Need Bread Recipes, Please!

[LJSquishy]

Do any of you have any excellent bread recipes to share? I am looking for any sort of bread, really, that will turn out nice and fluffy. I do not have a bread maker so I will have to mix & knead by hand. I would love to know of any great whole wheat recipes as I would prefer to use whole wheat flour, but I of course also have white bread flour. I would love to be able to freeze the dough also, if that is possible...so that I can just pull out a dough loaf, let it thaw (and rise? Not sure if it would), and bake it. I can do that, right?



I am also on the lookout for a MOIST whole wheat banana bread recipe! I like to make them into muffins and freeze them for a quick breakfast. I have only attempted them once before and they came out very dense and somewhat dry...but I ate them anyway. I felt bad because my husband commented on how dense they were (which I knew).



And...the cheaper it is to make, the better! Lower cost is the main reason why I want to make these items myself. It is around $2.50-$3 for whole grain bread at the store (that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, etc) and I'm just trying to cut costs as much as possible. Our food budget is getting harder to stick to and I find I'm coming home with WAY less items than I used to due to rising costs. Thanks!

 

[cornflake]

Several things....

First, I'm not sure what kind of bread recipes you want, exactly. I mean I have plenty but since you seem to be starting out (yes?), you probably want to just start simple.

I'd recommend buying a Joy of Cooking, or going to the library and copying some of the basic wheat bread recipes from it. It's the bible of basics, as far as cooking.

As to the wheat bread thing - most wheat bread recipes use a mix of wheat and white flours, and you partially found out why when you made the banana muffins.

Wheat flour doesn't have or develop gluten as well as white. The breads you see in the market that are 100% whole wheat are made with extra risers or glutens added. Without that, or without using partially white flour, you'll get a dense, unfluffy, small brick o bread.

You can find whole wheat bread flour, which has more gluten, you can also add gluten flour to the bread, or you can cut the whole wheat with white, which is what I'd recommend you do to start out really, it's just easier and you'll be able to get more of a handle on the bread thing.

Breadmaking is really easy - once you get it, if you know what I mean. There's a learning curve, to knowing if your yeast is happy to knowing when dough is kneaded the correct amount and knowing when to punch down and when to bake and etc.

It's not like, super tricky, but it is trial and error at first for most people before it becomes second nature to just churn out loaves, and then to be able to get creative and add say, different grains and flavourings and add-ins and know the dough is doing well.

As to the muffins, same thingish. I like whole wheat too and in quick breads like that it's much easier to use more and cheat the rise, but I'll still usually do 2/3 ww to 1/3 white because it makes a softer, less dense product.

You can do other stuff, btw. I make banana bread with half and half and add in a bunch of coarse, raw bran. Gives a nice nutty flavour and interesting texture. I do that with an apple cinnamon cranberry bread too, and some cookies.

I dunno what you're doing for the banana bread, my basic banana bread "recipe" (it's hard to say because I don't really have or use a recipe... so I'm kind of guessing but I'm giving you basic ratios that should work fine) is...

3 very, very overripe bananas (like, gross bananas you'd never eat)
1/3 c. sugar, maybe (or a little less + couple tablespoons of molasses)
2 eggs
about 4 tbs of fat (you can use melted butter, vegetable oil, I use olive oil, as it's what I have besides butter and I'm usually too lazy to melt butter, heh)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c - 1 1/2 c. flour, half white half wheat. (you want something between cake batter and bread dough. Not too sticky and thick, not too loose - depends on the consistancy of the bananas, the humidity, etc.)
Optional add-ins - whatever you like... chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, finely chopped candied ginger is a nice counterpoint, whatever.

Dump into a pan, bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out sticky clean. It's moist, promise. Also very banana-y, says everyone.

Oh, and yes, you can freeze bread dough but you have to let it thaw slowly, like in the fridge, and then yes, let it rise and honestly, it's much easier and works better to freeze loaves of bread. Fresh bread freezes and comes back well. You can thaw the bread in a slow oven and you'll never know the difference if you freeze it well (when fresh, wrapped tightly, etc.).

Also, once you get into it, you can keep a mother starter in your fridge or on the counter (depending on what you're doing) so you don't have to start from scratch every bread batch. There's someplace online I think you can buy sourdough starter like, 200+ years old.

 

[LJSquishy]

Wow, thank you so much for all of the wonderful tips! I did not know I couldn't really make a 100% whole wheat bread at home easily so from now on I will do a blend of flours. I think that was my biggest problem.

I definitely do not mind failing, so I will keep at it and hopefully over time my bread baking skills will improve. Your banana bread recipe sounds delicious so I am going to try that in the next few days!

I do have a large chest freezer out in the garage to store bulk meats and other food, so I think I will just try to keep a few loaves of homemade bread in there rather than just freeze the dough. Thank you for suggesting that.

I'm very excited to try again!

 

[aleask]

One of my favorites & its simple. Come to think of it, I haven't made it in awhile and really need to so I can take some into work.

Adam Ant's Beer Bread is what I called it.

3 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cube of melted butter (the rest of the cube of butter melted over top)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 bottle of beer

Mix slightly with a fork and bake in buttered baking dish 350* for 45 min. Watch so it doesn't get too done.

 

[Mouseless2Long]

I don't use a bread machine either, but i have kneaded my dough in my Kitchen Aid Mixer--works great!

As for banana bread, this is, hands down, the best recipe I have ever used for banana bread. It is soooooo moist. I think the key is the use of buttermilk in the recipe. I've never made it with wheat flour, so I'm not sure how/if using it would affect the outcome. Try it. I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

Banana Nut Bread

¾ c. butter softened
1-½ c. sugar
1-½ c. mashed bananas (3 medium)
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ c. buttermilk
½ c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Mix butter, sugar and bananas together. Add eggs and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour, baking soda and salt. Add buttermilk and mix together. Fold in walnuts.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or until done.