About two months ago, I decided I wanted to try baking bread.  I began perusing allrecipes.com, a site I have begun using quite extensively since I really began cooking a lot a half year ago.  I found a recipe for "Amish White Bread", and as it had good reviews, I decided to try it, just for a sandwhich bread.  It went very well, considering the fact that I hadn't really taken much time to learn about bread baking.  After the bread had undergone its first rise, I discovered that the outside of the risen dough was a little dry.  After it had proofed, the outside of the dough was again just a little dried out.  I formed the two loaves, popped them in the oven, and had to take them out about ten minutes prior to the end of the prescribed baking time. 

The two problems I encountered came from me allowing the dough to dry out, I believe.  The loaves both had an enormous crack along the side and top, and as I found out when cutting and eating, there was a little portion inside each loaf that was not quite done. 

Now, these didn't prove to be too big of problems, however.  My wife LOVED the bread, despite the very small vein of almost-baked dough.   As for the cracks, although they were more accidental and pronounced than the natural cracking that (often purposely) occurs from the oven spring, they weren't a big deal.

Needless to say, I was hooked, and had to learn more about this (then) mysterious process of baking.  So the next day I went to the local bookstore, bought their only book on bread baking (The Art of Baking), and checked out two books from the library (Daily Bread and Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads).  Within about a week I had read through all three, and here I am...baking away! :)

i am pretty new to bread baking in a machine. the box mixes that i use turn out wonderful. have decided to try my hand at start from scratch bread. i have tried this recipe twice and i get the same result. the top is crated. the center has fallen a inch or so from top. the loaves have been very hard and very dense. they have tasted great but not real sure what my problem is. here is the recipe that i am working from. any help would be greatly appreciated.

1 1/2 pound loaf.

1- 1/8 cup of milk

2-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of bread flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon or margerine

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons of red star yeast.

i am baking this on the whole wheat setting.

thanks in advance

Hello,

I've been experimenting with different starters and still havn't had any luck getting a good sour bread. I have ordered a few San Francisco starters but I've been told that they wont last long before the local yeast and bacteria take over. One thing I wondered is if you were to source honey from California, shouldn't that contain the local yeast and hopefully lactobacillus? If this idea were to work, anyone could create and maintain a SF sourdough starter. Any thoughts?

Many of us go to some amount of trouble to source the best ingredients possible to use in our family foods. The Organic movement is well established in most parts of the World and I think most of us genuinely strive to avoid unwanted products in the food we eat. I have friends in the Honey business here in Wisconsin. They aren't the largest producer but the nectar they sell is wonderful and--PURE HONEY. If you are of the mind that when you go to the market and buy honey that says "pure honey" and doesn't admit to being sourced in China, that you are getting real honey, you need to read this story. For the last 40 years the FDA has been promising to establish federal guidelines to determine what honey contains and does not contain, and what can be done to it and still call it "Honey".

Food Safety News did tests on samples that show a shocking amount (77%) of product had been ultra filtered to remove all traces of pollen. The conclusion is that most of the product labeled as honey has been processed, diluted, thinned or modified by Chinese manufactures. Take the time to read the story and find yourself a local bee keeper. If that's not possible and you don't have a farmers market or Trader Joes around, buy Organic.

This is a forum with Global reach. I make an effort to avoid pointing  a finger of suspicion at any one country when it comes to food safety policies. In this instance China has a reputation for dumping all manner of chemicals on the world market, denying and covering it up to the detriment of consumers. In the case of honey, the major food sellers like Kroger, Sams Club, Wal-Mart Costco and basically all other major chains are aiding this cover up of the source and turning a blind eye to the issue of fraudulent labeling of products. This should not be.

Eric

Ingredients:

• 1 dl (100g) lukewarm to warm water
• ½ dl (50g) plain naturel yogurt
• 15g fresh active yeast
• 8 g honey
  (pref. liquid)
• 10 g sea salt
• 10 g olive oil
  (this is a minimum, feel free to use more, I reckon 25g would be ideal)
• 250g various types of flour, I used and recommend:
  30g Graham flour
  70g semolina flour
  150g wheat baking flour
• Poppy or sesame seeds or for sprinkle

This recipe is very small, the smallest I've ever made. Usually I double the ingredients mentioned, except for the yeast, the dough rises just fine with 15g.

