| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 7/15/2009 5:32:34 PM | | It has been my observation that home made bread is more expensive. There is probably a way around that though. My friend makes some really dense bread. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 7/16/2009 9:03:51 AM | | "Vital gluten" can also be labelled "gluten" or 'wheat gluten", they're all the same thing. If your recipe isn't calling for bread flour, you can probably sub bread flour for the all purpose flour and get a decent result. I don't eat wheat, but I do believe bread flour has a higher gluten content than all purpose flour. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 7/16/2009 1:48:23 PM | | I just started adding diced jalapenos and extra sharp cheddar cheese to my regular bread recipe....OMG is that good.... You can play with it if you want heat, but I prefer the flavor over heat.... | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/17/2009 6:05:48 PM | thanks, Captain Girly Girl! it's now a month later and I've made more loaves of bread than I can count! I started using "flour for bread" which HAS the gluten added! I've been fairly experimental and my favorite to date is the one I made last night ... used the flour for bread ... honey ... olive oil ... the usual other ingredients and added 3 packages of low-sugar maple-flavoured INSTANT OATMEAL! and 3 tablespoons of ground flax seed! WOW!
I finally found quicker bread, too ... this one takes less than 2 hours from start to finish ... the scent of yeast mixed with maple, honey and flax seed ... heavenly!
thanks to everyone who offered assistance!  | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/19/2009 2:50:17 PM | It depends on what kind of bread you're buying. If you buy cheap Wonder bread, maybe not. However, I'm not a bread eater and when I do buy bread, I like the good crusty stuff and it is not only expensive, it goes stale quickly. Since I live alone, this is a drag.
Last year I got turned onto Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day. You can google it and find the basic recipe. I liked it so much I bought the book. During the cooler weather, I make small loaves of bread almost every day. It's a very easy method. Flour is not expensive. If you get into making bread a lot, you can buy a pound of yeast for the price of a 4 oz. jar in the grocery store. (Forget those little packets if you're making bread very often.) I found yeast by the pound for a good price at Whole Foods, believe it or not. Also at a grocery that caters to Bosnians.
It's definitely cheaper than buying the good crusty bread that I like. And that method is easy and doesn't require much time or make a mess. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/19/2009 2:54:08 PM |
was I expecting too much? any hints where I could find more interesting flours?
Get on King Arthur Flour's email list. Occasionally they'll run a special that if you buy over a certain amount, the shipping is free.
I used to grind my own and then buy grains and grind it myself. I recently learned that wheat flour handles better if it is not too fresh. Source of this information is On Food And Cooking by McGee. Millers have known this for a long time and it's why the bromated flour - to create a false aging.
Other possibility: stock up when you make a run into a larger city. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/19/2009 10:13:48 PM | | I started making Artisan bread last summer - cheap, quick and easy. A batch will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and you can hack a grapefruit-sized ball off to bake fresh for dinner! Yummy! | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/20/2009 8:24:54 AM | | Sour dough bread is a frugal bread and you always have the starter on hand. I'm crazy about different breads so buy the flours in large quantities (which is cheaper than small bags) and store them in my cold room in sealed plastic containers. I also have a large freezer so I cook in batches and freeze the bread, unsliced, to lessen the chances of freezer burn. You can use the bread bags a number of times over as well if you want to be as cheap as I am. If you're lucky enough to have a convection oven like I acquired when I moved, it takes less power to bake and less time to cook other foods, so that cuts down on costs too. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/20/2009 7:02:08 PM |
I started making Artisan bread last summer - cheap, quick and easy. A batch will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and you can hack a grapefruit-sized ball off to bake fresh for dinner! Yummy!
Isn't that a great method? I had some musicians show up unexpected one night and I had nothing to offer anyone - no chips, no snacks. I had a batch of dough in the fridge so as soon as I heard they were on their way, I took some out and shaped it & turned on the oven. When they arrived, I popped it into the oven and 35 minutes later we had a couple little loaves of freshly baked, homemade bread. They were amazed! I love that book. It changed my life. I make all sorts of combinations. It's fun to experiment.
I don't bake in the hot weather but we've had such a mild summer, maybe I should whip up another batch of dough tonight. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/21/2009 1:41:45 PM | Well after reading some of these posts about how bread machines are evil I will have to post my opinion of them.
I LOVE my bread machine. I bought one that was brand new still in the box at a yard sale for $10 bucks. I wanted to try one but I wasn't going to spend a hundred bucks to play with one.
