March 1, 2010 - 9:14pm
Just have to share!
Ok so, I have been baking something almost every weekend and am still loving it. I've made the Pita bread recepie posted on the site twice and have had great success then this past weekend I finally got a basic sandwich bread I am happy with! The taste is great, the texture is nice and chewy and I think the crumb looks good (maybe a bit tight? not sure looks pretty good to me) The color is fantastic and the crust is nice and soft too. Does anyone see anything I need to work on?
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Very nice looking loaves indeed. They look like you glazed them with a wash. Did you used egg white and milk? What to work on? Sounds like you are pretty happy with the results so far. Maybe work on expanding your repetoire, and adding some whole-grain or sourdough challenges to keep you interested and trying new things. Most important though, keep enjoying it. Baking is fun, and then you get to eat fresh bread too!
Happy Baking!
OldWoodenSpoon
Your loaves look wonderful!!!
Thanks for the kind words. I didn't use a glaze, I just brushed the tops with butter when they came out to keep the crust soft once it cooled. I've tried some different recepies and like this one for basic bread so I've been thinking about trying it next with a different flour and maybe just trying something completely different. I'm not sure about sourdough yet, I really want to but am intimidated by the starter. I really want to try though because I want to make Ruisleippa a Finnish Rye that just isn't sold here, and that's my main reason for baking my own bread, to have access to the breads I enjoyed overseas that I can not get here at home. Who knows maybe I'll read up on starters today...
They look very good; must taste delicious too! Thanks for sharing! Al
I think your sandwich loaf's crumb is precisely what it should be.
If you don't want to use butter to soften the crust, just store your cooled loaves--make sure they're completely cooled--in plastic bags. some of the remaining internal moistness will migrate to the crust, and soften it.
David G