Breads, Breads, and More Of The Like.

So we find electric bread makers in the stores and yes they are very handy and many people need them to save themselves time. This blog entry may not be for those folk. For the rest of us this should be a delight. I find bread making to be a restful and almost spiritual experience. I often get caught up in the romance of it. Thoughts of  those that came before and the fact that bread making is such an ancient art with so many variations on the same theme…Flour, water, salt, and yeast.
             Today I am looking to direct folks to simple white or wheat bread, Soft pretzels, and Kaiser rolls. Challah, pizza, and pita breads will come in a later post. We will also be doing doughnuts and coffee rolls in a later post.
            I use a small Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook. (Bought at Walmart and I am not to thrilled with the quality. Kitchenaid is usually a superior product so it may be the walmart version is a lesser quality. I do not know).
           
Quantities
       High gluten flour                  5 cups                    Whole wheat can be substituted all or                   

in part but for each cup of wheat flour reduce your water by at least a Tablespoon per cup of flour as the wheat flour tends to be moister than the high gluten flour.

      Yeast 1 pkg or 1 teaspoon of dry yeast
      Salt    1-2 teaspoons
      Sugar/ honey 1/3 cup
      Oil     ¼ cup
      Water  3 ½ to 4 ½  cups This will vary with the moisture content of the flour used

I buy a 50lb sack of high gluten flour from a café or pizza shop near me for about 20 bucks. 1 loaf of bread or 5-6 rolls/pretzels can be made for each pound of flour.
For Whole wheat breads I find 1 – 2 cups of wheat flour to be adequate for the experience however if you seek pure nutrition then you would use all wheat flour and no bleached flour.

The Process

        1 cup of 100 degree water and the sugar/honey gets set aside with the yeast put in. This will foam up to what is known as a sponge.
        While this is working itself into a frenzy of tiny bubbles Get your other stuff set up.

     You will need an oven later.

     A bowl of flour  for dusting a flat surface to put your dough on later( dusting  means sprinkling or spreading a thin layer of flour on your table or counter top so that the dough will not stick to it.).

      Once your sponge is up add flour, salt, oil, and 2 ½ cups cool water and start mixing on low speed to blend all ingredients to a soft dough. Add more water slowly until the dough barely starts sticking to the mixing bowl.
       Increase mix speed to medium (on my machine this is at about  4 or 5) so the dough gently slaps the bowl. This should be audible or able to be heard as well as seen.Mix time is about 10 minutes.
      Let your dough rise in the mixing bowl or a lightly oiled bowl covered with a plate or yeeesh plastic wrap.(plastic wrap may get a little messy.
      Rise time about 45 minutes in a draft free room with room temperature around 70-75 degrees. Dough should be near double in size.
      Dump out the dough onto your floured surface and fold it sides in then top toward you and press away from your body on the dough with your palm heels.
      This is where the thoughts of our predecessors come in. This process of folding and kneading(pressing away from your body on the dough with your palm heels) should be done for another 10 minutes.
      When done you put the dough off to the side perhaps back in the bowl if you wish cover it and let it rise again for ½ hour or so.
       Lightly oil 3 bread pans (for making bread)
       Cut the dough into 3 equal parts and knead for a few minutes to get them the shape of your bread pan. Place them directly into the pans and bake on a sheet pan for 35 to 45 minutes @ 350
  For Pretzels or Rolls
       Set out sheet pans for Kaiser rolls or pretzels
For Kaiser Rolls …Loaf out the dough so it is about 2 inches high  and about 16-20 inches left to right  and about 8 inches front to back.
          With a sharp knife cut one strip at a time about ¾ of an inch wide and gently roll this on the floured counter helping it stretch out slightly.
         Tie the roll as follows just like a pretzel and one more time around itself (see the photos) placing this on the pan leave a little space between each(1 inch plus) for rising . the next rising stage is about 20 – 30 minutes so fire up your oven to 350 and when the rolls have risen place them in the oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned( if you wish to add seeds use an egg wash made of whites and water to moisten the top of the rolls and sprinkle your favorite seeds on them before baking.
For pretzels you will need to do an extra step set the largest pan you have(not a deep pan) on the stove top and put in about 1 ½ inches of water. You will need to bring this to a boil when you shape your pretzels. Placing each one in the water for about 2 minutes then onto a sheet pan lightly salted with Kosher salt, bake immediately in a 350 oven for about 8 – 15 minutes all ovens vary.

    Baking times will vary from kitchen to kitchen as well as oven to oven.
    I bake rolls in a toaster oven for about 25 minutes and in my full size oven for about 18 minutes

    Do not be frustrated with early attempts it is an art and may take a few tries to Tweak things to your flour and kitchen.
    Above all have fun with the process and try to immerse yourself in the romance and history while doing this ancient art.
See you around the cave   Keep me posted   Cavedweller