This thing ROCKS! The bread is perfect every time. Just put in your ingredients, make your selections for type of bread, crust, etc. and hit start.
Someone posted that they never saw a bread machine make 100% whole wheat bread. Well it works like a charm. I have a whole wheat loaf baking right now as I type this.
I do know how to make bread by hand and still will for special occasions but the bread machine is just to easy to not use it.
The cost is much more frugal also. For whites and wheat's it's about .50 cents or less to make a loaf. The pumpernickel and rye are a bit more but still less than half of what the store charges. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/24/2009 3:02:24 PM | | For anyone interested, I just got an email today that King Arthur Flour, for a limited time, has free shipping on orders over $75. They have interesting flours and additions. If you live somewhere where you can't get these things, check them out. 8/24/09 | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/24/2009 3:15:58 PM |
"Vital gluten" can also be labelled "gluten" or 'wheat gluten", they're all the same thing. If your recipe isn't calling for bread flour, you can probably sub bread flour for the all purpose flour and get a decent result. I don't eat wheat, but I do believe bread flour has a higher gluten content than all purpose flou
You're right about the gluten and yes, you could use bread flour in place of all-purpose flour in most bread recipes. You might have to adjust a little. I think you need a little more liquid (or a little less flour) with bread flour. You'll get a different texture - chewier & firmer.
Never substitute "cake flour" for bread flour, ever! And if you substitute it in cake or cookie recipes, you'll have to make some adjustments for liquid. I don't remember what. Best authority on this is McGee's On Food And Cooking. The man goes into detail about different types of flours, including the differences between American and European flours, and the effects other ingredients have on the texture of bread. It's an amazing read if you get into making bread.
I just made a batch of white flour dough with a 1/2 cup of King Arthur's "Harvest Grains Blend" mixed into it for added fiber, texture, & flavor. It was really good and lots cheaper than buying something equivalent. Seriously, how much does three cups of unbleached white flour, a tablespoon of yeast, and a tablespoon of salt cost? Even the 1/2 cup of grains wasn't that much, and I got two loaves out of it.
And no, I don't work for King Arthur. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/24/2009 4:56:43 PM | I just made a loaf out of my breadmaker with sour cream in place of milk and mashed bananas in place of shortening
came out so light & fluffy with a crisp crust.. kids loved it <img src=http://www.plentyoffish.com/smiles/icon_201.gif border=0> | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/24/2009 9:50:31 PM | | Tigress did you substitute straight across the board--equal banana for equal shortening? Equal sour cream for equal milk? Sounds interesting | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 8/25/2009 7:36:49 AM | Yes I did Pistols and Pearls.
I know .. strange but it worked!
It wasn't much.. I was making a basic white bread with 2 tbls of milk and 2tbls of shortening but used substitutes since the boys drank all the milk and I used the last bit of shortening in making peanut butter and jelly bars 
lucky me.. it turned out great
Only thing is the center was a wee bit on the doughy side but the boys loved it. It's texture is similiar to that of a sweet bun | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 11/14/2009 8:22:49 AM | what a GREAT idea, using sour cream instead of milk! I'm allergic to the milk proteins and, of course, there are no proteins in sour cream ... there are lots of recipes I have to avoid due to the whole milk requirement ... I think I'll try substituting sour cream and see how it turns out ... since it's so fatty, with sour cream, do you reduce the other fats in recipes?
I made a semi-successful raisin bread the other day ... it tasted nothing like store-bot raisin bread! it wasn't sweet at all and I thot maybe I should have added extra honey or sugar (I used about 2 tablespoons honey and maybe the same amount of sugar) ... does adding extra sugar to bread dough alter the rising power of the yeast? | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 11/14/2009 9:36:36 AM | Rapid Bake Bread
1-2/3 cups water
3 tbsp powdered milk
3 tbsp shortening
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4- 1/4 white flour
2 tsp yeast
add in listed order, select Rapid Bake setting
MM, this is the recipe I use the most and alter from time to time. As you can see, when I use sour cream and mashed bananas, there is no other fats to reduce unless you want to consider sugar. Honey is a good substitute but like you notice, flavor changes
As for your question about adding extra sugar altering the rising of the bread, I've researched from the net the following;
Loaf Rises Too High
-Decrease water or milk by 2 Tbs. or
-Increase salt by 1/4 tsp. or
-Decrease sugar or honey by 1 tsp. or
-Decrease flour by 2 Tbs. or
-Decrease yeast by 1/2 tsp. or
-Used wrong type instead of dry granular yeast or
-Ingredients not measured properly.
