself. Then press down with the palms of your hands. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat.
- To get a good rise from your dough, place a bowl of hot water in your oven with the covered dough.
- Add only as much flour as you need. If the dough is too sticky for you to mix with your hands, get a scraper and use that to flip the dough.
- If you are making crisp crust breads (baguettes and such), an egg wash is very important. Just whisk together 1 egg & 1 tablespoon water. Brush it on before baking. It may smell eggy while baking, but the crust will be so much better.
- If you want to get as much nutritional value as possible by baking with whole grain it is best to have it ground into flour no more than a day or two before using it because the oils will break down. See if there is local health food store that can help you with this, unless you have a home grinder.
- There are a lot of bread machine recipes on the Internet, but all the ones I have tried can be worked without the machine. Just follow this method: proof your yeast in the warm liquid. Add any sweetener to feed the yeast. Use a large spoon to mix with the remaining ingredients (always add salt after adding the majority of the flour because if the salt comes in direct contact with your yeast it will kill it). When it can no longer be mixed with a spoon use your hands to knead until smooth & elastic. Let rise until doubled in size. Shape and place on pan and let rise again until doubled. Then bake. If you are unsure of its doneness, just use a thermometer and make sure the center reaches 200 degrees.
Finally, here are a couple recipes to get you started from one of my favorite sites:
There are many recipes out there to try, so I encourage you to find what you like and give it a shot. It may take some experimenting and practice to get it good, but it’s definitely worth it!
