Bread Lessons From Henry
Hi,
I have sent these bread lessons to this list before, but I am sure, there
are
many who have not yet seen them.
These came from the mind of a good, departed friend, wesley Pitts.
He references FIDO, that was back in the old days, before we had the
internet
as we now know it.
We also had a mutual friend who put Squid in anything, so, the reference.
Enjoy Wesley'S humor, but realize, the old cowboy knew what he was doing.
Henry
Title: Bread Lessons
From: Wesley Pitts Date: 13 Jan 94
Food historians tell us that "bread" was first discovered on a supermarket
shelf in Rye, New York, in the mid 1950's. Named for the city of its
discovery, it was called "Rye Bread".
A different flavor of bread was found about the same time in White Plains,
N.Y.....called "White Plains Bread", the name was eventually shortened to
"White Bread" which is what we call it to this very day.
Other types of bread appeared in Whole Wheat, Kansas... Sourdough, Alaska...
Pumpernickel, Germany, and various cities in France.
Modern store bought bread, as we know it today, is generally cut into
"slices"...
this development came about because someone discovered that it was difficult
to insert a whole loaf of bread into a toaster. This gave rise to the
popular expression "That's the neatest thing since sliced bread!"
"Toasted" bread is a fairly recent development, originating, of course, in
Texas in the 1970's. Texas Toast is regular toast with a thyroid problem.
The French picked up on this idea and ran with it, but, as we all know,
French Toast isn't really toast at all, but what can you expect from a
nation
that eats garden slugs for dinner.
"Bread" has always been associated with poverty. Poor folks. Hence we have
the phrases "I knead dough"..."I want more bread"...etc....
Well, let's cut to the chase... this ol' cowboy is going to teach all y'all
who don't own bread makin' machines, how to make a perfect loaf of home made
bread...
Sign up for the class, we're gonna start out with the BASICS and then we'll
get fancy.
Anyone interested?
P.S. Go buy some flour and some yeast, that's all y'all need for lesson one.
(In which the neophytes make their first REAL loaf of bread).....
Y'all still with me, li'l buckaroos? Okay, here we go...
Just remember, it's not the finished product that counts (yet), it's the
fact
that we're all a'havin' a little fun here. And we're gonna get our hands a
li'l messy in the process, but after it's all done, y'all can thumb your
nose
at all them Yuppies with their fancy dan Porches and Well Built bread makin'
gadgets.
If the bread turns out OK, well, go ahead and serve it, and if something
goes wrong, well, the dawg might eat it. If Fido or Rex turns up his nose,
you better go back to lesson one, or join the water cooking echo.
Remember, the ol' Cowboy is right here with you, and I'm gonna be makin' a
loaf of bread right along with you, so read this 'un real slow..... do what
I
do, when I tell you to do it, you'll be OK. Trust me. :)
Step One: Go wash the dishes.
OK, while I'm doing the dishes, this is a real good time for you to go
check your pantry, just to make sure you have everything we're gonna'
need...
you need flour and yeast. Easy as that. I'm assuming you have some water
handy.
For now, "all purpose" flour will work. We'll get fancy later.
Yeast? I'd use one package of Fleishmann's (you know, the stuff that comes
in
the yellow and red package)... now's your chance to run to the 7 - 11...
hurry!
* ONE HOUR LATER * Dishes are done. Never said I was *fast*...
Here's what I want you to do... this recipe will make ONE loaf of bread...
once we get this down pat, we'll worry about making two or three at a
time...
Put THREE cups of flour, your package of yeast, and 1 1/4 cups of HOT tap
water into a mixing bowl. By hot, I mean 110 to 130 degrees F. Normal HOT
tap water should be about 110 degrees. This'll work. Now, take a mixer, and
mix this goop SLOWLY for about three minutes. It should start to look like
something we're gonna call "dough".
This is where it starts to get fun. At this point, I'm gonna allow you to
add more flour/water to your mixture until *YOU* feel it's right. Oh, the
joys of baking!! (Don't get carried away here, Gomer!)
Now we have to "knead" the dough. This is a VERY important step, no
short-cuts allowed here! Trust me! To "knead" is to bang, crash, beat to a
pulp, mutilate, pretend it's your mother-in-law, smash, and otherwise do
really nasty things to your mess. Do NOT take a second less than ten
minutes
doing this. I could give you a technical explaination of what you're doing
here, breaking down the gluten, etc., but it's more fun if you pretend that
the dough is Mike Tyson and you're the challenger. Feel free to add a little
more flour to the dough (and your hands) at this point. If the dough is
sticking to your hands/fingers, you need more flour. Add it JUST A LITTLE
BIT
AT A TIME until it feels right. You'll know when it's right. Trust me.
The next part's real easy. Cover your mess with a towel, in a fairly warm
place (75 to 85 F) and let those li'l yeasty thingies do their thing. That's
what we hired 'em for. This should take about an hour or so, and in an
hour,
your original mess should be about twice it's original size. Boy, Howdy,
ain't Nature Grand? What's happening here is the li'l boy yeastie thingies
are getting together with the li'l girl yeastie thingies and, well, this is
a
family net, so let's leave it at that. They're doing their job. 'Nuff said.
* Another hour passes as the yeast orgy continues * Woof!! Those li'l
suckers are really gettin' it on, aren't they? By now, your dough should be
about twice what you started with. Here comes the neat part... PUNCH IT
DOWN!!! Really... beat the heck outta that sucker... punch all those air
bubbles out, flatten that baby!
