November 5, 2006 @ 12:59 pm | Filed under: Food and Drink
(Updated AGAIN with yet more new contributions at the bottom!)
Well, I really have to hand it to you folks. The bread recipes and advice came pouring in—exactly the kind of flood I was hoping for. Some of you shared links in the comments, and I thought I’d compile them all here in one post for easy access.
Those of you who took the time to email me recipes directly: please let me know if I may share those recipes with the rest of the internet! I won’t post them unless you give me the go-ahead. And thanks so much, all of you. Jane wants to try every recipe and compare them. I say: yum!
Oh, and about our first loaf, Becky asked: "How long did it last?" Answer: Not very long. Scott was lucky to get a piece; the kids pretty much had bread and butter for dinner on Friday night, at their own request. (I made them add apples and cheese to round out the meal.) We actually baked two loaves: the one in the picture, for which we used our brand-spanking-new Pyrex loaf pan, thank you very much. (Like many of my commenters, I’m a bit leery of nonstick cookware. All my pots and pans are plain old heavy-duty stainless steel. But we did have that nonstick loaf pan I’ve been carting around forever. I decided it was time to ditch it, and the Pyrex pan was only $7 at Target.)
For the other loaf, we used Hooly’s suggestion and shaped a round rustic loaf to bake on our pizza stone. That one was the one we devoured hot from the oven. SO GOOD. It didn’t survive long enough for a photo op.
As for the kneading surface, our wooden cutting board worked just fine. We put a tea towel under it to keep it from sliding around, as many of you recommended. And the kneading itself was the best part of the process. Jane and I had several fits of laughter as we repeatedly elbowed each other out of the way at kneading time.
—Here, honey, let me show you how to do it. Like this. And this. And this.
—Mo-om! I get it! Come on, don’t I get a turn?
—Sure, just let me show you how for another five minutes…
All righty, here’s the links I promised. If you have links to other breadmaking posts, send ‘em along and I’ll add them to our little unofficial Carnival of Bread, Glorious Bread.
It began with Jove’s post on how baking bread is meaningful work of the most delicious kind. Her daughter tried Wisteria’s recipe with excellent results. Jove explains how they adjusted the recipe here.
After I posted my questions about the process, Shelly shared her mother’s Butter Fluff Rolls recipe, which includes instructions for turning the dinner roll dough into cinnamon rolls. Mmmm.
My pal Lisa mentioned beer bread, and Cay shared Danielle Bean’s recipe for it.
Jennie’s post on How to Bake a Lot of Bread in One Day, complete with step-by-step photos, is a must-see. Be sure to read the comments too; she includes more helpful tidbits there. We took her advice about slitting the top of our loaf with a sharp knife before baking, and I have to say it is awfully satisfying to see that just-right sliced-bread shape every time I cut a piece.
Here’s another young baker at Bridget’s house, and another fine-looking loaf!
If it’s a good hearty oatcake ye’re hankerin’ for, here’s a recipe for Scottish bannocks I posted on Bonny Glen a while back.
That’s all for now, but I suspect there will be more to come!
UPDATED to add Donna-Marie’s post about Cinnamon Twists, mmm…
MORE UPDATES! Fellow ClubMom blogger Loni shares her recipe, which includes wheat she grinds herself with a Whisper Mill.
In the comments, Danielle Bean’s sister, Helene, links to another sister, Suzanne (author of the lovely blog, Blessed Among Men), who posted a yummy-sounding recipe for herb bread. We’ll have to try that one for sure!
Also, check the comments for CityMom’s recommendation of a book about breadmaking by a Jesuit priest.
ANOTHER ENTRY: Katherine in Texas shares her foccacia recipe. Oh boy!
MONDAY NIGHT ADDITIONS: Karen’s camera may be uncooperative, but her Italian bread sounds like a crowd-pleaser. It’s Atticus’s bread on the feast of St. Atticus!
Last week, Becky sent me an awesome email full of advice and recipes. I’m thrilled to say she has expanded that into a post for everyone to enjoy. Her recipe for "Old Order Amish bread" was the one Jane chose for our first try. And who knew the word "lady" originally meant "loaf kneader"?
Cajun Cay’s daughter learned the hard way when not to punch down (or poke down) the dough, but Cheryl has enough Brioche to go around. Pass the butter!
TUESDAY UPDATE: Minnesota Mom shares her grandma’s recipe for "coffee cake," aka Christmas bread.
