Bread advice

[PeppermintCream]

I am determined to master the art of bread making this year. We have a breadmaker, but really want to try and do a bit more by hand.

Do any of you make your dough the night before? If so, does this cause a problem? Can I leave the dough overnight to rise, should it be in a warm or cold place? If I wanted to make bread rolls (thinking that these cook quicker) should I put the rolls on the tray the night before?

Any other tips and advice greatfully received.

I read in river cottage dough will rise overnight in fridge. Also in the everyday book there is good advice for making your own yeast starter! Not done it yet but dreaming of having time and being more organised in future to try this method.

you can rise at any speed you like, from overnight in the fridge to a few minutes in a microwave (google for the technique) but generally the slower the rise, the better the flavour.
warm place=faster rise, obviously.
If you leave your dough in a warm kitchen overnight it will expand and try to take over your house, before collapsing and smelling suspiciously of alcohol.

and do make bread rolls, not because they are quicker but because home-baked rolls just out of the oven are one of life's great pleasures

Easy, fail safe, no fuss bread.

Put bowl on scales
500g strong bread flour
7g yeast or one packet easy blend
7g salt
300g water

Mix and cover with cling film.
You can now leave it overnight, all day, if you forget you can even dump it in the fridge to 'hold' the rise for another 24 hrs.
you don't have to knead it at all, honest.

About an hour Before cooking knock back dough, stretch it,fold it and put it back in bowl to rise again for a bit.
Heat oven with a big le Creuset style casserole dish with I'd, or Pyrex. 200 degrees min.
When hot, hot, hot take out casserole dish and flop dough into it, put lid on and bake in oven for 40/45 mins. Turn out to cool on a rack.

You will get the best artisan style loaf ever with the crispest crust in the world.

I going to try that to tonight. Do you just leave in kitchen overnight. Or in fridge ?

zanz1bar - I'm really tempted to give that a go this weekend. Won't it stick though? (I don't have le Creuset)

will try that too Zanz1bar - I have a huge Le Creuset that I've hardly used and I can see how it would hold the heat really well, never thought of using it to bake!

flake mum just leave in the kitchen

driftwood999 it shouldn't stick. The casserole with lid keeps all the heat and moisture in so like a Dutch oven you get the crisp crust. For a while I did put a piece of baking parchment at the bottom in case it did stick, but it really doesn't, honest.

I started with the new York times no-knead bread Look on YouTube.
But find the dough just too sloppy and sticky, so fiddled around and these amounts fit my dish and seem to work well.

The best part of making bread is putting your face inches away from a hot loaf straight out of the oven, feel the heat on your cheek, the divine smell and listen to it crackle as it cools. Makes me happy every time.

Thank you.

zanz1bar I had a go at making the artisan bread, the crust was lovely, as was the taste, but the texture was quite spongey. I've googled this and it's suggested using slightly less water. Have you ever had this happen?

Yes sometimes it can bebut spongy, but then it does make great toast.

Thank you. I think I shall make some welsh rarebit tomorrow

Zanz1bar, I did your Le Creuset thing yesterday (normal dough kneaded in bread machine) and got my best crust ever, far better even than when I do the thing of having a really hot oven and spraying it with water from time to time.

Thanks!