I'm beginning to like working with yeast

[funnybone]

In the past, I have stayed away from recipes that require yeast and are not made in the bread machine.

However, in the past few weeks I have attempted, and succeeded, in making pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, and other yeast coffee cakes, from scratch. Okay, I did use the kitchen aid to mix it a bit, but the rest was done by hand. My next attempt it to make a bread I saw on Cooking Live that Caprial Pence made - Bistro Challah Bread. It looked so good.

I challenge all you "yeast haters" to give it another try and succeed at it!!! Anyone up for the challenge?

[daner94]

So.

I have the Kitchenaid Mixer. I bought the little packets of yeast. I have even looked at a bunch of bread recipes. Yet, I am scared. I need to just do it! What on earth am I scared of?

Would you mind posting that Challah recipe? Maybe that will be my inspiration.

:)

[funnybone]

daner94, I had to laugh because I felt the same way. What was/am I afraid of? And WHY? My MIL makes great bread, but cooks boring food. I can outcook her any day, so why is she not afraid of bread/yeast. I think that gave me confidence!!!


Anyway, here is the Challah recipe. The one on TV rose well and was HUGE



BISTRO CHALLAH BREAD


Recipe Courtesy of Caprial Pence

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon salt

Place the yeast, sugar and warm water in a mixing bowl. Stir and let stand for about 10 minutes, until creamy and foamy. Add the melted butter and eggs and mix well.Combine the flour with the salt. Add it to the yeast mixture, 1 or 2 cups at a time, until it forms a soft dough. Place the dough on a well-floured board and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a large, well-greased bowl, then flip the dough over to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let stand in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Punch the dough down, form it into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool before slicing.

Yield: 1 loaf
Prep Time: 2 hours 0 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hours 0 minutes



JUST GO FOR IT!!!

[Beth]

I think the best remedy for overcoming yeast fears is to read a little about the process. Even if a new cookbook is not in your plans or budget, you can read the introduction to a bread baking book at the library or a good bookstore. Even something like Joy of Cooking would help you get started. Then you can understand that hot water will kill the yeast, not make it work faster; a loaf of bread may be in the works for days, but it only takes a few minutes of your time here and there; too little kneading makes good bricks, but it's hard to knead yeast doughs too much (they are opposite pastry and quick breads); kneading is a good opportuntiy for self expression and release -- there is no one right way; not slicing into a hot loaf may be the hardest thing you try to do in an average day. Give it a whirl and bring your questions here.

[GayeC]

Do not be afraid of yeast breads! Especially if you have a Kitchenaid mixer, they are very little trouble for a big reward. I do not consider myself to be a fancy/expert/gourmet cook by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy and get a lot of satisfaction out of making bread, rolls, and pizza crust. Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

[LaraW]

Here's a funny bread story for you.....

When we were first married, a Kitchen Aid mixer was one of the wedding gifts that we got. We actually had registered for it, and had received gift certificates from various people that we put toward it. I was so excited!

The first thing I ever made was whole wheat bread that was to be for our first Thanksgiving dinner (we were married at the end of October, so it was just about a month).

Anyway, the night before Thanksgiving, I made this bread from a recipe that came in the book from Kitchen Aid.

I must have had the water too hot and not noticed or something, because my bread did not rise very well. Not really knowing what was wrong, I just went ahead and baked the bread like it called for.

I ended up with two bricks of whole wheat bread. DH ate one piece, then as we were cleaning up the kitchen, he suggested that we get out the blender and make breadcrumbs. We ate off those breadcrumbs for about 2 years!

I have improved though, but I prefer to knead the dough by hand. I will probably try my bread hook again, but I'm not ready to yet...

Lara :)

[funnybone]

Well, I did it! I baked the Bistro Challah Bread. It was a little lop-sided, but not too bad. I thought it was a little salty, but DH and one son (the one who hates food!) loved it. Anyway, I had fun making the bread and definitely will try to bake more from scratch in the future!

