Does anyone have a good receipe for Sub Sandwich Bread. My family loves home made subs but I'm never satisfied using the traditional white bread recipe. I love it with meals, or,  a great snack with butter, but, not with subs....

Thank you!

Hello - I have been visiting this site off and on for over a year and love it. Got my father and brother into it, too. Making bread has become something special for us to share now that we are "mature".  It seemed so difficult in the past when you heard stories about making bread, but all untrue. It's really quite easy and a joy!  It would be fun if you would join us on our "bread fan page"  we just created  http://bit.ly/daGZ5g

Help!

I am trying to find "proper" sandwich pans, the type with a lid that produce a square loaf.  While I am on the subject, if it does not have a lid, it is called tin bread and not sanswich. 

ironically, I used to be a bakery lecturer and we had dozens of these in use all the time.  Cant find one for love nor money now though!

Any ideas would be much apprecieated.

Many thanks,

Andrew

About to replace my KA 5 qt. Want the best, but Hobart too expensive. Need advice among Bosch, Electrolux (are they still made?), Viking, and any other I missed. I assume these are in the $600 range or so, a little more is ok.

I searched here, and other sites online, and no one seems to be willing to say which they think is the best.

Thanks

When I first was diagnosed with CD, sourdough breads were the one item I craved most. Finding none in my grocery stores, I set out to make my own. I worked through Bette Hagman's books, tried chemicals and vinegars, etc and etc and etc. Trial and error and persistence finally did it, and now I'm regularly making sourdough millet baguettes, sourdough buckwheat dinner rolls, sourdough pizza, fake rye, and more.

Now it's time to share: I'll be teaching my techniques - which are simple, straightforward and cost effective - in a series of workshops. The first is scheduled for Portland Oregon on Saturday March 13. If you're interested, here's the link to my page:

Hi. I'm a big fan of the no knead bread and was and am still excited about this technique but I'm not having the results I expected. I've gotten the best rise and crust from a part whole wheat loaf from no knead ever but this not so much and it is mostly white flour.

I made the batch on Wednesday from the basic loaf and baked my first yesterday and my bread didn't rise much (or at all) on the peel or in the oven. It came out dense and yeasty tasting. The crust was flawless even better than the no knead as that came out almost a little too chewy. But the inside was not what I was hoping for at all. I didn't use a thermometer but I do have a stone and a peel. I put flour on top and grabbed a hunk out of the fridge and it was sticky and so cold it hurt my hands a bit to even handle it a short time. I am fairly good at shaping loafs though so I managed but had to wash my hands in warm water right away. I preheated the oven with some ice cubes in the broiler pan so when the loaf is in it is just starting to boil and steam and I don't have to do the whole pouring hot water in as fast as possible dance. The loaf rested 40 minutes before going in the oven.

Today I tried again and tried leaving it in a warmer place for longer and had pretty much the same results. I took the remaining dough and kind of combined the two techniques and let it sit for a few hours and then cooked it in a covered pan like the no knead. I haven't cut into that one yet but it is looking pretty flat.

I'd love some help as I love bread and am really hoping to get this book. But not until I can get a basic loaf working.

ETA that I cut into the 3rd loaf that combined the two and that one was the best of the bunch. Not dense and yeasty but rather than rise it expanded so while a tasty snacking bread isn't really appropriate for something like a sandwich.

After much searching for a whole wheat sandwich bread that would be soft yet nutritious, my friend Ben shared this recipe with me. Ben and his mother have perfected over the years and given us some choices on substitutions for ingredients, which is so nice.

I think the texture and crumb are simply perfect. The dough can also be nicely worked up into individual soup rolls, though I have to say that I much prefer it as a sliced loaf. If you'd like a step-by-step show of this friend me on FB.

___________________________________________________________________

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

From Ben Chaffee

Makes 2 loaves (8-1/2" by 5-1/2")

1 package active dry yeast or 1 cake compressed yeast (2-1/2 tsp)

1/4 cup water

2-1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup brown sugar (can interchange honey or molasses 1:1 for brown sugar)

3 tsp salt

1/4 cup shortening*

3 cups (374 g) stirred whole-wheat flour

5 cups (663 g) stirred all-purpose white flour           

1. Soften active dry yeast in 1/4 cup warm water (110°) or compressed yeast in 1/4 lukewarm water (85°). Combine hot water, sugar, salt, and shortening; cool to lukewarm.
2. Stir in whole-wheat flour, 1 cup of the white flour; beat well.
3. Stir in softened yeast. Add enough of remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out on lightly floured surface; kneed till smooth and satiny (10 to 12 minutes).
4. Shape dough in a ball; place in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.
   
5. Cover; let rise in warm place till double (about 1-1/2 hours). Punch down (or fold). Cut in two portions; shape each in smooth ball. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
6. Shape into loaves.† Place them in greased 8-1/2" by 5 2-1/2" loaf pans. Cover with a damp towel. Let rise till double (about 1-1/4 hours).
7. Bake 375° for 45 minutes. When tapped, the bottoms of the loaves should have an almost hollow sound. Cover with foil last 20 minutes, if necessary.

*Other fats, such as vegetable oil or butter, can be used 1:1 for the shortening.

