Making bread

Toast4532

I'm looking for a nice recipe for a nice, white crusty bread, which is simple to make and doesn't take hours to make.

I've made this once before and just didn't like it. While it was nice and crusty on the outside, the inside was soggy/moist and just had a taste of flour off it, which I didn't like.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2060/easy-white-bread

I'd like to make a nice sourdough, but after reading various recipes, it seems like it takes a long time (hours/sometimes over night) to make.

I don't have a bread maker, so would be making the bread by hand. I don't want a bread that has a sweet-ish flavour, savory is more my thing!

Can anyone recommend a good tried and tested recipe for white bread? Recipes for brown bread would be appreciated too!

Tommy87

Why don't u try griddle bread, I make it all the time- flour, buttermilk, pinch of salt!! Simples!! Bang it on the frying pan and bobs ur uncle!!

Swampy

Tommy87 wrote: »

Why don't u try griddle bread, I make it all the time- flour, buttermilk, pinch of salt!! Simples!! Bang it on the frying pan and bobs ur uncle!!

I am all over this. Great post thanks.

Toast4532

Thanks, but fried bread doesn't really appeal to me, I much prefer bread from the oven.

I do appreciate your suggestion though.

Tommy87

It's not actually fryed, it's supposed to be done in a griddle, which is a large round pan. I don't have 1!! The heat comes up and cooks d bread through.

Surely u have seen griddle bread in a shop or bakery?? A round flat loaf of bread, like a really thick pancake?? With blackish spots in it. U really should get a loaf and if u like it u should try make it. Brings me back to when I was small and mammy used to make it!!!!

Toast4532

Tommy87 wrote: »

It's not actually fryed, it's supposed to be done in a griddle, which is a large round pan. I don't have 1!! The heat comes up and cooks d bread through.

Surely u have seen griddle bread in a shop or bakery?? A round flat loaf of bread, like a really thick pancake?? With blackish spots in it. U really should get a loaf and if u like it u should try make it. Brings me back to when I was small and mammy used to make it!!!!

I've never seen it or tasted it.

I wrongly assumed that because it was done in a griddle/frying pan that it was fried bread, apologies.

Probably a stupid question - but does it have an oily or fried flavour? I really love that 'bread flavour' you get from oven baked bread, it's just delicious and so comforting, especially in the winter.

Tommy87

No oily taste, nothing in the pan only a sprinkle of flour to stop it sticking. Here is a link for a recipe, the recipe is at d bottom of the story!

http://rhodakirwan.com/2011/09/07/griddle-bread-in-co-kerry/

Enjoy!

Toast4532

Tommy87 wrote: »

No oily taste, nothing in the pan only a sprinkle of flour to stop it sticking. Here is a link for a recipe, the recipe is at d bottom of the story!

http://rhodakirwan.com/2011/09/07/griddle-bread-in-co-kerry/

Enjoy!

Ah I see, thanks for the link. Might give it a try.

Merkin

I make this bread all the time and it is nyum:


750g of strong white flour (not self raising)
2 teaspoons of salt
35g of butter
7g of fast action powdered bread yeast
3/4 pint of warm water (not hot)
(You can add any ingredients to this mixture as well so sun-dried tomatoes or olives or seeds of any sort work well)

1.In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, butter and yeast. Don't mix the salt and yeast one on top of the other as it effects their reaction apparently. Stir all the ingredients together and slowly mix in all the warm water.
2. Put dough on well floured surface and knead well by hand for ten minutes.
3. Shape the dough as required (you can also use this recipe to make nice bread rolls if you fancy) and place in a well greased tin or tray covered lightly with cling film. I normally leave it on a flat tray as the dough really expands and you don't want to limit it by tin size! I then put it in the airing cupboard for about two hours.
4. Come back to your airing cupboard and it smells like a brewery!! The dough has usually at least doubled in size.
5. Uncover and coat the generously in a beaten egg (mixed with some sea salt) which gives it a lovely golden crust and then bake in oven on a high heat (about 200-210 for fan assisted oven) for roughly 30-35 mins. Before placing in oven you can also cover in sesame seeds or poppy seeds as the egg yolk will help them stick.
6. For a moist and soft crust remove and cover in a clean tea towel to cool and leave out in the air to get a hard crust.
7. Once cooled keep sneaking back to the kitchen for quality control and liberally spreading slices of it with Kerrygold!!

Tree

Griddle bread is like soda farls.

As for crusty bread loaves from the oven, if it's yeasted it will take hours, but you can break it up and let some of the magic happen overnight.

White soda bread is much faster (often made with fruit in it), but it doesnt have the same sort of crustiness.

My usual bread recipe

600g strong white flour (sometimes sub a third for whole meal flour)
1 tsp salt (for developing gluten fibres)
1 sachet quick yeast
200g warm milk mixed with 200g warm water

Mix the dry ingredients, add the liquid. Knead well for about ten mins (the dough shouldnt be dry and tight, it'll be a little sticky). Return to the bowl, cover and let rise for a min of two hours or overnight in the fridge. Take out, knead again (often called knocking back), shape into the desired shape and leave for about an hour to double. (I use a lightly oiled 2lb loaf tin). Heat oven to 220°C, put bread in, after 20mins reduce to 190 and cook for a further 20 to forty mins (depends on the shape of your loaf), so it's a nice crusty brown and sounds hollowish when tapped. Wrap in a teatowel to cool.

vic20

Try Damper or Bannock bread. Here's one recipe but if you google either you'll find plenty more. It's as simple as it gets and you can play with it to go sweet or savory.
http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/easy-australian-damper-L3230.html

Toast4532 wrote: »

I'm looking for a nice recipe for a nice, white crusty bread, which is simple to make and doesn't take hours to make.
<snip>
Can anyone recommend a good tried and tested recipe for white bread? Recipes for brown bread would be appreciated too!

MissFlitworth

I like Nigel Slater's Really Good & Very Simple White Loaf. It's in 'Appetite' if you've got that book or else you can see it here

Produces one giant or 2 smaller crusty white loaves & is really lovely. Unfortunately it's been banned from my house because it turns out 2 people CAN eat a loaf containing an entire kilo of bread flour smothered in a pound of butter in, oooh, about 4 hours.

Toast4532

Thanks so much for the recipe.

Will try that Nigel Slater bread this weekend, hopefully it turns out nice.