Saturday, December 16, 2006

bread success!

Well, my bread machine failed me today. The loaf of bread it produced was shaped like a bowling ball and just as dense. Not so much toothsome as toothbreaking! I think the machine waaay over kneaded the dough so it didn't rise much.

I was so disappointed with the outcome that I went online and found a recipe for Crusty White Bread and started another loaf right away. I used my Kitchenaid stand mixer instead of the bread machine to do the dough. After rising and being baked,the bread turned out perfectly:

finished bread
The recipe I used was pretty good- the bread is nice and crusty with a soft interior. It's quite tasty, too (some white bread recipes are sooooo bland!). We'll see if the loaf makes it to the morning so I can find out how it tastes the next day. If it's still good, I might end up making a couple of loaves every week for sandwiches and such.

3 comments:

PutYourFlareOn said...

Looks perfect! Ill have to try this recipe out! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

This is the bread recipe you need.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?ex=1166504400&en=19558cc0a9fce5d9&ei=5070

Or google "No-Knead Bread." That's right - no kneading - and it makes the most glorious crusty load of bread. It's a revolution!

Anonymous said...

I am about to share my never fail secret for bread machine bread. OK, I have 2 of them.

1. Use SAF Instant Yeast. I get it at Williams Sonoma and a package lasts me quite awhile. It has never failed me. Make sure to check the expiration date first.

2. I never bake it in the machine. I just use the dough cycle and then take it out and do the 2nd rising in a loaf pan and bake it in the oven. It comes out much better that way.

And I have the absolute cheapest bread machine they sell at Wal-Mart. I use it weekly. I hardly ever use the Kitchen-Aid