{Quirky Cooking Recipe Tips!} Ok, so I promised some spelt bread making tips and got over 150 questions! I might not get them all answered tonight, but check out this blog post and the video there, and that may help. (I know, the video is a bit odd & annoying, but youll get the drift.) ;) My recipe for Spelt Bread: quirkycooking.blogspot.au/2009/01/challah.html There are also lots of tips and ways to use the bread dough in my cookbook. (Tomorrow Ill answer the GF bread making questions, and the yeast free breads the next day.) :) *** Making a weeks worth of bread in one go *** - Mill 250g of spelt grain and set aside. Repeat as many times as you like, setting aside each batch. I use half that in each loaf - approx 120g. - Weigh in 120g of the wholemeal (freshly milled) spelt flour, and add white, unbleached spelt flour until it reaches 500g. Add other ingredients, mix and knead, then set dough aside and make remaining batches one at a time. - Rise all the batches together. I use a couple of bread mats and rise 1 kg dough inside each mat. You could use oiled bowls covered in a tea towel (turn dough over in oil so it doesnt dry out). - Shape first two batches, start rising/baking. While they rise/bake, shape next two batches, etc. As a couple of the loaves are rising, a couple more will be baking, and so on, depending on how much room you have in your oven! - Cool all the bread/rolls, wrap really well, and keep out only what youll use in one day; freeze the rest. See below tips as well for storage. ** This takes me 2-3 hours altogether, depending on whether Im making 4 or 6 loaves. I dont spend all that time in the kitchen though, as the actual work only takes about 5 mins per loaf. - Most important for successful bread: the texture of the dough. If your dough is bouncy when you poke it, as in kind of tough and bouncy, its probably not wet enough, and your loaf will be dry. If your dough is too sticky and you cant handle it without it sticking to your fingers, its probably too wet and your loaf will be heavy and doughy, and wont hold its shape well. Add a little water or flour as needed. Getting the right texture just takes practice. Have a look at the video in the above link to see what my dough looks like after the first rise. - After the first rise, the dough should be very soft and stretchy, again, not bouncy. If you start to work it, it will get firmer. The more you work it, the longer the next rise will need to be. I find when Im doing a quick loaf/rolls that it is easiest to barely work the dough after the first rise - just knead it once, gently, as youre forming the loaf; or stretch it out and cut off the rolls and form in balls without kneading too much. - Dont just rely on the recipe times for rising - it depends on the weather, the temp of your dough, etc... Dough needs to double in size (however long that takes) then be shaped and risen again (either in a warm spot until doubled, then baked in hot oven; or placed in cold oven, and oven turned on and risen and baked at same time as in recipe above). - For a lighter, softer bread, rise 3 times instead of 2. First make your dough, then rise in a warm spot for about 20 mins. Knock the dough down (knead it a little and shape in a ball again), then rise again for about 30 mins in a warm spot. Then go ahead and shape into loaf or rolls, and rise and bake. - Another way to have softer bread is to add an egg - see above recipe for Challah. For my usual spelt bread I dont add egg. I dont use bread improver either, but you can add a pinch of vitamin C powder if you like. Or for a proper bread improver that is supposed to work really well, you could try this one (it contains soy, but it non GMO): organicsonabudget.au/simply-no-knead-natural-bread-improver-200g/#aid=1319. - If youre finding your homemade wholemeal bread quite heavy, just remember youre not going to be able to get it quite as light and fluffy as bought bread - for one thing, it has no preservatives or additives to make it fluffy and long-lasting, and it probably also has more wholemeal flour in it than bought bread, which usually has quite a low percentage. The more wholemeal flour, the heavier it will be. But getting the texture of the dough right and rising it well will definitely help. - When storing or freezing bread, its best to keep it unsliced as slices dry out quicker. But if you want to be able to just grab a couple of slices out of the freezer as you need them, at least wrap the bread really well so no air can get in. Or, the dough can be made ahead, risen once, then shaped into rolls/scrolls and frozen without rising again (well wrapped); then thawed and baked. (Theyll rise while they thaw out.) You can either store in freezer bags, or wrap tightly in foil, or you can use a reusable bread bag like this one - just make sure you get rid of as much air as possible so it doesnt dry out: 4myearth.au/store/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=106 - To make your bread look like the one in the photo below, form into a compact ball covered well in flour, place on lined tray, then slash three times across the top with a serrated bread knife to about 1.5cm deep. Rise and bake as usual, but just make sure you bake really well in a hot oven (200C), until crust is a dark golden colour, and bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath with knuckles. - To make this recipe without a Thermomix, you can mix then knead by hand (15 mins kneading time); or use the kneading attachment on your mixer; or use your breadmaker to knead the dough and bake in oven like in the recipe. Hope those tips help, happy bread making! :)
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 13:01:52 +0000
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