[Tina_B]

Bread is my ultimate struggle. You see, I never learned to knead properly, as my Mom never was a bread maker. I think it is one of those things that must be ingrained over many years. Now, I use my kitchen aid, but am still having trouble perfecting the gluten cloak. Baking With Julia has been a great resource, but I still have a long way to go. Any tips?

[Chefmom]

When I was a kid, my mother would make bread, and boy did it look scary. She would use just about every bowl and cooking utensil to do it, water with funny looking thermometers in them, then she would stir and sweat, and her hair was ALWAYS messy after she had beat that mixture into submission.

As an adult I was just too scared to attempt this process, so I just didn't. It wasn't until I was an accomplished baker, and newly married that my HUSBAND taught me how to make bread. He can hold his own when following a recipe, but WOW, can he make bread!! With him helping me, I finally learned that my mother HATED to make bread, so that is why it always looked so scary. I learned the "rules" of yeast, and he taught me the "feel" to feel for and I went from there.

It's one of those things that you just have to DO, and learn how to do. You mess up, you eat it or make stuffing, and you try again. Change this, or that and come up with new recipes and techniques.

Also, if you ever get the chance to read what Julia Child wrote about French Bread in her book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, VOl 2" you should read it. It is the very best text I have ever read on the subject of bread. Yes, better than even specialty bread cookbooks. Check it out!!

Happy Bread Baking!
Tami

[Holly in KC]

I was afraid at first, also, but my first try was Hawaiian Bubble Bread from CL, 12/94.

YUM, YUM, YUM, YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!

Here's the recipe, for those of you non-yeasters up to the challenge!

Hawaiin Bubble Bread

2 packages dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (105 - 115)
1 cup sliced ripe banana
1/2 cup pineapple-orange-banana juice concentrate, undiluted
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
5 1/4 cups bread flour, optional
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cream of coconut
2 tablespoons pineapple-orange-banana juice concentrate, undiluted
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

Dissove yeast and sugar in warm water; let stand 5 minutes.

Combine banana and next 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth, and set aside.

Combine 2 cups flour and salt in a large bowl; stir well. Add yeast mixture and banana mixture, stirring until well-blended. Add 2 3/4 cups flour, stirring to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent the dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down; turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and let rest for 5 minutes. Form the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls (about 30 total balls) on a lightly floured surrface. Layer balls in a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray; set aside.

Combine the cream of coconut and 2 tablespoons juice in a bowl; stir well. Pour 3 tablespoons juice mixture over the dough, and set remaining juice mixture aside. Cover dough, and let rise 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Uncover dough, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool in pan 20 minutes. Remove from pan; place on a wire rack. Stir powdered sugar into remaining juice mixture; drizzle over top of warm bread.

Enjoy.

[Beth]

Chefmom, reading about your mom baking bread reminded me of my mom making jam. :D

I agree with Chefmom that Julia Child does a great explanation of the process in her classic French bread recipe, to the point that a number of other bread books simply refer you to it. If you can't find the book in a library or store, I have seen it on ebay. It is 22 pages of explanation, pictures, shaping methods and suggestions for figuring out how to improve the finished product. It is such a basic recipe (water, yeast, salt and flour) that everything you learn there can be applied to yeast doughs generally. And it makes great bread.

Tina B, you might also want to read Julia's intro to bread making, but esentially, you want to understand that you are working to dough to develop the gluten in the flour, which is done by moving it and streching it. When in doubt, knead some more. If pushing and folding bore you or tire you, flop it, push it, squeeze it, slap it on the counter. You should be able to see the elasticity of the dough. One article I read said that the dough should not tear if you pull it between your hands, just stretch and stretch.

Also, it is usually better to have a little less flour in the dough than a little too much. When kneading, try to use as little four as possible. Julia suggests using a dough scraper to lift the dough and fold it if it is sticky. As you continue to knead, it will get less sticky.

If all else fails, I learned with some banana bread that didn't rise that birds will eat any kind of bread. With or without peanut butter.