I don't doubt it. Made a second loaf and used 1 tsp salt instead of 1 1/4. Subtle but significant improvement.
I make bread once in a blue moon, and I've found adding some dark molasses really brings out a sweet, yeasty, earthy flavor. It also adds a really nice color to the loaf. That said - this looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing the recipe, too; maybe I'll make some with dinner tonight...
A great idea! How much molasses would you recommend throwing into a loaf with three cups of four?
It's up to taste, really! When using milk, I'll go up to half a cup to keep the flavor at the forefront, but I'd probably drop it to a quarter or a third of a cup when mixing with water. I like it to be present and bold, but not overwhelming. I'm also uncertain as to how it may alter the consistency of the dough. Perhaps try a third of a cup and experiment from there? That said, I'd like to know how it turns out if you do! Since you appear to be a natural, I'm betting further baking adventures will end just as wonderfully as this one did. :)
Using milk is a wonderful idea. I'll start a loaf tonight with some milk (that is if we have some haha) and I'll let you know how that goes.
This looks really good! One of my favorites is a ciabatta recipe I found on lifehack.org: It looks like yours is fluffier, though, so I'll probably try the NYT recipe you posted this weekend.
Combine water and yeast, then mix in salt and flour, let it rise for 8-12 hours then bake at 400F for 25 minutes. Delicious and dead simple. 4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon yeast
This looks very similar to what I make. Keep the salt and yeast, but to do what I did here reduce flour to 3 cups and water to 1 5/8 cup. However I have switching things up to where I'll use half unbleached white and half whole wheat. I haven't gotten the water proportion down, but it's somewhere around 1 1/4. Another cool thing about the NYT recipe is that the bread bakes for 30 minutes with a lid on, then for another 20 with no lid. It allows for the fluff in the first stage, and then a really nice crust develops in the second.
We make "Artisanal" bread every second or third day. Check out on you tube "No knead bread" and then pick Jenny feeds she is fun easy to follow and you'll make awesome breads in no time. I love the fact nearly nothing to do it only takes minutes and has no butter no sugar and so makes it ideal for anyone who likes good natural taste or may have trouble sugar or wants to avoid the troubles. Bon appetit
Yes exactly! The short amount of time each step takes it really nice. The bread I've been making is a type of no-knead bread. Speaking of "artisanal," I was driving by a McDonalds and saw that they advertise their new sandwiches as being "artisanal." When McDonalds starts using words with more than 4 syllables, there's a fairly high chance that they aren't using it in the proper context. I learned recently that "artisanal" only means that something was made in a non-mechanized way, aka by hand.
Oof. Not good.
I know that's not usually what you want in bread, but have you ever tried making hardtack? It almost ends up like a bread-cracker. It's really good with soft cheese.
If you haven't read it, flour water salt yeast is a great book with a ton of tips for amateur breadmakers. I prefer sourdough, but it's always good to get diversity!
I'll definitely look into it. I've been sticking to my guns with this one over the past few months but I could move on to something more complicated.
I have a question, I have tried making bread in the past, but it always turns out tasting kind of dough-y no matter how long I cook it. Any tips?
Don't cook it bake it:-) actually an artisan bread is slightly chewy and that is nice same as in Mediterranean
Don't cook it bake it:-) actually an artisan bread is slightly chewy and that is nice same as in Mediterranean
It sounds like you might be using too much salt or too much yeast. I recommend using 1tsp of yeast per three cups of four and 3tsp of sea salt. Never ever for any reason use iodized.
I once walked into a salt and oil shop to pick up some olive oil. I was with my fiance and she saw some Himalayan salt. She asks the woman at the counter, "my roommates have started using Himalayan salt, but I'm not sure what it is. Could you explain it to me?" The woman then goes on to tell us that Himalayan salt is one of the healthiest forms of salt because it is one of the least processed, meaning the chemical structure is such that your body receives the most nutrition from it. She then explained that in general, course salts are that way.
She continued by telling us that iodized salt is among the most processed, meaning the body doesn't receive much nutritional value from it because the chemical structure has changed too much. She also told us that she can tell when a person uses iodized by looking in their eyes. She asks people with yellowish eyes, "are you always craving salt?" They always answer with a shocked "yes! how did you know?" She tells them that yellow eyes is a result of eating iodized salt and iodized salt often times leads to an insatiable craving for salt. Is this anecdotal evidence? Yes. Do I believe this woman? Yes.
She most certainly seemed like an authority on salt. I could have shared this story or some anonymous article on the same topic instead. The article would have been written by a human, more than likely very similar to this woman. I like anecdotal evidence.
Aaaw snap! I think that's my problem. I'm pretty sure the salt I've been using has been iodised!
Yeah no good. I use sea salt. Himalayan works well too. Essentially use a coarse salt. But not kosher, that's more a cooking than a baking salt.
That looks amazing. I tried making bread a few times at home with a bread machine I had borrowed for a a short period of time. It was a disaster. Turned into a solid tasteless lump :( . Your bread looks amazing though!
It's not too difficult to take on. Just make sure you make it with love.
Yes. I intend to make loaves multiples times a weeks to consistently have a fresh stock.