Does Anyone Still Make Their Own Bread?

Yes, I still make yeast breads, quick breads. etc. As for sourdough: I once in my life got a good wild sourdough that worked like a dream. It's gone and since then, nothing has worked well. My next plan is to capture a good start on some homegrown tomatoes. Apparently homegrown or organic fruit/veg have a good yeast on them (NOTE DO NOT WASH the fruit/veg)
PLAN: mash a tomato slightly, to get it juicy. Add a tablespoon of flour, stir in. Plop into a glass canning jar cover with a papertowel, let stand 3 days until it ferments. Strain off the "juice into another glass jar, begin feeding like a normal sourdough.

a reply to: katfish

Well I'm going to try this! Botulism be damned! I have a bucket of garden not so fresh tomatoes that we've been trying to eat.

If you know anyone who makes homemade beer you can make a barm with the foam they skim off the top, it is an 18th century way to get yeast for baking breads.

one cup of foam, one cup water, one cup flour, mix well and let sit for a day before using. your bread takes longer to rise (about 12 hours in fridge) but it gives it a nice flavour.

a reply to: Daavin

Interesting. There's a small brewery down the road, and I bet they'd give us some. If I try this, I'll share how it turned out.

check out 18th century cooking with Jas Townson and sons on youtube they have some really interesting recipes for breads

yes I'm a re-enactor

I was doing the "no knead" bread for a bit, the one where you use minimal yeast and let rise for about 18 hours, then store in the fridge. I found that once you use it all up and don't wash out the container that's been in the fridge with the dough, just make more in the same container, it takes on a sour dough taste after a couple of times
It might have been a fluke though. Fake sour dough......

a reply to: katfish

I'm gonna try that too! thanks Katfish!!

I made bread just this morning. If you want to learn sourdough, I recommend beginning with a known and reliable starter. You can purchase one online from many reputable flour companies. I enjoyed the one I purchased from King Arthur Flour. Here is a link. This way you know you are starting with a established, hearty, viable yeast; which is going to behave as expected - and you can get acquainted with what to expect. Sourdoughs are good for your gut and make glutens easier to digest.

a reply to: Atsbhct

a reply to: Atsbhct

Bread has never worked out for me, but perhaps I can try one more time with your recipes. I have longed to make my own bread every week.

a reply to: Ameilia

If you have a stand mixer and know the difference between "sticky" and "not sticky", then I'm pretty confident you can make my grandmothers white bread with no issues.

If you long for that experience of kneading the bread by hand, patience is key. Ten minutes feels like a long time to squish and re squish a piece of dough at a steady pace, but it can be relaxing.

a reply to: Atsbhct

I make a good deal of my own bread when we have company and I also make my own pizza dough. I have a very simple high hydration dough recipe I use that makes excellent bread every time if you are interested.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Ameilia

If you have a stand mixer and know the difference between "sticky" and "not sticky", then I'm pretty confident you can make my grandmothers white bread with no issues.

If you long for that experience of kneading the bread by hand, patience is key. Ten minutes feels like a long time to squish and re squish a piece of dough at a steady pace, but it can be relaxing.

I have the stand mixer, and I know how to use it.

a reply to: DrumsRfun

I've been searching through recipes, and honestly, none of the gluten free potato dough crust recipes look ...right.

I've found a nice gluten free recipe from Epicurious, which has a good standard for producing recipes that are amazing. It's a bit complicated, ingredients wise, but I suggest buying these "random" ingredients at a bulk store so you can purchase a small amount when you need it. You can make a few crusts ahead of time to have on hand when gluten free friends unexpectedly show up.

Gluten Free Recipe

For pizza crust
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup white rice flour*
1/3 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, from 1 (1/4-ounce) package
2 teaspoons sugar
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

In bowl of electric mixer, whisk together tapioca flour, white rice flour, chickpea flour, sorghum flour, xanthum gum, and salt.
In small saucepan over moderate heat, stir together milk and 1/4 cup water and heat until warm but not hot to the touch, about 1 minute (the mixture should register between 105°F and 115° F on candy thermometer). Stir in yeast and sugar. Add milk–yeast mixture, egg whites, and 2 tablespoons oil to dry ingredients and, using paddle attachment, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until dough is very smooth and very thick, about 5 minutes.
Remove racks from oven, set pizza stone or heavy upturned baking sheet on bottom of oven, and preheat to 400°F. (Preheat at least 45 minutes if using pizza stone or 20 minutes if using baking sheet.)
Have ready two 12-inch squares parchment paper. Scrape half of dough onto each square and form each half into a ball. Coat each ball with 2 teaspoons oil, then use oiled fingertips to pat and stretch each ball into 9-inch-diameter round, 1/4 inch thick, with a 1/2-inch-thick border. Loosely cover rounds with plastic wrap and let rise in warm draft-free place until each pizza is about 10 inches in diameter, about 20 minutes.
Using baking peel, transfer 1 crust with parchment to preheated pizza stone and bake until top is puffed and firm and underside is crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Using baking peel and discarding parchment paper, transfer baked crust to rack to cool. Bake second crust in same manner. (Baked crusts can be made ahead and frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap, up to 1 month. Thaw in 350°F oven until hot, 4 to 5 minutes, before topping and broiling.)

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I am interested. It's very humid here, so high hydration recipes usually turn out pretty well.

Make a lot of flatbreads but never been brave enough to try making a loaf..one day I'll get round to trying it.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I would like that high hydration recipe as well, please

a reply to: MagnaCarta2015

Ooohhh, do you have a good naan style or pita recipe?

Sour dough for dark bread ?
sour rye bread

ROOT:
2½ cups of water or curd
2½ dl rye flour

making it glutein free change rye to buckwheat

About dough root, every time you use part of it, leave some of it as a root for next time you bake, you need to feed the root, every time you take some of it for bread dough then add in remaining root dough some water and flour ( just so that it resembles pap, it is good to feed the sour root at least once a week ) mix it and let it sour.

You can also make white bread sour, use any white flour just avoid starch.

Older the root is better it becomes ( keep using same root just feed it )

a reply to: Atsbhct

Here's my naan recipe,

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp warm milk
1/2 oz fresh yeast
1 tbsp veg oil
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 egg
ghee for brushing

sift together flour and salt, cream yeast in milk and wait about 15 min to activate

add yeast mix, oil, yogurt and egg to flour and make a soft dough then knead for ten min ( seven in my kitchenaid) let rise till double
preheat oven to 450F and place baking sheets inside to heat up, knock back dough divide in three and form balls, roll out to about 1/4 inch ovals
put naan on preheated sheets and bake for about 4 minutes till they puff up

brush with ghee

Note if using only one baking sheet make sure to preheat between loaves