Home Baked Bread

[angeli]

I think I've now lost all desire to cook anything.....

 

[Salida Scarlett]

This discussion has obviously degenerated, <img src="/images/boards/smilies/rolleyes.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />. I was reminded of my old boyfriend's mom's cabin up in Wyoming. She didn't have a septic tank because there were so many rocks in that area, so she had this deal called a "Destroylit" which basically incinerated the "stuff". When that thing got cooking it stunk up the whole side of the mountain. It wouldn't have taken much to figure out a composting toilet would have been a nice improvement. It was the subject of many crude jokes to say the least. <br /><br />OK, so I concede this topic's been trashed. Nevertheless, I have been educated on the virtues of many things, "except" the art of bread baking. I'm pretty picky about it, and I've tried most of the techniques mentioned here. It's pretty safe to say a person needs to start their bread in a preheated oven at a very minimum temp of 350 degrees. Anything less than that will not produce a satisfactory loaf. <br />However, my very favorite bread of all time is a simple loaf of plain bread dough plopped into a presoaked clay baker with a lid and then started in a cold oven but raised quickly to a pretty high temperature. It produces a lovely "rise", a nice tender, soft crumb and awesome crust, (not too thick). But..the thermal shock would break the clay if you put it in a hot oven. <br /><br />Don't know how I'm going to work all this out, but haven't given up on the solar oven idea. I'm thinking combo solar oven heat sink possibly. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/idea.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br />Anyways, good bread is a thing with me. I can stand store bought, but just barely and only if I have to and there's no other options. <br /><br />Thanks again for all the great ideas! <br /><br />Scarlett

 

[SirJoey]

<br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Getting back on track, here's my first attempt at breadmaking with my Sumbeam breadmaker:</strong></span><br /><br />[video]<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Makes U wanna rush right out &amp; buy one, doesn't it?<br /></strong></span><br /><br />

 

[Guest]

That is funny SirJoey....I have made similar..with my whole wheat attempts....<br />Bri

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

<strong>Hmmm? Could you have missed a little blurb about adding YEAST?&nbsp; Not to worry, spray it with urethane spray, use as a doorstop. Please do not throw it outside as you may accidentally kill a bird with it.<br /><br /><span style="color: #ff00ff;">Dragonfly</span></strong>

 

[Salida Scarlett]

<br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Getting back on track, here's my first attempt at breadmaking with my Sumbeam breadmaker:</strong></span><br /><br />[video]<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Makes U wanna rush right out &amp; buy one, doesn't it?<br /></strong></span><br /><br />

<br /><br />Hun, you wouldn't be the first one that screwed up a recipe, but just remember, there's a reason for everything. It depends so much on the particular machine you used, (in this case a Sunbeam), but even within the same company there can be good models and some not so good . But usually, it's operator error in some way, shape or form.&nbsp;<br /><br /> King Arthur online, has a great recipe selection and their bakers can even help you with issues and working out problems. A major problem for home bakers is trying to make 100% whole wheat bread, because of the heaviness of the flour, but King Arthur has developed a 100% whole wheat bread recipe that turns out nice, and not like a brick bat. I've used the recipe many times myself. But newbies to bread baking should usually stick to Unbleached All purpose flour. Do a little research online on the King Arthur bread section and I think you'll have better sucess. "Luck" doesn't have anything to do with it actually. <br /><br /><br />Don't give up, it's worth a few failures to get it right. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><img src="/images/boards/smilies/wave.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-5891-2-Pound-Programmable-Breadmaker/dp/B00067REBU&nbsp; <br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-5891-2-Pound-Programmable-Breadmaker/dp/B00067REBU">Check out some of the reviews and see what other users say, This sometimes has helped me in the past. Also, try using Unbleached All Purpose flour,You might try a recipe that uses whole or dried milk. That usually makes a softer loaf.&nbsp; Lots of tricks to break making, for sure. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></a>

 

[SirJoey]

<br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Yeah, I DID use yeast, and even though this dismal failure was over a year ago, I've never tried making bread again, other than cornbread in the Sun Oven, &amp; that was with a box of Jiffy cornbread mix.</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Admittedly however, my wheat flour was kind of old, so maybe that was the problem. The thing is, most stuff turns out like this for me when it comes to cooking. In the kitchen I have all the finesse of a bull in a china shop. To make matters worse, I HATE cooking or preparing food of any kind, so I don't really eat well most of the time. I tend to eat things I can just grab &amp; eat, or simple things like sandwiches or things I can simply nuke in the microwave.&nbsp;</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>This is why I ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL eat out when the occasional trip to town becomes unavoidable. If I could afford it, I'd eat out ALL the time, every single meal, every single day! Or, I'd PAY someone to cook for me. I love not having to fix it, having choices I'm unable to prepare even if I tried, &amp; not having to clean up afterwards!&nbsp;<br /><br />Eating out is expensive, yes, but well worth it to this food-prep challenged, lonely ol' goat...<br /><br /></strong></span>

 

[SirJoey]

...<strong>spray it with urethane spray, use as a doorstop. Please do not throw it outside as you may accidentally kill a bird with it.</strong>

<br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>It's currently working great as a wheel chock on my little camper here...<br /><br /></strong></span>

