Bread making, Day 2
I need a new icon, clearly. "Cooking" is not quite the same as "baking".
I'm sure by now, most of you are familiar with my tendency toward obsessing over shiny! new! things!
Anyway, as promised, I made the KAF white sandwich bread recipe last night. It calls for a couple of different ingredients from most of the basic white bread recipes out there, namely, instant potato flakes and instant nonfat milk, neither of which have I ever used in baking before. But I followed the recipe exactly for this first attempt.
And lo, there was bread. I took pictures, but then I forgot my camera at home. So you'll have to be content with this hasty cell phone pic of my lunch:
Yes, I know seeing how I prefer my sandwiches (turkey with cheddar and stone ground mustard) is not nearly as exciting as seeing the actual loaf of bread. But at least in this shot, you can see how it looks like actual sandwich bread, all forming to the shape of the sandwich and with lots of little air holes everywhere. But don't be deceived! This bread, while soft and a little fluffy, is nothing like the stuff you buy in the store!
How it compares to yesterday's bread: this stuff didn't rise quite as much. I'm not sure if that's because I forgot to take out the kneading paddle, and had to do it about five or ten minutes into the third rise, though. Despite that, yesterday's bread was MUCH more dense, not sandwich-like at all. It still tasted good on my sandwich, but it had much less bendability than the KAF loaf does. I can almost imagine wrapping a slice of KAF around a hot dog...almost. Also, it cut much easier and smoother than yesterday's. I did not have to struggle to make the slices even!
I made my husband french toast with a slice this morning, so he could try it. I usually make him two - well, this stuff was so heavy compared the the Wonder bread he usually prefers, I made him one, and then he only ate half of it (not the fault of the bread - he has some bug or other, and is not eating as he normally does at the moment.) Curious, I followed up with a piece for me. (Mmmmmmm - delicious!) One slice, as thin as those you see in the photo, and I am FULL. Like, my stomach feels...like I won't be hungry for hours. If yesterday is any indication, I'll actually start to get hungry right on schedule at lunch time. My point is, this bread is not air, like the store bought stuff. Although not super dense, this particular loaf is still much, MUCH heavier than store bought, and when you eat it, you actually feel like you are eating something of substance!
I can actually understand why carbs are supposed to make up a healthy portion of our diet, while eating homemade bread. I have to admit, though, I am a little concerned that all of this experimenting to get what I want will lead to so much bread eating, my attempts at losing weight will be hampered. Is there a big difference between eating homemade and eating storebought in that regard? Or are all the health benefits of homemade simply the last of icky chemicals?
I don't know if this is going to be my "go to" sandwich bread recipe, or not. I'd prefer to find something that didn't require either the milk, or the potato flakes. I've read you can sub some oil for the dry milk, but as the recipe already calls for six tablespoons of butter(!!), I'm loathe to do that. I'm going to go looking again today, and see what comes up. If I get home early enough, I'd like to try making homemade hotdog buns tonight. Words cannot even describe how much that might change the simple hot dog dinner to a gourmet nirvana! (I only use kosher dogs, fyi. I grew up on a farm. When someone describes what goes into other hot dogs, I know far too much to banish the visual.)
So, my adventure continues!
Oh, and mysteriously, my pan lifted right out of the bread maker when I tried it immediately after the bread finished. Perhaps this is what is supposed to happen? IDK. I still want my pan to lift out easily whenever I need it to, ie, after a dough cycle, perhaps. I'll keep trying it for the rest of the week, and see how it goes. But I'll also keep my receipt in reserve.
I'm sure by now, most of you are familiar with my tendency toward obsessing over shiny! new! things!
Anyway, as promised, I made the KAF white sandwich bread recipe last night. It calls for a couple of different ingredients from most of the basic white bread recipes out there, namely, instant potato flakes and instant nonfat milk, neither of which have I ever used in baking before. But I followed the recipe exactly for this first attempt.
And lo, there was bread. I took pictures, but then I forgot my camera at home. So you'll have to be content with this hasty cell phone pic of my lunch:
Yes, I know seeing how I prefer my sandwiches (turkey with cheddar and stone ground mustard) is not nearly as exciting as seeing the actual loaf of bread. But at least in this shot, you can see how it looks like actual sandwich bread, all forming to the shape of the sandwich and with lots of little air holes everywhere. But don't be deceived! This bread, while soft and a little fluffy, is nothing like the stuff you buy in the store!
How it compares to yesterday's bread: this stuff didn't rise quite as much. I'm not sure if that's because I forgot to take out the kneading paddle, and had to do it about five or ten minutes into the third rise, though. Despite that, yesterday's bread was MUCH more dense, not sandwich-like at all. It still tasted good on my sandwich, but it had much less bendability than the KAF loaf does. I can almost imagine wrapping a slice of KAF around a hot dog...almost. Also, it cut much easier and smoother than yesterday's. I did not have to struggle to make the slices even!
I made my husband french toast with a slice this morning, so he could try it. I usually make him two - well, this stuff was so heavy compared the the Wonder bread he usually prefers, I made him one, and then he only ate half of it (not the fault of the bread - he has some bug or other, and is not eating as he normally does at the moment.) Curious, I followed up with a piece for me. (Mmmmmmm - delicious!) One slice, as thin as those you see in the photo, and I am FULL. Like, my stomach feels...like I won't be hungry for hours. If yesterday is any indication, I'll actually start to get hungry right on schedule at lunch time. My point is, this bread is not air, like the store bought stuff. Although not super dense, this particular loaf is still much, MUCH heavier than store bought, and when you eat it, you actually feel like you are eating something of substance!
I can actually understand why carbs are supposed to make up a healthy portion of our diet, while eating homemade bread. I have to admit, though, I am a little concerned that all of this experimenting to get what I want will lead to so much bread eating, my attempts at losing weight will be hampered. Is there a big difference between eating homemade and eating storebought in that regard? Or are all the health benefits of homemade simply the last of icky chemicals?
I don't know if this is going to be my "go to" sandwich bread recipe, or not. I'd prefer to find something that didn't require either the milk, or the potato flakes. I've read you can sub some oil for the dry milk, but as the recipe already calls for six tablespoons of butter(!!), I'm loathe to do that. I'm going to go looking again today, and see what comes up. If I get home early enough, I'd like to try making homemade hotdog buns tonight. Words cannot even describe how much that might change the simple hot dog dinner to a gourmet nirvana! (I only use kosher dogs, fyi. I grew up on a farm. When someone describes what goes into other hot dogs, I know far too much to banish the visual.)
So, my adventure continues!
Oh, and mysteriously, my pan lifted right out of the bread maker when I tried it immediately after the bread finished. Perhaps this is what is supposed to happen? IDK. I still want my pan to lift out easily whenever I need it to, ie, after a dough cycle, perhaps. I'll keep trying it for the rest of the week, and see how it goes. But I'll also keep my receipt in reserve.