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Does anyone in here bake their own bread?


Baby Hercules
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I used to bake my own bread in college. It was amazing but now I crave something grainy, nutty, and denser--like Ezekial, etc. All the recipes I've found online don't really fit that description. Does anyone have advice on how much "stuff" I can add to the dough and when? "Stuff" like rolled oats, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, etc. Can I incorporate it without losing the rise or do I have to sprinkle everything on top just before baking?

 

Thanks!

 

Baby Herc

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I LOVE bread baking! I haven't done it in awhile since I don't eat much bread anymore.

 

I used to buy this multigrain flour mix that had things like seeds and what-not already in it. It worked really well.

 

Things like flax, sunflower seeds and stuff you can just put right in the dough when you first mix it up. I don't think it would affect the rise too much, but if it isn't rising as quickly because it's heavier or something then just give it a bit longer.

 

Pumpkin seeds and oats I would probably put on top of the loaf, but you could try kneading them in.

 

When I made 'denser' breads I found adding some vital wheat gluten to be very helpful in achieving a nice rise.

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Oh, I'm a bread master! I love to do it, but in winter months. Nothing beats a slice of home-made bread and bean soup with pumpkin, mmm... I make everything from scratch, and when I feel like a crazy person with nothing better to do, I even grind my own flour I make my own starter as well, so the whole process lasts 2 days. I always make sourdough bread, I us eno bakaers yeast. But it's worth it! Mixing flours is also nice: wheat, barley, rye, buckwheat, oat, millet... Some chopped dry tomatoes or red peppers, olives, olive oil, thyme, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, etc - those are my favorite spices for bread.

Check out my baked beauties:

barley and wheat bread

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2192282&id=1417307133&ref=fbx_album

 

wheat bread

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2044913&id=1417307133&ref=fbx_album

 

wheat and rye bread

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2076238&id=1417307133&ref=fbx_album

 

millet flatbread

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2189899&id=1417307133&ref=fbx_album

 

BIG loaf of bread

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2021143&id=1417307133&ref=fbx_album

 

corn flatbread with seeds

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3100097&id=1417307133&ref=fbx_album

 

AND IF YOU LIKE MUFFINS:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2332219&id=1417307133&ref=fbx_album

 

IF you want the recipe for one of those, I can fix it!

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I used to bake my own bread in college. It was amazing but now I crave something grainy, nutty, and denser--like Ezekial, etc. All the recipes I've found online don't really fit that description. Does anyone have advice on how much "stuff" I can add to the dough and when? "Stuff" like rolled oats, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, etc. Can I incorporate it without losing the rise or do I have to sprinkle everything on top just before baking?

 

I completely agree. Most whole grain breads are cut with white flour. When I was in college there was a place that made true whole grain bread and from a diversity of grains. It had "stuff".

 

Anything else is not bread to me.

 

If it is even slightly squishy, its not bread as far as I am concerned.

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Woo-HOO! Thanks for all the great info and tips, guys. I'm looking forward to those cooler days (I'm with you on that, vege) when I can fire up the oven and have sourdough for the first time in decades. Ezekial doesn't make one. (sniff!) I'm already a master baker, just say the words "vegan cupcakes" to my non-vegan hiking friends and they will get big smiles on their faces.

 

I agree, beforewisdom, squishy bread just doesn't cut the mustard, pun intended. You make a sandwich out of it and your fingers poke through it in two bites. Anything that can be balled up, Wonderbread-style, is an imposter. Plus, I can just feel the good nutrients in a hearty bread, it has more energy on many levels.

 

Hey, have you ever made bread in an Italian loaf shape? Do you use a cookie sheet for that? Love that chewy crust!

 

Vege, did you say you use no yeast? Doesn't that produce a delightfully dense bread? I wanna do that!

 

Baby Herc, having bread dreams

 

PS: vege, I wish I could see your photos but I resist the Facebook Gods. Are they posted anywhere else? Could you tantalize us with a few pics on this thread?

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family size whole grain sourdough wheat bread

http://a.imageshack.us/img404/2706/n141730713320211434171.jpg

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

whole grain sourdough wheat "bagel"

http://a.imageshack.us/img340/3892/n141730713320449144764.jpg

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

whole grain sourdough wheat and barley bread

http://a.imageshack.us/img695/8237/46051153153955170141730.jpg

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

whole grain sourdough bread "flower"

http://a.imageshack.us/img18/7692/n1417307133207623810194.jpg

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

macrobiotic whole grain muffins with plums, apples, rasins and apple juice

http://a.imageshack.us/img689/9968/58931191479673289141730.jpg

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

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Holy Wheat-Lovin' Heaven, Batman, it's an avalanche of chewy crusts!

 

I changed my mind, vege, you aren't King Kong, you're...Faster than a speeding bowl of sourdough starter, able to leap tall whole wheat loaves in a single bound, it's BREADMAN!

 

Baby Herc

 

PS: I may have to stalk you for recipes.

