Hobbies and Crafts

Definitely the phoenix thread.

I actually made a cottage loaf last Tuesday.

I usually make bread rolls and this was my first attempt at any sort of loaf :-D

It turned out a little lopsided, but otherwise fine.

Success :-D :-D

AnninGlos
yes ann, you are right the bicarbonate is the raising agent .it will not rise a lot .
I like it as there is no added sugar in it and I can have it as a little treat (diabetic), iris

Wow!

This should be renamed the Phoenix thread :-D

Interesting recipe Iris, no yeast in it? I assume the bicarbonate makes it rise?

I see it has been almost 2 years since anything was added to this thread ,lets see if we can start it moving again
low fat apricot and walnut bread
14 ozs plain flour plus a bit for sprinkling
2ozs porridge oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 level teaspoon bicarb of soda
2ozs dried apricots chopped
2ozs walnut pieces chopped
9 fl ozs natural low fat yogurt
5 fl ozs milk
preheat oven to 200c,put a little flour on a large baking sheet ,place all the rest of the flour ,oats etc in a bowl mix together , add milk and yogurt mix lightly together to form a soft dough. knead a couple of times ,place on baking sheet, pat in to an 18cm round, cut a deep cross in the top, bake for 30/35 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow under neath,wrap in clean teatowel until cool ... lovely with butter and chesse...or jam ...can also be toasted . iris :-)

I made my first sourdough bread yesterday :-D

I activated the starter over a week ago and am still managing to keep it 'live'

I followed a recipe from TV and I still have to work out the oven timings and settings as initially the bread was crusty on the outside but still undercooked in the centre.

I was really sceptical as to whether the dough would rise, this being the first time that I have tried this form of bread making, but was pleasantly surprised with the result.

It was also the first time that I have ever baked a 'loaf' of bread. In the past I've always baked rolls so it was no wonder that my temp/cooking times needed to be worked on.

Still, practice makes perfect, or so the old saying would have us believe, so I'll definitely be making another loaf very soon ;-) :-D :-D

G'day, Barry

Thanks for the link. The recipe is most interesting, I'll have to give it a go

Allan, I am sorry to learn that you have difficulty kneading nowadays.
Have you considered making a 'no knead' loaf?
I made my first no knead loaf the other day after watching a fellow on TV.
He made two loaves - per his recipe - and they looked very nice when baked.
Flour ingredients - per link below - are bread flour AND a lesser amount of wheat flour.
I am on my own so I made my loaf using HALF ingredients.
Mine did not seem to rise at all after covering for 45 mins!
Doh!
(Perhaps that should be Dough! Trust Homer Simpson to be involved somehow!)
After I scored the (rather wet) top - I sprinkled paprika, garlic salt, pepper, spice and others over it prior to baking for 50 mins.
I didn't want to make the 'sweet' version.
It was very crusty on top and, unfortunately, not very high. I should have baked it in a smaller tin.
I ate half of it soon after I removed it from the oven! It really was delicious.
It kept very fresh for about four days until eaten. I do keep many things in evacuated containers, which really helps items keep their freshness.

Here is the link if you care to try it:

http://www.food.com/recipe/chuck-hughes-no-knead-bread-387798

The other loaf I bake about once every ten days is a French loaf (3 1/2 hours) using my small Wolfgang Puck bread maker. It's very good. (The bread and the bread maker.)

Hi Ann

I know several people with gluten intolerance and it really does mess with their day to day lives :-(

As for baking, I enjoy it but don't do so much now that our kids have flown the nest. Also, arthritis in my hands makes kneading difficult although my daughter did buy me a powerful food mixer which does a good job dealing with that.

The only problem is that it can only handle up to a certain capacity of dough, and when I made the Easter Paska that capacity was exceeded so I had to do the whole process by hand.

Needless (or should that be kneadless? :-D) to say, my hands were sore for days after.

We also have a bread maker but these days it is used infrequently.

I've always enjoyed cooking in general and used to help my mother oh so many years ago before all the modern appliances became available.

It's quite funny visiting some museums and on seeing some of the old kitchen equipment thinking to myself, 'My Mum had one of them and one of them' :-D

Hi Allan,
Your proving solution certainly sounds unique!!

Do you do a lot of baking? We have had to adjust ours, because our daughter is no longer able to eat wheat/gluten as she has an intolerance. I am the last female in the family, on my Mum's side, to still be able to eat wheat. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!
I shall pop in from time to time to catch up
:-)

HI Ann

I'm in Western Australia, but originally from the UK. We don't have airing cupboards as such as the hot water systems are either storage, with the combined boiler and storage unit situated outside the house, or instantaneous water heaters, also outside the house.

On moderately cool but sunny days, I will put the dough in the car, which acts like very good proving oven :-)

Hi,
I am an "intermittent" visitor to Genes Reunited and have only just found the hobbies board. My baking skills need to be put to use again and this might just be the place to encourage me. Yesterday, I printed off a recipe for Southern (USA) Buttermilk Biscuits. They look just like fluffy scones and VERY interesting. I now need to purchase some buttermilk.......
Re: Easter - I had intended to make Easter Sugar Cookies, but sadly never made it! One year, I SHALL succeed!
The pre-warmed oven for proving, is a great idea. If you have an airing cupboard, a top shelf is also useful.
Best wishes - Ann :-)

Must be the norm, six months between postings :-D :-D

I made a Ukrainian Paska loaf this Easter. This is a traditional bread baked for Easter. The bread, together with other foods is taken to Church on Easter Sunday to be blest by the Priest.

It is only the second time that I have made a 'sweet' dough and it turned out OK.

A bit difficult to get the first rising as the weather turned really cold, but t solved the problem by sticking the bowl in the pre-warmed oven

Wow, six months since the last posting on here :-(

Made some bread rolls yesterday but used beer rather than water and instead of mixing all the dry ingredients first, as I normally do, I started the yeast in the beer.

Unfortunately I had forgotten that the beer is usually pasteurized and I spent over an hour waiting for the mix to start. I then realised that I hadn't put any sugar in the beer mix for the yeast to feed on :-|

After that things went ok :-D

The rolls turned out ok with a slightly different flavour. Next time I will try stout :-)

Hi there Allan,

My hands aren't great either, hence the bread maker, it makes a decent loaf size.
:-D

Hi nuttybongo

OH sometimes uses a bread maker but I prefer to do mine via hand, although these days, due to arthritis I mix the dough in the food mixer :-)

I make malt loaf in the bread maker. Lovely loaf and great with butter and toasted.

Well, finally! :-D :-D

Made some bread rolls yesterday (Saturday).

This would be the first time in several months that I've made any bread.

Moderately successful but I baked them too high in the oven.

I'll do another batch today.

Next Saturday (Easter Saturday) I'll make some Ukrainian Easter Bread (Paska) even though OH will be housesitting at my daughter's place over Easter. OH will come back for Easter Sunday lunch.

I didn't make any Paska last year as I was in NZ for Easter, where I met Persie in real life :-D

Gentle nudge please

Thank you
xx

Hello Elizabeth.

I still haven't made any bread for a while :-(

I've been a bit too occupied with other things, but hopefully I will be back on track soon :-)

I hope that you and your family are keeping well

Regards

Allan