Sorry about the pun in the title, but I saw it in the new Country Living magazine and it appealed to me :)
There's a lot going on at the moment about baking your own bread, and there's a nice article in the magazine about communal baking, courses, etc, and soem really useful mail order contacts for flour, mills, etc.
I've been baking my own bread for over twenty years now, since I got my own house first. I remember my father making it too, but with four hungry children, it never lasted long; I find that too, with the freshly baked loaves - hardly has time to cool before being devoured here!
Baking bread by hand is something everyone should have a go at if they can - the sense of satisfaction achieved, coupled with the result of *real* bread is nothing short of remarkable.
I have a standard recipe I use most of the time which works very well for me; sometimes I try something different, and I really want to expand my repertoire this year, so I'm busy researching recipes to try out. I'll pop my recipe and method in teh Kitchen later on.
It's hard work trying to keep up with baking all the time, so I do buy bread sometimes. I have a grain mill too, and occasionally mill my own wheat. I have grown a block of wheat in the garden too, but pigeons ransacked it; I'll be trying again this year, though.
Imagine being able to bake your own bread from your own home grown wheat, the satisfaction in that?
Anyone else make bread? Standard loaf or something else? Fruit and nuts? Cheese and olives? What's your favourite?
4 comments:
Yes, yes! I love baking my own bread.
I usually do wholemeal, but I tried a white loaf for the first time the other day! (Hehe OK, not very exciting.)
I would love to try olive bread or herb or tomato and basil or, or, or...yes lots I would like to try, but I'm so unorganised lately!
Hangs head in shame... I make bread in a breadmaker... to be honest I have tried making my own bread in the past and they have been awful disasters.. so very apprehensive about further attempts... but think I will give your recipe a go and see how I get on...
Love Jane xxx
Yes, we bake our own bread here mostly, although with 4 boys at home it never lasts very long!
I tend to do a mix of wholemeal and white, so that it keeps everyone happy, but sometimes we grind our own wheat and then its just good old wholemeal.
I must admit I cheat a little, and use a breadmaker for the kneading and first rise and then I shape it into rolls or loaf tins and the last rise and bake is done in the oven.
All the boys have helped somewhere in the process and the older two are sometimes left with the breadmaker beeping and can finish it off by themselves.
We like raisin loaf here too or hot cross buns without the crosses!!
For years I have made the Grant loaf, usually with spelt flour, it is very quick and easy to do, but i have been experimenting with natural levens lately. Not cracked it yet, but i am still working on it.
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