Weekly Loaf Recipe?

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Hudson1984

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Hi all, so, been having fun making some new things - this is mainly as since lockdown began, I've been in a new job that sees me working from home. Which I love! So I try to make use of lunchbreaks where I can by either practicing Piano or baking something.

I really enjoy making bread - even more so since buying a stand mixer!

I want to make more!

We use a whole lot of bread in our house, and whilst I don't think we'll ever stop buying it from a shop, I'd like at least one loaf a week to be homemade. I don't think i'd commit to making a daily loaf or even a every other day.

But! We made italian pizza last week (will be doing it again this week but cooking on the BBQ - our oven just couldn't get to the temp needed).

You can store that dough for 3 months in the freezer, so will probably start making batches...anyway....weekly loaf!

wondered if anyone has a nice loaf recipe I could steal for this weeks bread loaf.

Just a nice basic bread.
 
Yep.
I used to use spent grain in my bread until the day I left the grain a little too long and the bacteria content utterly destroyed the gluten in my flour.
Here's what I do now for two big loaves or three smaller ones:
1Kg strong white flour (type 65 in France)
250g caramalt soaked in 750 ml warm water
1 cube fresh yeast or whatever quantity of dried least is recommended (probably 15g)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar (there's probably enough sugar in the caramalt)
That's the ingredients list. You already know how to make bread although I don't know what quantities your mixer will take since I never use one.
I also add 2 tablespoons caraway seeds and 1½ tablespoons of juniper berries, but you don't have to.
Good luck.
If you want any more on the method, just ask, but I don't now how to use a machine.
 
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Some might think it cheating but a decent bread making machine (i.e. Panasonic) really does make it easy to become self sufficient on home made bread. I still hand make it too from time to time. Beauty of the machine is you just slap it all in the night before, set the timer, and wake to the smell of warm baked bread. Aldi have also started doing bread flour, 55p for 1.5kg so makes it cheaper than buying supermarket sliced white.

My regular loaf is a seeded 50% wholemeal. Basically following the bread machines recipe for a 50% wholemeal (e.g. 200g white flour, 200g wholemeal flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, milk powder, water) and then putting some seeds in the dispenser if the machine has one. I use 1 tsp caraway seeds, 1.5 tbsp sesame, 1 tbsp sunflower, 1 tbsp pumpkin but you can use whatever you like really.
 
at the moment, it's still fun to make without a bread maker....but doing it overnight certainly is appealing.
 
I do a loaf a week, I tend to either do a pan loaf or a larger one I'll bake in a casserole dish. Usually about 25% wholewheat. I usually make them one evening, put them in the fridge until the next morning then bake it

I also like them to last a few days, so I'll add a tangzhong/roux which really helps keep it fresher for longer

The Bake With Jack tin loaf is a very good starter loaf, you can adapt it but use his technique for shaping etc . eg reduce the yeast if putting in fridge over night, or replace some of the yeast with poolish/biga
https://www.bakewithjack.co.uk/blog-1/simple-loaf-recipe
 
I’ve been baking sourdough loaves for the past year or so and have it down to a fine art:

800g strong white flour
10g salt
320g starter
460g water

1. mix the flour and salt together
2. add the starter and water and mix enough with a spatula or your hand so that there is no loose dry flour at the bottom of the bowl
3. cover bowl with tea towel and rest for 2 hours
4. turn out onto clean surface (no need to dust with flour) and knead until the gluten is strong enough (10 mins max)
5. Place dough back into bowl, cover with tea towel and ferment for 4 hours
6. turn out onto floured surface, knock it back, and split in half
7. transfer each to proving dish lined with tea towel and dusted with flour (I use any high sided tin or bowl I can get at time of making)
8. prove in fridge overnight
9. heat oven to 220 degrees Celsius with cast iron plate in it
10. turn dough out onto heated plate, score the top, and place in oven with splash of boiling water in bottom tray
11. bake for 30 mins
12. cool for 30 mins
13. Slice and smother with salted butter

id say this takes no more than 30 minutes cumulatively of actual work, the rest is waiting
 

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