Recipe:

(Work: 20 mins - 1st rise: 30 mins - work: 5 mins - 2nd rise: 35 mins - bake: 30 mins)
Estimated time from start to finish: 2 hours 

Mix the warm water and yogurt, so you get a tepid mixture. Add the yeast and stir till dissolved. Add salt and honey and dissolve. Add the flour to the mixture, I ususally add 100g, mix and add then add more.

Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes, put it into an oiled container, cover it with a hot teatowel and leave it to rise for 30 mins or so, can be more or less, usually more means better and less means less good.

Should be doubled after half an hour and shape it into a loaf. Place the loaf onto your baking surface of choice. Pat the bread with milk and sprinkle the seeds on top of it. Cover it again with a warm towel and let it rise for 30-60 minutes; Afterwards put the loaf into your oven.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the crust is golden and it makes that hollow sound you know so well, when you knock on the bottom of it.

Enjoy.

I received a message from the National Honey Board today I thought other Fresh Loafers would enjoy seeing. There is a wealth of information about substituting from other sweeteners and a recipe section for a wide variety of baked products. I found it interesting, hope you do too. Everything you wanted to know about natures natural organic sweetener.

If you have only purchased honey in the grocery, slap yourself and check out the locator link on the first page. The flavor is derived from the type of flower the bees pollinate and it varies widely. There are lots of small honey sources from local bee keepers that offer excellent pure honey, not cut with other products from China. The flavor difference is remarkable. Trust me on this, find a local source of pure honey and be amazed.

Eric

Inspired by Subways "Honey Oat" bread, this is my interperetation on the Subway classic.

Ingredients:

• 400g Bread Flour
• 50g Wheatgerm
• 75g Semolina Flour
• 7g Active Yeast (25g fresh)
• 25g Honey
• 5g Sugar (rapadura if you have it)
• 30g Vegetable Shortening
• 275g Water
• 5g Salt
• Oats (topping)
• Honey wash (equal amount of water and honey, plus a teaspoon of sugar)

Process:

Step 1: Combine the yeast, honey, sugar and water together and ensure the yeast is nice and active.

Step 2: Combine the reamining ingredients except the oats and honey wash with the activated yeast mixture above.

Step 3: Mix/kneed until the gluten is well developed (10 mins or so)

Step 4: Proof until doubled, then scale into quarters. Roll your portions twice but don't ball. (push, lift, roll, turn 90 degrees, push, lift, roll)

Step 5: Use the honey wash to brush the top of your rolls, and then push the rolls into a pile of oats to coat. Repeat and place all 4 rolls into the bread tin side by side.

Step 6: Proof until just near the rim, and bake in a 200C oven for approximately 30 minutes until cooked.

Allow to cool before slicing and enjoy this wonderful bread, ideal with slathers of butter. Naturally the dough can be formed into sub form for sandwiches.

Hi everyone,

I have just begun my first sourdough honey starter.  I am 3 days into it and on day 2 and 3 I have woken up to a solid layer of hooch on top.  The recipe I used is from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads.  It is as follows...

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 Tbs Honey (I am a beekeeper and this is from my hives)

2 1/2 cups AP flour

Combine all ingredients, cover with towel and let ferment for 5 days stirring once daily.

The questions I have are..

1) Should I be feeding the starter before the 5th day

2) Is the hooch appearing a normal and healthy thing?

3) Is there a way to figure out the hydration of this starter?

The starter has a nice yeasty smell and bubbles nicely indicating to me it is active and living.

Thanks in advance

Blizzahd

Honey is thought to be a healthy good tasting sweetener.  I have heard that people from India

avoid baking with honey because there is a centuries held idea that heating honey causes it to

become toxic or poisonous in some way.  We have all heard that honey looses some of its healthy

benefits when heated.  We also have heard that heating and processing reduces potential for certain

bacteria.  Our food processing industry tries to make things attractive for the consumer and more

profitable for themselves.  Unheated crystallized honey is not as sellable as the golden almost clear

honey that comes in the squeezable plastic  bear.  In India honey may be thought to be more of a

medicine than a food.  Personally, I substitute rice syrup or sugar, maple syrup etc. when honey is

called for in a recipe that requires heating.  It is a switch for me because when I grew up honey cake

was thought to be a treat. 

Any further information will helpful. 

Thanks for this exchange of ideas and baking techniques.