How hard is it to make bread?

[whistlepig]

I tasted some from a bread machine years ago.Wonderful. Just simple, freshly made, warm bread. Maybe sourdough. Something that's not a lot of hassle.

 

[SMOKEOCD]

Look up a no knead bread. I think there are many now, New York Times was the recipe I used.
Sourdough, that’s work, kind like a Tamogachi pet you gotta keep feeding it, then incorporate it into a dough. Start simple.
Bread machines are pretty cheap, dump in the ingredients and fuggedaboutit.

 

[whistlepig]

I'm thinking about a bread machine. Can sourdough be done with a bread machine? Just simple warm bread.

 

[SMOKEOCD]

I'm thinking about a bread machine. Can sourdough be done with a bread machine? Just simple warm bread.

I’ve got a Zojirushi. It has a sourdough function.
Not sure of other brands. I’m pretty sure if you had a starter and added the ingredients it would turn out fine in any machine.

 

[whistlepig]

Thank you! I'll take a look at Zojirushi.

 

[Fueling Around]

If you want to go bread machine then stay with their recommended mix.
If you want to really delve into traditional bread baking using a generic yeast bread recipe takes a bit of work to get the dough to the correct hydration. Not all flour is the same for moisture. It has taken me a few years (yes, years) to get the hydration level. Hydration is the catch term for stickiness of the dough.
I make traditional sough dough now and then
I usually make a sour dough discard bread.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Look up Peasant Bread. I had a post a while back about it. Easy and taste like sour dough.

 

[SMOKEOCD]

If you want to go bread machine then stay with their recommended mix.
If you want to really delve into traditional bread baking using a generic yeast bread recipe takes a bit of work to get the dough to the correct hydration. Not all flour is the same for moisture. It has taken me a few years (yes, years) to get the hydration level. Hydration is the catch term for stickiness of the dough.
I make traditional sough dough now and then
I usually make a sour dough discard bread.

Last sentence got my attention, what’s a sour dough discard bread?

 

[philpom]

Mixed in our Zojirushi and baked in the oven. Best of both worlds, hands off mix/knead/1st rise and perfect time/temp control. I have done sourdough this way many times but this is a regular dough. The Zojirushi is the best bread machine on the market.

 

[Up_In_Smoke]

I have a Breville machine, and I absolutely love it.
It can make 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5# loaves.
It's fully programmable and can just be used as a mixer
if you want to bake in your oven during the winter.

 

[pineywoods]

I'm interested in this one too. We have a bread machine we bought way way back but what about doing it without the bread machine.

 

[SMOKEOCD]

It’s easy to make bread , a little harder to make great bread. I usually use the bread machine to make/rise the dough, then dump it into a preheated cast iron Dutch oven and dump a shot glass of water in there before closing the lid and shoving it back into the oven. I’d say it’s almost great and I don’t want to put in the additional effort to get to great.
Every chef has a bread video to show you their techniques by hand, you tube probably a million more. At least it’s cheap to keep trying until you get what you’re after.

 

[voyager 663rd]

I'm interested in this one too. We have a bread machine we bought way way back but what about doing it without the bread machine.

How much detail do you want? How much time do you want to spend? What equipment do you have?

A little more detail and I/we can add

 

[voyager 663rd]

Look up Pheasant Bread. I had a post a while back about it. Easy and taste like sour dough.

Peasant bread is the term to search for. LOTS of other variations.

 

[BigW.]

Spell check is a great resource. NO such thing as pheasant bread (not for normal folks anyways).

Peasant bread is the term to search for. LOTS of other variations.

Spell check does not help when a word IS spelled correctly. You can point out a correction without being rude. I certainly make my share of typing errors.

 

[zwiller]

It’s easy to make bread , a little harder to make great bread.

BEAT ME TO IT! I think it's the same for most hobbies. I will say FRESH "ok" bread is still very tasty. Main point is gonna be bit more work and practice to best the loaves at the store. There is some merit to the 10k hours rule...

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Spell check is a great resource. NO such thing as pheasant bread (not for normal folks anyways).

Peasant bread is the term to search for. LOTS of other variations.

Sorry. I do suck at spelling. Here is the one I did. It is pretty good bread.

Peasant Bread

So I been making this bread for a while now. Very easy and only takes couple hours from start to finish. I think it is very close to sourdough. I will give the link to the video/recipe as you really need to watch so you know how the dough should look. For what ever reason I always have to...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[pi guy]

My $0.02 (probably worth less than half that): The wife has been making sourdough for about 6 months now, and as stated above it's like having a pet you have to care for. The end result is fantastic, but it's definitely work.
We had a bread machine years ago and it made decent bread. Then the wife somehow burned a loaf in it and we never could get it to work right.
I'm following along, as I would love to be able to make quick, easy loaves. Good luck!!

 

[philpom]

From memory

360 grams AP flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 ts salt
1 1/2 ts instant yeast
1 tb lemon juice
3 tb raw honey
2 tb olive oil

Combine everything except the yeast and flour in your mixer bowl and with a bread hook mix on medium high for 3 min. Then add the flour and over that sprinkle the yeast. Mix on medium low until a smooth dough ball forms (add a little water or flour as needed) target will be around 60-65% hydration. Continue to knead for 8 more minutes. Place in an oiled bowl covered somewhere warm until it doubles in size (about 90 to 120 minutes). Form a smooth rounded loaf and place in a medium loaf pan that has been greased with butter lightly. Cover and back to a warm place until it fills the pan nicely and is 1/2" to 1" above the pan. In a pre-heated oven at 400°f center of oven bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Check for a hollow sound when you tap on it, pull, remove from pan, cool fully and slice.

I use a large inverted clear bowl to cover for the 2nd rise so I can see and no worry about any sticking to the top.

 

[chopsaw]

Sorry. I do suck at spelling. Here is the one I did. It is pretty good bread.

No need to be sorry . We knew what you meant .