Looking for "fool proof" bread recipe. NGC

[G5]

I've always had success with Mark Bittman's no-knead recipe, as long as the yeast is good. Here's his latest version:

https://www.markbittman.com/recipes-1/no-knead-bread

I score a line across the top of the dough before baking, and more often than not add chopped rosemary.

---Al

[Anomaly]

Back when I was trying to get my sourdough starter established, I heard Bittman on the radio recommend rye flour for feeding starter. Have used it ever since (unless I run out...). Sourdough starter can be really fragile/finicky but once you get it established, its tough as nails. Mine is almost a decace old now and I put it in the fridge for as long as two months when I'm traveling and I travel all over the place with it. It takes on different complexions depending on where I am in the world and what rye I'm feeding it with. My loose no-knead recipe follows the ratios Cliffrod mentioned earlier: today was baking day, 6 cups of flour (4 were einkorn), 3 cups of water/starter mix (the starter had been fed last night). It takes me about 10 minutes to mix it up and then the rest is rising time. Today was beautiful here so I just set the "pan" I use up on the terrace and let it warm in the sun for about 6 hours.

[bigbikerrick]

I've always had success with Mark Bittman's no-knead recipe, as long as the yeast is good. Here's his latest version:

https://www.markbittman.com/recipes-1/no-knead-bread

I score a line across the top of the dough before baking, and more often than not add chopped rosemary.

---Al

Nice, simple,recipe. We are going to try this one also.
Thank you
Rick.

[Tom]

I'm always looking for options while doing something.  What do you guys use for pans when baking and prepping them for the oven?  Swabbing them with oil, spray, butter, margarine etc.?

[Moparnut72]

I have a question. I very rarely make bread but I make pizza quite often. I have never been really happy with my dough. My question is how does the salt affect the dough?  Due to my health issues I very rarely use salt in anything. By leaving out the salt what am i doing to my dough?  It is kind of interesting when I make bread it is usually a bit heavy but my pizza crusts are a bit fluffy, for lack of a better word. Also I use a Kitchen Aid  mixer with a bread hook.
kk

[Lumpy Idle]

in a bread related moment let me recommend robert sean lennon's short story "bread man." it is available here as a story read brilliantly by kyle mclachlan.

https://www.symphonyspace.org/selected-shorts/episodes/food-fights-with-food52-2020

enjoy!

[cliffrod]

As long as John Lennon's Bread Man short story is now here, let's add Budgie and their music video for Breadfan- lots better than the Metallic cover https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=54H3EUAzpVg. Nothing to do with bread as we're discussing it, but still cool.

Most of our bread is formed or made up into loaves (like a baguette or batard) and baked on a flat sheet pan. Whether loaf or pizza/flatbread, I like to use Corn meal on the pan to keep it from sticking.  We also have silicone mats to use on sheet pans.  They're one of my favorite kitchen tools- nothing sticks to them.   We have a pair of willow baskets called bratforms, which are heavily floured before use to proof bread & produce the traditional spiral design.  I rarely make bread in a typical loaf pan, because they tend to produce a softer (steamed) crust.  When I do, I prefer carbon steel pans over aluminum.  If they're well-seasoned like a cast iron pan, they stick less.  Well scrubbed pans stick the worst.  Don't think I own anything Teflon, but there are several silicone "pans" that my wife uses for projects.  Never used them for dough, but nothing sticks to them.

The King Arthur site has a very well written explanation of the function of salt in yeast dough- https://www.kingarthurflour.com/pro/reference/salt. Your dough without salt is heavy because the gluten network is not as sturdy, so cannot capture leavening gases as well. It doesn't rise as well so it dense when it's the make-up is a full/thick loaf shape.  A thin make-up like flatbread or pizza dough can leaven a little more effectively. 