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Lobsteriffic,

it is very simple. yeast is all around us in the air. You just have to mix whole grain wheat flour with some lukewarm water, to reach the consistency of a gravy. You put that in a water glass and cover loosely with small plate or something, air has to circulate. You let that sit on your kitchen counter, covered loosely with kitchen towel, for 1 day, or 2 days (depends how warm it is in your house). Yeast forms from itself and it SHOULD smell strange and become bubbly, nothing wrong with that, it's yeast growing.

Then you take whole grain wheat flour, put this starter in it (cca glass of starter on 500-700 g of flour). Kneed with some water for 10 minutes, and form a ball of dough. Then cover it and put it somewhere where there is no draft. I put it in cold oven. After few hours, the dough will rise. You kneed it once agin very very gently. Then you put loaf in a pot that you have warmed up in the oven first. Before baking it in the oven, put a lid (without plastic parts!) to completely cover the pot, so the bread can rise and rise in all that humid atmosphere, before the crust forms. After 30 minutes or so, take of the lid and let the crust form.

I KNOW it sounds complicated, and believe me, you have to fail like ten times, before you figure out the right proportions and procedure. To me, bread making is a spiritual thing, and it happened very often that it turned out bad when I was in a bad mood. So, you have to be in the mood and believe in your baking power

 

SIMPLE WAY, without starter is:

Make dough a out of whole grain wheat flour and lukewarm water. Put it in warm place without draft to sit one day, or two. It will rise from itself and become smelly. Kneed it gently once again and put it in warm pot and bake as described above.

 

ALSO, if you decide to bake every other day, save a peace of dough, and use it as a starter for the next bread. That's how village people here do.

 

GOOD LUCK!

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Holy Wheat-Lovin' Heaven, Batman, it's an avalanche of chewy crusts!

 

I changed my mind, vege, you aren't King Kong, you're...Faster than a speeding bowl of sourdough starter, able to leap tall whole wheat loaves in a single bound, it's BREADMAN!

 

Baby Herc

 

PS: I may have to stalk you for recipes.

do not hesitate!

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Lobsteriffic,

it is very simple. yeast is all around us in the air. You just have to mix whole grain wheat flour with some lukewarm water, to reach the consistency of a gravy. You put that in a water glass and cover loosely with small plate or something, air has to circulate. You let that sit on your kitchen counter, covered loosely with kitchen towel, for 1 day, or 2 days (depends how warm it is in your house). Yeast forms from itself and it SHOULD smell strange and become bubbly, nothing wrong with that, it's yeast growing.

Then you take whole grain wheat flour, put this starter in it (cca glass of starter on 500-700 g of flour). Kneed with some water for 10 minutes, and form a ball of dough. Then cover it and put it somewhere where there is no draft. I put it in cold oven. After few hours, the dough will rise. You kneed it once agin very very gently. Then you put loaf in a pot that you have warmed up in the oven first. Before baking it in the oven, put a lid (without plastic parts!) to completely cover the pot, so the bread can rise and rise in all that humid atmosphere, before the crust forms. After 30 minutes or so, take of the lid and let the crust form.

I KNOW it sounds complicated, and believe me, you have to fail like ten times, before you figure out the right proportions and procedure. To me, bread making is a spiritual thing, and it happened very often that it turned out bad when I was in a bad mood. So, you have to be in the mood and believe in your baking power

 

SIMPLE WAY, without starter is:

Make dough a out of whole grain wheat flour and lukewarm water. Put it in warm place without draft to sit one day, or two. It will rise from itself and become smelly. Kneed it gently once again and put it in warm pot and bake as described above.

 

ALSO, if you decide to bake every other day, save a peace of dough, and use it as a starter for the next bread. That's how village people here do.

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

Yeah, I do know the basics of making a starter. I guess I was looking for more tips or something along those lines to getting it established. Thanks anyway though, I've only killed a couple so I guess I have to try and summon up my baking power again. I've had better luck with poolish.

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I bake all my bread and try to get a good mix of flours in.

 

I don't remember what this is, I think it's mostly whole wheat and I added the pepitas because I like them

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs474.ash1/25981_380955143406_800013406_3616944_1209361_n.jpg

 

This is no knead rye/wheat

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs140.ash2/40332_431687233406_800013406_4747348_4321412_n.jpg

 

No knead spelt/wheat

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs193.ash2/45599_436912888406_800013406_4855865_4423678_n.jpg

 

All purpose/whole wheat sandwich rolls

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs416.ash2/69402_461530663406_800013406_5262796_7816153_n.jpg

 

Seitan sandwich on one of the sandwich rolls

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs291.snc4/40909_461542838406_800013406_5262902_4546140_n.jpg

 

I'm still learning but it's really fun, tasty and cheap. I've just been getting books out from the library, so far I like Reinhart's the best. I tried to make sourdough before but never really got the starter happening correctly so I'll have to give that another shot. I'm really into seed-filled breads too so I'm going to experiment with more of that soon.

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