And NYJLM waxes poetic about the joys of working with dough.
TUESDAY A WEEK LATER UPDATE: Danielle Bean’s friend, Father Augustine Measures, OSB, shares a homily about bread!
NYJLM shares a link to a New York Times article on breadmaking.
November is National Bread Month! Who knew? Well, Chef Leann did. Here’s her recipe for Honey Whole-Wheat Bread, oh yum, and her answer to "Why bake homemade bread?" Check out the Bread Baking 101 in her sidebar, too.
SATURDAY THE 18TH and the recipes just keep a-rolling in! Haley and Joann both gave me leave to post the recipes they emailed me; thank you very much, my dears. Here’s Haley’s French bread and Joann’s loaves made from a potato starter.
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Check out Sue’s recipe for a beautiful braided herb garden loaf at blessedamongmen.blogspot.com. Sue is one of Danielle Bean’s sisters and is very talented in the kitchen…..I am Danielle Bean’s sister, too,….but not quite so talented in the kitchen!…Flour makes me sneeze and itch and sends me running for the Benadryl every time. But I love reading about all this homemade goodness other people can accomplish!
Posted on November 5th, 2006 at 5:51 pmI can’t believe it–you just moved when? and you are baking bread? Amazing!
Posted on November 5th, 2006 at 6:38 pmOn this subject I would recommend a book, The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking by Br. Rick Curry. He is a handicapped (born with one arm) Jesuit brother who writes about the meditative experience of breadmaking, provides some great recipes from Jesuit houses and now bakes and sells bread (and books) to benefit a program he started, The National Theater Workshop of the Handicapped, as well as a baking program for handicapped students.
Here is a link to the NTWH, I don’t know how to post it more attractively:
http://www.ntwh.org/index.php?globalnav=about§ionnav=mission
And to the book:
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060951184/The_Secrets_of_Jesuit_Breadmaking/index.aspx
Posted on November 5th, 2006 at 7:49 pmOh, this is great — thanks for pulling together one post about it, with the links. And I’m glad to hear you and Jane had such a good time. I love baking bread.
Posted on November 5th, 2006 at 8:58 pmWe love homemade bread so I joined you in your mini-carnival here and did a post on our bread making!
Posted on November 5th, 2006 at 9:50 pmWonderful ideas! Thanks for doing this Melissa!
Loni
Oh yum! I used to bake bread before kids . . . I ought to teach them how. They’d love it!
Posted on November 6th, 2006 at 10:59 amIf you are still taking entries, Please take note of Cheryl’s Brioche at Time-Really-Does-Fly. http://www.timesaflying.blogspot.com. Her post is titled, “They can’t help but love me..” and I can see why.
Thank you for doing this…what fun!
Posted on November 6th, 2006 at 12:58 pmYou sure don’t give a gal much notice lol!
Here’s mine, Lissa, and happy early Thanksgiving
Posted on November 6th, 2006 at 2:18 pmI just wrote about bread making the other night http://nyjlm.blogspot.com/2006/11/so.html
Posted on November 7th, 2006 at 11:24 amI am a bread baker by trade and a culinary student. I am posting all month on bread for National Bread Month. I bake bread for my family and have for about four years now.
Use whatever you want from these…
http://5loaves-2fishes.blogspot.com/2006/07/bread-baking-101-why-homemade-bread.html
http://5loaves-2fishes.blogspot.com/2006/07/bread-baking-101-honey-whole-wheat.html
http://5loaves-2fishes.blogspot.com/2006/11/november-is-national-bread-month.html
There is more on the sidebar of my blog and a waffle and English muffin recipe I just put up, too.
Now, I am going to read those you have posted already… Thanks!!!
Posted on November 8th, 2006 at 9:07 amThe NY Times has a very cool article on bread making today. I’m definitely going to try it. New York Times
Posted on November 8th, 2006 at 9:08 pmBettnet.com Musings of Domenico Bettinelli says:
Baking bread
Melissa Wiley at The Lilting House blog posts an impromptu minicarnival of breadmaking posts after she mentioned that she was now baking bread with her kids at their new home in California. Bread baking is one of those things I wanted to get in…
Posted on November 15th, 2006 at 12:35 pmTricotomania says:
Bread
We’ve been baking bread regularly around here. Mostly me but sometimes Tigger and sometimes one starts and another finishes. My partner has even done it a couple of times (when we need bread and no one else was stepping up).
Posted on January 20th, 2007 at 5:24 pm