Tuesday, August 30, 2011

our daily bread

I've had a few of you asking about the bread I  make (hi Kath!)

A few years ago, armed with my trusty Nigella book, I managed to teach myself to make bread. One of the first steps I took to simplify life a little. To know exactly what was in our bread. To save myself the $6 per day I was spending on a loaf of bread. 

Most afternoons would see me kneading a new loaf for the next days bread. I didn't mind the kneading. Occasionally I would buy a loaf, but most of our bread was homemade.

But during my last pregnancy I wondered how I would manage to keep up the bread making with an extra little person in the house. The no knead method seemed like a perfect solution, as I wasn't too keen on going down the breadmaker machine path.

So I ordered this book and very quickly began turning out daily loaves or bread rolls usings its quick method. Very similar to before but with no kneading. Admittedly kneaded bread comes out just a little softer. But sometimes ten minutes free for kneading is hard to come by. So generally, un-kneaded it is.

As for finding the time to make bread I find that prioritizing preparing food does make it easier. The cleaning or washing up can always be done later, but when it comes to food it needs to be put first on the list of jobs to do. I try and mix mine before I go and pick up the kids from school. Sometimes I can get away with bread making every second day.

I have adjusted the original recipe to suit our tastes.

EDIT : I have adjusted the recipe slightly over time. Feel free to adjust your flour and water amounts to make a firm but wet dough. I find different brands and types of flours require different amounts.



No Knead  Bread

3  cups water, lukewarm
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sea salt
6 1/2 cups plain white flour (or 5 cups white and 1 1/2 cups wholemeal)



flour - I  do love using organic, but it quite a lot more expensive. Kialla is an excellent organic brand. (Try to stay away from the Woolworths Select organic flour. I've had a few loaves "flop" with that flour. It's obviously more of a cake flour.) But I generally use Lauke Wallaby baking flour.  It's easy to find bulk flour in most supermarkets or health food stores, or even online.



1. Pour water into bowl. Add yeast and salt. Stir with whisk.


Add flour. I'm making the healthier version here. White and wholemeal.



Stir to combine. If it's hard to mix you may need to get your hands in to mix it up. If it is too dry to mix add a little more lukewarm water.



Leave the dough to rise in the bowl. This usually takes about two hours. It will roughly double in size and then flatten at the top of the dough. Of course, it is usually faster in hot weather, but rises slower in Winter.

When dough has doubled, add a few handfuls of flour to make the dough easier to handle. Shape into bread rolls, or two free form loaves or 1 large loaf. Sprinkle with flour and slash the tops  with a bread knife if you are making the free form loaves.

Sometimes I make a double batch of dough. This can be stored in the fridge after the first rise. I have successfully left mine out at room temperature for a day or two. With both these methods you end up with a tangier, slightly sourdough taste to the finished bread. I prefer it that way.


While the bread is rising again (which takes about twenty minutes with rolls , a bit longer with freeform or a loaf tin) ) preheat the oven at 230 degrees celcius. I don't time my bread, but I think rolls are ready after about a half hour. Tap on the bread and see if it sounds hollow. I find I can cook the rolls a more pale colour , but the bigger the loaf, the darker the crust needs to be. I tend to cook the loaf tin until the crust is very dark brown. Turn onto a wire rack to prevent a soggy crust.


And there you have it. Our everyday bread in this house. Best served warm with butter. But fine for next day sandwiches. Makes great toast or breadcrumbs when stale.

Have you tried the no knead method?

22 comments:

  1. Tania I LOVE that you're a sharer!!
    I've been looking for a great bread recipe for a while,
    I think this may be it!
    Thank you xxx

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  2. Thankyou Tania! Any hints on how to get the crust soft? I will try this recipe - sometimes I add a little honey too! xx Rach

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing this!!! I have always wanted to bake my own bread, but thought the process too daunting. Keep those 'simplifying' ideas coming please!!
    I love reading about your life, your style and thoughts really resonate with me. We are building in Jamberoo NSW, so you may be familiar with the area. Thanks for your kind comments on my post, will chat again soon.
    Cheers,
    Shani

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  4. this is wonderful. so simple really and the loaf looks perfect. thanks tania. definitely going to follow this up.

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  5. I haven't, but now I'm going to. Thanks Tania

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  6. Oh dear, I'm actually salivating. That looks amazing!

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  7. Thank you so much...I'm going to try this with gluten free flour!!!

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  8. Yay for sharing!! I've been making this at least 3-4 times a week since you shared the recipe with me and it's always a winner :)
    x

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  9. Thank you for sharing this. I will have to give it a go. Pre-baby and when she napped twice a day I was baking traditional bread, but I have sort of fallen off the breadbaking wagon of late. Perhaps this is the way to go.

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  10. Have your tried the olive oil recipe...it keeps much better in the fridge for a couple days after baking. It's our favorite. I do add alittle extra water to make stirring easier and it still comes out wonderful.
    xo Jana

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  11. Thankyou we have been playing with making our own bread but dose anyone want to eat it no, i will try your way & lets hope they eat it this time :)

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  12. The bread looks great Tania. Thank you for sharing the recipe, it looks like something I could make, got to be quick and easy for me...

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  13. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us Tania. I've always wondered what recipe you used and I really love the idea of trying to make my own breadrolls so I will be giving these a try. Hope you are having a good day. x

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  14. Last year when I was making bread full time for our family of 8, I bought 25kg bags of flour from our local bulk food wholesaler and stored them in big white plastic buckets with lids, I think it was about $17 for wholemeal flour and about $15 for bakers flour.
    I found my kitchen aid very useful for the kneading. Now that 3 of us are gluten free bread making is not so simple as it used to be, but I have had fun today experimenting making pita bread with gluten free flour!

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  15. I came out looking so perfect! My bread never looks that good ha! This seems like a fairly easy recipe. I am going to give it a shot during the holidays for sure!

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  16. Looks like a yummy recipe. I can't wait to try it out. And thanks for the tv recommendation - I'll definitely check it out! :)
    ~Mandy

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  17. Brilliant! Thanks so much!! I used to make bread every day but also found the kneading time a bit tricky. Will definately get back into again. Your loaf looks awesome...I'd eat two slices hot with butter and vegemite before anyone else got a look in! Wishing you a beautiful week :) x

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  18. looks soooo good, will have to try this one.

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  19. Hi Tania, My post tomorrow is about making bread :) I used to do the artisan bread all the time and have that book too, I did a few blog posts about it back when I was doing it. I found the original recipe too sweet.

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  20. I make no-knead about half the time. I've found I get more bread for the flour if I have time to knead, but sometimes, as you said, you just don't have ten minutes! No-knead bread to the rescue!

    Bread is one of those things that always seemed too intimidating for me....looking back now I can't really figure out why. It took me years to work up from quick breads to yeast breads.

    And man! Is that loaf as big as it seems in the photo!? It looks huge! I want a slice!

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  21. I tried it. http://youngernews.blogspot.com/2011/08/bread-making-and-new-cup.html

    Didn't look at nice as your loaf, and the texture was funny. But, it was quick.

    Thanks for prompting me to give this a try.

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  22. I made a loaf and a dozen rolls this afternoon. The rolls are delicious (though I didn't add as much salt and will next time). The loaf is still in the oven getting quite brown because it's still runny. Love reading Ivy Nest. I am writing a blog at missmayblossom.blogspot.com

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