†Place dough on counter. Press out large bubbles and gently form each dough ball into a rectangle. Ensure the shortest side of the rectangle is approximately the longest size of your loaf pan (8-1/2"). Roll up the dough. Pinch the seam closed. Tuck open sides down and under. Place in loaf pan.

just wondered if you have a bread maker? do you use it for everyday use large families or just personal use?

thanks

Well, here it is!  My first ever blog post.  I have been thinking of starting a blog for awhile, if only to keep a catalog of the progress I've made in my bread making over the last year or so.  It is difficult to quantify progress without something down on paper, as it were, so I hope this will be useful for myself and others, being able to look back through recipes and pictures for future reference.  Anyway, I should give some background on my interest in bread baking.  I am an American living in Britain, and was visiting home for a family wedding over a year ago.  My mother had been experimenting in bread making, as she was trying to re-create my parents' favourite loaf from the local bakery.  My mother has baked bread on and off for years, and I dimly recall some relatively dense and fairly dry bread-maker bread from my childhood (her hand baking is much better!).  Anyway, she had recently gotten into the habit of making all the bread they ate (except for the occasional bakery purchase), and my husband I were really impressed with her bread.  One morning we were there, she asked me to put the loaf in the oven for her after it had finished rising, and then because of my interest, she wrote down the recipe she used for her everyday bread.  As soon as I got home, I got some baker's yeast, strong white and wholemeal flour, and I was busy baking.  It took a number of attempts to get the rise right, figure out how to remove the clingfilm without deflating the loaf, etc, etc, but all in all every loaf I made tasted delicious.  Over time, I really got the daily bread down pat, and started braiding loaves for fun, and adjusting different ingredients to get different textures. 

(Sesame, Pumpkin and sunflower seed braided loaf)

Then, in the fall of last year, I came across info about creating your own starter at home, and eliminating the need for commercial yeast.  Ever in search of the healthiest nutrition for my family, I decided to have a go at making sourdough.  Although it seemed impossibly easy, I stirred up equal amounts of white and wholewheat flour and water, covered loosely, and left overnight.  The next day, I discarded half and fed it again, re-covered and waited another day.  By the third discard and feed, there was clear activity, and I was excited!  I baked my first loaf from my brand new starter in a loaf tin, with great anticipation.  I was thrilled to produce a nicely risen loaf with a few big bubbles on top and lots of lovely little bubbles on the crust!

Now, although this bread was delicious and a real triumph, I felt the need to make a yeasted bread for my husband who is less adventurous, and only likes icky cotton wool white bread for toast.  *Sigh* It really does discourage one after all the effort put in.  Nonetheless, our favourite winter lunch is soup and bread, so I was confident that a round loaf for soup dipping would be a hit, and a good way to slip in some wholesome nutrition.  =)  After much research, I started baking round loaves in a covered glass casserole dish and here was my first result:

Not the most amazing loaf, I know, but not bad considering it was a first attempt, and I had no clue about scoring, overnight retarding, stretching and folding, etc.  With each loaf (despite the lop-sidedness due to dumping the proofed loaf into the hot bowl) I saw improvements...

I was even brave enough to attempt a freeform boule, and was very pleased with the result!

Next I tried a sourdough baguette and tin loaf, which were both excellent:

With the discovery of stretching and folding, overnight retarding and a firmer (lower hydration) dough, I managed my best loaf yet, a freeform poppyseed (can't remember the name of the shape):

Everything about this last loaf was an utter triumph for me.  The fantastic opening of the slash, the shiny crackly crust, the soft and moist crumb, and the deliciously smooth and subtle sour taste.  I cannot describe my joy in being able to create such a beautiful and delectable loaf, from nothing more than the usual baking drawer ingredients.  What a joy and a privilege!  Here's to many more loaves to come, and thank you to everyone on the Fresh Loaf from whom I've gotten tons of information which is helping me to continually improve and hone my baking skills!

This was originally posted on my blog Healthy living, you can see more images there but here is the run down of my day baking.

Bake n Blog February 9 2010 finish
As my bake day came to the close it was more of a disappointment than success this time. There were happy moments that shun through on small occasions but over all it was a bust. My spelt sourdough that I like to make did not turn out, the substitution of white flour with wheat made the dough wet and hard to work with, and when I free formed the bread it decided to run all over and became more of a large flat bread. The only good part of this bread story is that I got a proof cabinet and made wooden shelf for the proffer so non of my bread stuck to the shelves. When the bread baked the flavor was more sour than I would like, reading few blogs about baking I learned that the small amount of salt does not add much to the flavor so this time I skipped the salt on my breads, big no no, the small pinch of salt that we add to the dough actually makes a big difference in taste. The Pain au Levain turned out great except that I also held the salt back so it's not as flavorful but over all it is a good bread.

To Success.

This bake I decided to try and convert my beer pizza dough from using dry yeast to sourdough and it was a success. I hope to share about this in my next blog, I baked 4 pizzas including 1 with bananas and cinnamon, and we loved it.

Things I learned from the bake.

One main thing I have learned from this bake is that when you are trying a new bread or a changing your current recipe, do it to a single loaf of bread, not your whole mix.

Stick to what works, and what you know that you will like.

Use salt, although it's a small amount but does enhance the flavor tremendously.

Most of all don't get disappointed, you can always try again.

Till our next bake.