Monday, March 2, 2009

Baking Bread: Part 2

Yesterday I went all out with the bread-baking and made one loaf of white bread and 12 cheddar-thyme dinner rolls. After a little research I found out that what Fleishman’s calls Bread Machine Yeast is basically the same thing as what Mark Bittman calls Instant Yeast. So I followed the same recipe as last week, but with Instant Yeast and this is what I got:

I used the same recipe for the cheddar-thyme dinner rolls, but after letting it rise once I kneaded in about a ½ cup of crumbled cheddar cheese and a little over a tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme. I made these to go with the butternut squash soup I made and they are SO delicious:


I also figured out that letting the dough rise on top of my radiator is the perfect way to get enough heat, but not too much. I think I have kicked my fear of making yeast bread and I’m looking forward to trying out some new things, maybe incorporating some wheat flour or trying some other additions. There is a bakery on my street that makes a wonderful rosemary bread that I’d love to try and focaccia is on my list, too. Let me know if you have any favorite bread recipes or other suggestions for a new-to-baking bread maker.

2 comments:

Trinity said...

Hi Beth, I am glad you are having success. I have had a few flops lately and am reluctant to get back on the horse. I've heard that Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day is a great breadmaking book. I haven't used it yet, but I got it for my mom for her birthday.

Ms. Ann said...

challah is one of my favorite breads to make :) and so tasty as leftovers for weekend french toast. you can also make cinnamon rolls with a sweet yeast dough--there's tons of recipes for both of these on the internet. have fun!