Loaf Does Not Rise Enough
-Increase water or milk by 2 Tbs. or
-Decrease salt by 1/4 tsp. or
-Increase sugar or honey by 1 tsp. or
-Increase yeast by 1/2 tsp. or
-Not enough water or milk or
-Flour too old or
-Flour too low in gluten content or
-Flour too fine or
-Used wrong type of yeast instead of dry granular or
-Accidentally measured salt in Tbs. instead of tsp. or
-Ingredients not measured properly. | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 11/15/2009 5:44:59 PM | mik... it seems like you do alot of bread making. I am wanting to get into doing that with my daughter now that the weather has turned colder. What we are really looking for is a Jalapeno or Jalapeno & Cheddar bread that is rustic and a crispy crust. I am not having any luck on finding a real good recipe out on the net. And it really seems like you all know what you are talking about. If you or anyone here has any input, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance & Happy Bread Making!!! | |
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| Is making bread more frugal?
Posted: 11/15/2009 6:05:58 PM | cpht ~ The last post by Mik was 6/27, no longer on the site, I believe. But, I'm sure there are other posters who will be able to help you. Have you done a site search yet for the bread recipe you want? If not, give it a try,, there's lots of good recipes on this forum.
tb | |
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| Jalapeno Cheese Bread
Posted: 11/15/2009 7:25:25 PM | Jalapeno Cheese Bread Sticks#1
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons yeast
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tsp granulated or powdered garlic
1 cup fresh jalapeno, thick slices, deseed or not
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, or any cheese of choice
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granulated garlic, or 4 sliced or crushed garlic cloves
kosher salt
Pour in warm water. The water should be about 115 degrees F. Test it with your hand. It should feel very warm, but comfortable. Add the honey and salt. Mix on low for about 20 seconds. Add the yeast and mix on low for another 5 seconds. Add 1 cup of flour, mix on low for 10 seconds. Add the olive oil and mix until blended (about 15 or 20 seconds more). Add the rest of the flour, cheese, jalapenos and garlic and mix on high for about a minute or two. If you do not have a low and high setting, just pulse for low.
The dough should turn into a ball and roll around the processor. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.
Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.
After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's the boss and punch it down. The dough is now ready to be rolled out.
Just pull off the size ball of dough you want for each stick and roll by hand into ropes the half the size you want. Let sit 10 minutes then bake in preheated 500 degree F oven until golden.
OR
take 2 ropes and twist together
OR
Make only 2 large ropes and twist together, then curl in on itself, making a swirl shape like a snail shell, to make a round loaf.
Before letting the dough set for 10 minutes before baking, brush with a little olive oil and then sprinkle with garlic and a little kosher salt.
Jalapeno Cheese Bread Sticks#2
1 1/2 cups very warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tsp granulated or powdered garlic
1 cup fresh jalapeno, thick slices, deseed or not
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, or any cheese of choice
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granulated garlic, or 4 sliced or crushed garlic cloves
kosher salt
Place very warm water, yeast and sugar in food processor and pulse once or twice to mix.
After 2-3 minutes you will see small bubbles forming in the liquid in the food processor, which indicates that your yeast is working. Dump in the dry ingredients, jalapenos, cheese and garlic and turn on the food processor. The machine will go all the work, including the kneading. After about a minute the dough should form into a ball going around in your food processor. Open the machine and take a look. If you think the dough is too wet, you can add a bit a flour, but know that too wet is better than too dry, and the dough will loose some of its stickiness as it rises.
Place about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large bowl. Take the dough out of the food processor (putting a little olive oil on your hands will keep it from sticking) and form it into a ball. Place in the bowl and turn to lightly coat with the olive oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm, draft free place for about an hour or until doubled in size, before rolling out and baking.
Just pull off the size ball of dough you want for each stick and roll by hand into ropes the half the size you want. Let sit 10 minutes then bake in preheated 500 degree F oven until golden.
OR
take 2 ropes and twist together
OR
Make only 2 large ropes and twist together, then curl in on itself, making a swirl shape like a snail shell, to make a round loaf.
Before letting the dough set for 10 minutes before baking, brush with a little olive oil and then sprinkle with garlic and a little kosher salt.
I recommend baking on a pizza stone in a very hot oven 500 - 550 degrees F for about 10 -12 minutes.
Hope these are what you want. The recipes also make good pizza dough, leaving out the cheese and jalapeno, of course. The granulated or powdered garlic woud be optional.
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