Mixers do add heat via friction, but most home mixers aren't as deadly to yeast as food processors.   The power and speed of a home-version Cuisinart Food Processor (derived from the original Made in France Robot Coupe) can quickly overheat a dough.   Done carefully, it can be an advantage.  By comparison, a good KitchenAid stand mixer will take much longer to boost dough temp and require the motor will labor more as the dough comes together.  Use a thermometer if you think your temps are getting hot. 

[john fish]

This isn't really what the OP called for but there is no yeast to be found here so I dug out and old Quick Bread recipe.

1/2 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup shortening melted.  I use butter usually
1 1/2 cups sour milk  (add 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the milk and let sit.  It'll sour)
1/2 cup molasses

grease a loaf pan. 
set the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit
mix all the dry stuff then plop all the wet ingredients in and mix well. 
Cook for 50 minutes

This is just a simple, moist, honest bread.  Great with cheese or butter.

[bigbikerrick]

Lots of great tips,and interesting links here, My wife is trying out Nc Dan's wifes bread recipe "as we speak", then I plan to try either John Fish's, or Cliffrods, or possibly both. Lets see how far we get.The house is already starting to smell really good!
Thanks
Rick.

[Lumpy Idle]

As long as John Lennon's Bread Man short story is now here,...

oops, right - i flipped my lennon's here.

[Ncdan]

Lots of great tips,and interesting links here, My wife is trying out Nc Dan's wifes bread recipe "as we speak", then I plan to try either John Fish's, or Cliffrods, or possibly both. Lets see how far we get.The house is already starting to smell really good!
Thanks
Rick.

Did you get the recipe I sent you by PM from my wife???

[bigbikerrick]

Yes Dan, Thank you, we made that recipe yesterday, used a pan of water in the oven,and it  came out awesome !  crusty outside,and moist inside, also John Fisks recipe, didnt use pan of water for that,and and  it also came out fantastic! Wife and I are going to try some more today,as I got her a kitchen aid stand mixer,last night, so the bread should be even better than what we made yesterday, with all the ingredients mixed better. Wife also made a sweet  banana nut bread that was very good.
 I have a batch of cliffrods artisan bread ready to be made today also.
  I also want to try a Mexican "Pan de Levadura" ( yeast bread) from a recipe a Mexican neighbor gave me that bakes delicious bread. I like that style of bread, as it has a very soft crust, and is easier for me to swallow.
Thanks,
Rick.

[john fish]

also John Fisks recipe, didnt use pan of water for that,and and  it also came out fantastic! Wife and I are going to try some more today,as I got her a kitchen aid stand mixer,last night, so the bread should be even better than what we made yesterday, with all the ingredients mixed better. Wife also made a sweet  banana nut bread that was very good.

Rick.

Great, I'm glad it worked out for you.  I can't take the credit, it's a Fanny Farmer recipe.  :)   I can definitively say that making that recipe without the molasses is not nearly as good.  I did that the other night.  I may have been drinking at the time.   

I made a good banana bread the other day and substituted 1 cup brown sugar for 1 cup white sugar.  To my mind, it came out tasting better and had a crispier texture.

And I have a question for the mind trust.  I've always used butter in any recipe that called for shortening.  Last time, I made that recipe with Crisco instead because I'm trying to save money and the taste was definitely not as good.  Is that something I can always expect?  Taste not quite as good with Crisco?  Thanks.

[Ncdan]

Yes Dan, Thank you, we made that recipe yesterday, used a pan of water in the oven,and it  came out awesome !  crusty outside,and moist inside, also John Fisks recipe, didnt use pan of water for that,and and  it also came out fantastic! Wife and I are going to try some more today,as I got her a kitchen aid stand mixer,last night, so the bread should be even better than what we made yesterday, with all the ingredients mixed better. Wife also made a sweet  banana nut bread that was very good.
 I have a batch of cliffrods artisan bread ready to be made today also.
  I also want to try a Mexican "Pan de Levadura" ( yeast bread) from a recipe a Mexican neighbor gave me that bakes delicious bread. I like that style of bread, as it has a very soft crust, and is easier for me to swallow.
Thanks,
Rick.

