Quick bread update

[eveglass]

In the end, the bread turned out very dense, but tasty. I don't know why it was so dense: too much kneading, not enough kneading, wrong amount of some ingredient or another, wrong temperature in the oven... really, not a clue. My ignorance on this matter knows no bounds.

On the other hand, I happy to be a fan of very dense breads, so it worked out all right. And it was still tasty, even more so with a little butter on top.

Was it worth the time I spent making it? Maybe. Ask me again when it's not so hot out. I suspect I'll need someone to show me how to make bread properly before I do this again. I've really got absolutely no frame of reference to know whether it looks and feels right at the various stages before it goes into the oven.

Edited to add: In doing a bit of googling, I suspect my problem is: 1. I didn't knead it properly, and 2. I didn't knead it enough. It's supposed to be quite fast in the foot processor, but by hand it's clearly a longer proposition.

Comments

[dicea.livejournal.com]

Take a little bit of time to read this article http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

Trying this recipe is not a huge commitment and you don't have to do anything particularly fancy. I did it for a while and found that it gave me a perfect day's serving of bread for one person.

You may enjoy watching this as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZdgN_7N7wQ

[dicea.livejournal.com]

Oh oh oh!!!

*waves hands points at bookstore*

Pick up this book

http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416566112

it really breaks down everything about cooking into some very accessible and clear essays.

[eveglass.livejournal.com]

I've seen that book, but oddly I think it's actually still too advanced for me. But it looks very nifty indeed. Thanks for the reference.

[joane.livejournal.com]

I've never made this kind of bread, but I know when I'm making challah and coffee bread I need to knead for a good, solid ten minutes before the texture changes and I can let the dough rise. And I find it's a distinct change, at least with those two breads - enough of the flour proteins get broken down that it goes from feeling like playdough to feeling like a soft stress ball. If that helps at all? It'd definitely be better to do an apprenticeship run with someone and feel the stages for yourself so you know what to look for.

[eveglass.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's the sense I'm getting. My bread never really got past the playdough stage. But perhaps it would have if I'd continued to work it.

[hoppibadge.livejournal.com]

The purpose of kneading is to develop the gluten which is what gives bread the elasticity to hold itself together.

A quick bread, by definition, isn't using yeast to make it rise so it will be more dense. But the less you knead a quick bread the more dense and crumbly it will be.

The food processor might have made a difference in developing the gluten compared to you doing kneading by hand. You can try the recipe again with the food processor to see the difference it makes but without yeast it will be more dense regardless of the kneading.

If you want to learn how to knead dough by hand, just do a ceramics course. Kneading clay will teach you everything you need (harhar) to know and you may get a few nice pots or plates to boot. :)

[eveglass.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. I am indeed planning on making this again sometime in the food processor. But not just yet.