Now, guess what? Those li'l yeasty babes are still in a partyin' mood, so
we're gonna let 'em play for another HOUR! Yup. Cover 'em
up with a towel (they're really modest) and let 'em party in a warm place
for about another hour. The Monster from Hell is gonna double in size
again!
* Another hour passes, ... slowly... * OK, that's enough. If we
let
it go too long, it would take over the Universe.
Put this puppy in about a 5" x 9" greased baking pan at about 400 degrees F
for 25 to 35 minutes. It'll be done when you "thump" it and it sounds kinda
hollow.
For record keeping purposes, I need to know the following: Number of
students
signed up for Bread 101________
Number of students still alive after eating Bread 101_________
NEXT LESSON: Bread 102 In which we get a little fancy...
3 c All purpose flour
1 pk Yeast
1 1/4 c Water
Hello once again, all you li'l ol' bread makers! Ready for lesson two?
First, let's review the basic recipe:
Mix, knead, let rise, punch down, let rise, bake.
Hopefully you've tried a couple of loaves of this and are fairly comfortable
with the technique. Now, try this:
To the basic recipe, add one teaspoon of salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, 1
egg, and substitute milk for water. After the second rise, just before you
pop it in the oven, sprinkle some dill seed or sesame seed on top.
An important note here is do NOT "guesstimate" the sugar and/or salt. You
can
get away with this when making chili or squid, but NOT when baking.
Now it's starting to look and taste a little more like bread.
Note that home made bread will NOT "keep" for longer than a day or so before
it becomes hard as a rock. This is normal, and is why our forefathers had
recipes for such neat stuff as bread pudding, bread crumbs, etc.
It's also interesting to note that the basic recipe makes a KILLER pizza
dough, if you're into home made pizza. I'll leave the add ons as an
exercise
for the student, as no two people can ever agree on what makes a good pizza
filling.
Lesson three;
3 c All purpose flour
1 pk Yeast
1 1/4 c Liquid (water or milk... milk recommended)
1 Egg (optional but recommended) An egg can be added for extra flavor and
nutrition; it softens the crust and gives the interior a finer crumb.
1 ts Salt (optional but recommended)
1 tb Sugar (optional but recommended)
(In Which We Get a Little Fancy)
First, let's review the basic recipe for one loaf of "plain" white bread
Mix about three minutes until dough does not stick to floured fingers. Knead
for no less than 10 minutes; cover with towel and let it rise in a warm
(75 -
80 F) place for about an hour, or until it has about doubled in size; punch
it down; let it rest about 15 minutes; place in greased bread pan; cover;
let
it rise about another hour; bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or
until
it sounds "hollow" when thumped; remove from pan; let cool.
To make 2 loaves, simply double everything EXCEPT the yeast.
Now, for a couple of variations on a theme:
Rye bread instead of 3 cups of all purpose flour, use 2 cups of all purpose
and 1 cup of rye flour (available at a health food store)... add 2
tablespoons of caraway seed to the dough... use buttermilk instead of plain
milk or water... add 1/3 cup of light molasses to the dough... omit the
sugar... the egg is still optional...
instead of baking in a bread pan, shape into a round ball and bake on a
lightly greased cookie sheet. Reduce the baking
temperature to 350 degrees... baking time may be 5 - 10 minutes longer...(
Whole wheat bread increase sugar to 1 1/2 tablespoons...
use 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour...
use milk instead of water...
add 1/4 cup of butter or margarine...
add 1/2 cup molasses... the egg is still optional.
The method is the same except the baking time may be 5 10 minutes longer.
For the above two variations, do NOT be tempted to use ALL rye flour or ALL
whole wheat flour. Those flours do not have enough gluten in them for
proper
rising action, so you MUST use some all purpose flour, otherwise your
finished product will be very heavy and close textured.
For high altitude baking (above 5,000 feet), use 1/2 the yeast.
Yeast dough rises faster at high altitudes.
A "perfect" loaf of bread should:
* O Have a well browned, evenly rounded top
o Have a soft and moist interior, easily pulled apart
o Have a uniform color
o Have an even texture holes are small and uniform in size from top to
bottom
To keep bread fresh, wrap each cooled loaf in foil or plastic wrap, or seal
in a plastic bag; store in a cool, dry cupboard or bread box. Bread may be
stored in the refrigerator but it goes stale more quickly.
Bread keeps in the freezer for up to 3 months if tightly wrapped in foil,
heavy-duty plastic wrap, or freezer wrap, or sealed in plastic bags. Always
make sure to press out as much air as possible.
Well, that's about it, li'l buckaroos. Don't be afraid to experiment
~ Add raisins, nuts, cheese, finely diced and lightly sauteed onions, or
anything else you can think of to the dough.
Add green food coloring for St. Patrick's day!
Add a squid or two...
play around with using different liquids...
a friend of mine recently told me she was baking a cake and ran out of milk,
so she substituted baby formula... said it was the best cake she'd ever
made!
Play around with different shapes... knots, pinwheels, crescents, rolls,
etc.
Use your imagination! Make a heart-shaped loaf of bread for Valentine's day
or a birthday!
Tell us about your successes, give your not so valiant efforts to Fido.
The main thing is to HAVE FUN and ENJOY!!
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