I really like the bread to be a little hard on the outside crust and soft in the middle. I’ll cut me a healthy slice of extra sharp cheese and and thick slice of Wife’s homemade bread and that’s a meal👍👍👍

[bigbikerrick]

FWIW, John, my wife has made banana bread with real butter  and also with crisco. The butter is way better hands down. The crisco is like margarine, gives a different taste,and even texture I think.
  Dan, your wife's bread tastes great with cheese,  ate some yesterday, with a slice of gouda,but I just had a toasted slice smeared with refried beans, with a sprinkle of chorizo on top, that is out of this world, my friend!
Rick.

BTW ...My wife is absolutely nuts over her new Kitchen aid stand mixer,   I picked it up at a local yard sale this weekend for $75. Its one of the Good old ones, that weigh a ton, but very solid ( like a Guzzi)she states she should have gotten one years ago, what a difference over the hand held .

[cliffrod]

Glad it's going well this time around, Rick.   That mixer sounds good.  The best mixers and food processors usually have larger & stronger motors.  That KitchenAid should do well for you.

And I have a question for the mind trust.  I've always used butter in any recipe that called for shortening.  Last time, I made that recipe with Crisco instead because I'm trying to save money and the taste was definitely not as good.  Is that something I can always expect?  Taste not quite as good with Crisco?  Thanks.

That's normal.  Even if you use  Butter Flavored Crisco or similar shortening product, it still produces a different mouthfeel than butter. 

In general, manufactured shortening performs differently than the Animal fats (like butter and pure lard) they are formulated to replace. They tend to be stickier which helps enhance the flavor experience (good or bad) by adhering material to the mouth surfaces.  They also tend to be hygroscopic, which helps defer staling.  Natural solid fats, especially animal fats, may not be as healthy but people love how they do the things they do...

Like everything else, there's always trade-offs.

[Tom]

Found this from the Food Network.  "No Yeast Bread Recipes."   I haven't gone through them all but worth a look. 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/breads-without-yeast?nl=FNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn&%24web_only=true&noapp=true&~campaign=FNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn&bid=20149721&c32=765a2d21c55fa0c3781a43ca3b7cddfc5ece3b0d&ssid=&sni_by=1951&sni_gn=&%243p=e_sailthru&%24original_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodnetwork.com%2Frecipes%2Fphotos%2Fbreads-without-yeast%3Fnl%3DFNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn%26%2524web_only%3Dtrue%26noapp%3Dtrue%26%257Ecampaign%3DFNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn%26bid%3D20149721%26c32%3D765a2d21c55fa0c3781a43ca3b7cddfc5ece3b0d%26ssid%3D%26sni_by%3D1951%26sni_gn%3D&_branch_match_id=721541913787142628

[bigbikerrick]

Found this from the Food Network.  "No Yeast Bread Recipes."   I haven't gone through them all but worth a look. 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/breads-without-yeast?nl=FNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn&%24web_only=true&noapp=true&~campaign=FNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn&bid=20149721&c32=765a2d21c55fa0c3781a43ca3b7cddfc5ece3b0d&ssid=&sni_by=1951&sni_gn=&%243p=e_sailthru&%24original_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodnetwork.com%2Frecipes%2Fphotos%2Fbreads-without-yeast%3Fnl%3DFNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn%26%2524web_only%3Dtrue%26noapp%3Dtrue%26%257Ecampaign%3DFNTop5_042820_subfeat1btn%26bid%3D20149721%26c32%3D765a2d21c55fa0c3781a43ca3b7cddfc5ece3b0d%26ssid%3D%26sni_by%3D1951%26sni_gn%3D&_branch_match_id=721541913787142628

Thanks Tom, some of these no yeast recipes sound interesting. I think I will try the  little Brazilian cheese breads . I have eaten those at a brazilian steak house,and they are delicious! a couple of the others very similar to tortillas. Thats cool!
Rick.

[Tom]

Those look good with grilled meats.    I like the first one jalapeno & cheddar.  Looks like a good one for chili.