 

[Salida Scarlett]

&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Yeah, I DID use yeast, and even though this dismal failure was over a year ago, I've never tried making bread again, other than cornbread in the Sun Oven, &amp; that was with a box of Jiffy cornbread mix.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Admittedly however, my wheat flour was kind of old, so maybe that was the problem. The thing is, most stuff turns out like this for me when it comes to cooking. In the kitchen I have all the finesse of a bull in a china shop. To make matters worse, I HATE cooking or preparing food of any kind, so I don't really eat well most of the time. I tend to eat things I can just grab &amp; eat, or simple things like sandwiches or things I can simply nuke in the microwave.&nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This is why I ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL eat out when the occasional trip to town becomes unavoidable. If I could afford it, I'd eat out ALL the time, every single meal, every single day! Or, I'd PAY someone to cook for me. I love not having to fix it, having choices I'm unable to prepare even if I tried, &amp; not having to clean up afterwards!&nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eating out is expensive, yes, but well worth it to this food-prep challenged, lonely ol' goat...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;

Aw hon, I do understand. If ya don't like to cook, then ya don't like to cook. But that's what wives are for. But then if you don't have, (or want) one, then the next best thing is a good home cooking cafe close by, or....a can opener. Some guys love to cook, like my one son for example, he does all the cooking in his family. He won't even let his wife cook, but she does work as well as him.

Tell ya what tho, I have made many a GREAT loaf of bread using Rhodes frozen bread dough. It cheap, no preservatives, comes in plain white or 100% whole wheat, and takes awesome! Nice and fresh coming out of the oven, the house smells divine. In the freezer section of the grocery store, it comes in 5 paks the last I recall.

http://www.rhodesbread.com/products/category/Traditional-Bread

I actually think you could bake this in a Solar Oven once you let the dough raise, and on a good hot day when the sun was out, and you could rev your oven up to 350 degrees. Don't see why not.

One other thing about cooking stuff like pot roast. Not so tender cuts like arm roast, or chuck roast actually need long slow cooking times no more than 300 degrees. But..the caveat here is they need to be seared in a frying pan or dutch skillet til they are nice and browned on the surface, (called the Mailard reaction, to be technical),http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction, and then you could start slow cooking them til tender and at some point maybe toss in some veggies. Easy breezy actually.


Blessings out your way,

Scarlett

 

[joey]

Hey, check out this Dutch Oven for baking.&nbsp; http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camp-Chef-14-Ultimate-Dutch-Oven/20468128

 

[SirJoey]

Scarlett, thanx a bunch! Never thought about frozen bread dough. Didn't even know such a thing existed, but as I mentioned, I'm not exactly a "Chef". Usually, the closest I come to cooking is to heat up some canned stuff.

So, what do U do, just thaw it out & throw it in a bread pan? I'm sure my Sun Oven would bake it, cuz I fixed cornbread that way, & I've seen other people's pics of regular bread prepared in solar ovens, even homemade ones which don't get as hot.

 

[Salida Scarlett]

<span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Well, hun, I had never heard of a solar oven either- so we learn something every day, and that's what makes life interesting and fun. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" />&nbsp; </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Anyways, what you'd have to do with the frozen dough is butter up your bread pan, (or better yet a clay baker if you have one), and butter up that frozen log of dough and put it in the pan. Then let the dough thaw and raise up right in the pan...gently, so you don't deflate it. <br />You don't want another brick. <br /><br />Once it's risen up an inch or so over the top of your pan, that's the time to put it into your heated oven and let it do it's magic. If the solar oven is at 350 degrees, you should have properly baked bread in about 30 min, give or take a little. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Trying this method with a clay baker could be a little touchy, in that you would want to avoid thermal shock which would break the clay. But if a solar oven doesn't get much above 350 I think you'd still be safe to put a clay baker in there as long as you sat it on an unheated rack or tile when you put it in the oven. And always remember to soak a clay baker in water, and then dry it and grease it before putting the dough in. The moisture trapped in the clay is what causes the bread to rise so high while baking. Pure magic! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" /></span> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">I wonder if anyone has ever he</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">ard of a solar oven getting up to 400 or 425 degrees? If so, you could do some <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>serious biscuit or skillet cornbread making,</em></span> because it takes a really hot oven for some things. Baking, like many other things is a bit of a science. By the way, speaking of cornbread. A lot of times when I don't want to heat up my kitchen, and this could apply to my eventual RV as well, I bake cornbread in my waffle iron, and it comes out crispy and awesome and those holes in there keeps the butter from sliding off. Perfect for summer, or anytime actually. I like stone ground corn meal the best, it tastes more wholesome and is just plain healthier., Sometimes I scatter some sesame seeds along the top for extra crunch. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">So, good luck with your solar oven baking Sir Joey. Even a slice of good bread along side a bowl of canned soup can taste pretty good. I've done it! </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Blessings, </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Scarlett<br /><br />PS: The best way to slice any homemade bread is with an electric knife. I kid you not. For a nice clean slice, you can't beat it. <br /><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">http://www.amazon.com/Romertopf-Rec...&amp;sr=8-6&amp;keywords=romertopf+clay+baker</span><br /><br /><br />