Survival Cooking 102 will be an article series for those who have some experience in home cooking, but perhaps need a few pointers.
In tough times such as these, a wee bit of luxury is helpful in keeping one's sanity. One of the least expensive ways to trick yourself that you are getting luxury is with making your own bread at home.
At one point in time, I worked in a bakery...however, it is completely different than making bread at home. At the bakery, we got cases of pre-made dough, nice and frozen. We let it thaw, placed it on the trays, let it rise, then cooked it. Sad, isn't it? That the fresh-baked stuff you purchase at the grocery store isn't really fresh baked? And in some cases, it isn't even baked in the store anymore.
I don't remember my original reason for baking bread at home for the first time. But I can say, over the years I've learned a few things. The primary thing I've learned is that I can get artisan breads for 1/4 the cost.
If you can afford it, a bread machine (or a food processor that will make bread) is one of the best investments you can make. (I got mine for Christmas). Even just kneading the bread can be long and laborious. We don't use ours for baking, however, as I never liked the shape, nor did I like digging the mixing paddle out of the center of my bread. However, mine does a great job of mixing and kneading the dough for me, leaving my hands clean and free to keep the two-year-old out of things. After the first rising, I still take the dough out, punch it down by hand, and shape it by hand. Even if you have never kneaded by hand, you should learn how your bread is suppose to feel by touch....just in case your bread machine breaks down, the power goes out, or something else that could interfere with your home cooking process.
However, even with a bread machine, you don't want to just throw the ingredients in and walk away. Lately, the flour we've been getting has been far too dry, meaning I have needed to add water. Each bag of flour will be different in terms of moisture content, which can affect how much water your bread needs. You will want your dough to feel mildly sticky to the touch, but not to where it actually sticks to your hands.
Bread flour, or regular flour? You will probably notice the difference in price between bread flour and regular flour. Bread flour contains a protein, called gluten, that helps in building the structure of your yeast breads. You can dispense with purchasing the bread flour. Simply purchase all-purpose flour in bulk (saving as much money as you can), and then purchase a package of wheat gluten. A tablespoon or two in the mix is all you need to help create a better structure for lighter, fluffier bread.
Rising...bread needs a warm place to rise. One of my favorite tricks is my oven itself. I turn the oven onto "warm" while I am shaping the bread. Then, I turn the oven off, and place the shaped bread inside. If you keep the oven turned on, the outside of the bread will start to cook, even at such a low level. Just pre-heat the oven to warm, then turn it off...it will stay warm enough to allow your bread to rise, but not cook.
Keep an eye on the time, all the time. If you let it sit for too long while rising, it will rise too high, and then fall flat like the dot com or housing bubble. Also, keep an eye on the time for baking. My bread recipes tell me to cook for x amount of time, but as we've discovered....its far too long. Yes, the bread looks nice and brown on the outside, like manufactured breads, but that outside tends to be far too crusty. Sometimes you want that (as with French Bread), other times you don't. Manufactured bread has all kinds of chemicals in it to allow it to turn brown, but stay nice and soft.
Another trick for softening the crust of your bread is a trick we used at the bakery. The baker took the breads out of the oven, and sprayed them with cooking spray...yup, that same stuff you use to keep stuff from sticking to your pans. Sounds appetizing, doesn't it? If that doesn't float your boat, you can rub butter or olive oil on the darkened crust and achieve the same result.
Odd flours...want more nutrition, but don't like the taste? Substituting as little as 1/2 a cup per loaf will help retain the flavor of white bread, while giving you the nutrition of other breads. Two of my favorite flours to "add in" to our white bread family is duram (a wheat normally used for pasta) and oats.
Herbal breads. Let me tell you, I love herbal breads...a wonderful Italian seasoning bread (see the previous blog entry for my Italian seasoning mix), or a luxurious rosemary. Take your herbs and spice (whether dry or fresh) and pour boiling water over them. Let them steep like a tea until the water is just warm, and use the water for making your bread.
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