A lot has been written about the art of bread
making. For much of the world, bread really is the staff of life and the making of it justifiably takes on almost religious gravity in many circles. I won't
pretend to have the deep and broad knowledge of bread making that would even
allow me to comment knowledgably on the scope of bread types, or bread making
techniques, or even scratch the surface of the vast knowledge that the most
novice professional baker has at their command. In short I'm no expert on
the subject, and I know it.
What I am though, is a person who has made a bunch of bread, spanning the
entire experience curve from my first lead-like doorstops at a commune in La
Honda, to some (self-proclaimed) masterloafies that still make my eyes
glaze over in fond reverie. In the process, I've made most of the
common mistakes and tried a bunch of things until I found a bread making system
that works really well for me and is easily adaptable for use by almost anyone.
The recipes I've provided below are guaranteed winners, but they are only three
out of hundreds that are easily obtained from the Bread Maker books, and even
more that you can create on your own once you get the hang of it.
The bread making technique I'm going to describe below has the following
four important attributes:
- It's dead simple, I'll tell you everything you need to know for complete
success right here.
- It's quick generally taking 20 minutes or less, total preparation time.
- It doesn't require anything exotic. In fact you can get everything
you need at most any general grocery store.
- It makes a variety of really yummy breads.
So with that as a prelude, let's get started.
Equipment & Supplies
The secret, if you can call it that, is that we'll use an inexpensive and readily available machine,
commonly known as a bread maker. We'll let the bread maker do most of the
work, while we take all the credit. The bread maker will initially mix the ingredients, knead the
dough, manage one or more rising cycles and finally bake the finished loaf for
us. Many readers already have a bread maker sitting on a shelf unused,
I'd like to convince you to press them into service. Others will know
what a bread maker is, but never have gotten up close and personal with one
before. I'll show them what features to look for in purchasing a bread
maker. I'll also give you a short grocery list of the bread making
ingredients used for all three of the loafs we'll discuss. This will allow
you to stock up on everything you'll need on your next grocery run.
If you already have a bread maker sitting around somewhere you can skip this
section. Tens of thousands of words have been written comparing and contrasting the
hundreds of different makes and models of bread makers available. If that
sort of thing interests you, by all means do the research and let us all know
what you find. If you just want to make good bread as soon as possible, go
on Amazon.com and purchase a Zojirushi BBCC-V20 Home Bakery for
$149 U.S. This machine is a good value that will handle most people's
demands on it with ease and last for many years. It has all the features that I've found to be
actually useful over the years and is reportedly as reliable as the day is
long. Amazon has them in stock and it currently ships for free. Whip
out that plastic and make it happen!
Grocery List
Add the following items to your shopping list the next time you go to the
store.
- Five pound sack of "Bread Flour." If you see one that says
"Bread maker Ready," or something similar on the label, that's the
one you want. Otherwise just be sure that it says "Bread
Flour," somewhere.
- Five pound sack of "Wheat Flour." Wheat flour won't usually
mention bread makers, but don't worry, it will still work fine.
- Small jar of active dry yeast. In the U.S. a popular and common brand
is Fleischmann's. Buy the kind that comes loose, in a jar, rather than in small
packages.
- A bottle of pure maple syrup. This is an expensive but incredibly
good substitute for sugar, so buy a small bottle of the best stuff they have.
- Natural honey. If you can find a brand that has a chunk of honeycomb
in the jar, get that. Otherwise just get one of those cute little Honey
Bear ones and move on.
- A head or two of fresh garlic.
- Dried Basil and Rosemary
- A 16 oz tub of Ricotta cheese.
- A small package of shortening.
- A gallon of fresh natural spring water.
- 8oz bag of Sliced Almonds
- 8oz bag of shelled, unsalted sunflower seeds
Add the ingredients below in order, select the two-hour setting on your bread
maker if it has one. Press the Start Button.
Simple huh? See, I told you so! Come back in two hours to a
mouthwatering loaf of hot fluffy bread that will satisfy some deep instinctual
craving in your soul and make you want to immediately try the other, more
advanced recipes.
- 2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 3 Cups Bread Flour
- 1½ tablespoon honey
- 1½ tablespoon shortening
- 1½ cups water
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- Optional, ½ cup sliced almonds
This recipe makes a nice healthy brown bread loaf. After trying it, you
can experiment with reducing the bread flour and increasing the wheat flour
until you find a mix that suits you. Sunflower seeds, wheat berries, sesame
seeds, even caraway seeds are all nice additions, just don't get carried away
or you'll end up with a brick rather than a triumph.
As before, add the ingredients below in order, DO NOT use the
two-hour (quick cycle) setting on your bread maker for any whole wheat flour breads. Press the Start Button.
Still simple huh? Slather this one up with some whipped butter and a quick
shot with the Honey Bear and you'll be grooving.
Okay, now we're ready for graduate school This cake-like bread
substitutes several simple ingredients with more complex ones to produce a loaf
that your guests will be talking about on the way home. Served with
homemade Mushroom Lasagna and a late harvest Zinfandel, it is elite.
As before, add the ingredients below in order, You can use the two-hour
setting on your bread maker or not depending on how much time you have. The
longer setting will make a more textured and nuanced loaf, but the two hour run
is a lot of bang for the buck when you are pressed for time. Press the Start
Button.
Still under twenty minutes prep time, right? You'll be smirking at
those helpless little moaning sounds your people make when they walk through the
door and are assaulted by the smell of this puppy!
- 3 teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 cup Bread Flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2½ tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Optional ½ cup sunflower seeds
=======================&=======================
One place to purchase the Zojirushi BBCC-V20 Home Bakery: Search www.amazon.com for "Zojirushi BBCC-V20"