Starting to make bread

[sleepyhoglet]

I've decided I want to get into bread making as a hobby. I'm a bit of a minimalist so would prefer to get as little kit as possible but happy to get a decent recipe book. Do I need a bread maker or just a decent baking pan (not sure what that's called) and oven? Hit me with your recommendations. Can't wait for the house to smell all warm and bready!!

The thing which made the most difference to my bread making was a stand mixer with a dough hook. It does all the kneading for me (I just do about a minute or 2 at the end).

I did a breadmaking course, so I use the recipes from that. They go against most recipe books because they advocate proving in a cool place, rather than a warm one, for a better rise. I never had any success with 'normal' recipes.

I'd just be wary of recipes that have lots of ingredients for a basic loaf. You really only need flour, water, yeast and salt.
Sugar is one to watch out for - it's added to get a faster rise, and affects the quality of the loaf.

I would recommend the bread subscription from here -

bakedin.co.uk/

My DH got me the baking one for Christmas last year and I now have the bread one, too. You get to try a different bread recipe with clear instructions, tips and all the dry ingredients popping through the door once a month. There is no investment in expensive ingredients when you might not like it. And there is a great supportive group on Facebook.

If you're a minimalist, you don't really need much at all!

A bowl, some ingredients and your hands. Bake in oven on whatever tray you have.
You might want a loaf tin if you like that shape? Or a deeper tray if you want to do, eg focaccia.

Or you might want a bread maker, a Danish dough whisk, a bench scraper... There is so much kit, but none of it is essential for a basic loaf.

A bread book I really like is Richard Bertinet's 'Dough'. Or have a look online, or in the library or charity shop and see whatbtakes your fancy!

@ReviewingTheSituation "Sugar is one to watch out for - it's added to get a faster rise, and affects the quality of the loaf."
That's a really interesting comment. I use a Panasonic and the white bread comes out very soft and airy. I've cut down on the salt cos I don't add salt to anything except porridge and bread, but left the sugar at the recommended amount. Now I'll try to cut that down and see if I get a more "solid" loaf. Thanks

[quote filka]@ReviewingTheSituation "Sugar is one to watch out for - it's added to get a faster rise, and affects the quality of the loaf."
That's a really interesting comment. I use a Panasonic and the white bread comes out very soft and airy. I've cut down on the salt cos I don't add salt to anything except porridge and bread, but left the sugar at the recommended amount. Now I'll try to cut that down and see if I get a more "solid" loaf. Thanks [/quote]
I have a Panasonic and I've never added the sugar.

Unless it's actually a sweet bread recipe like chocolate or banana.

I got into bread making by starting with little packets of bread mix, just to learn how they mix and how dough should feel and look and smell as it works.
You really don't need a spendy recipe book, look online for basic doughs.
I use a stand mixer and dough hook to bring the wet and dry ingredients together but for me the joy is in hand-kneading and feeling the dough come to life under my floury hands.
Good luck, baking is a delight.

I use a mixing bowl and a standard baking tray. I have a loaf tin too which I usually use for banana bread instead
I like a big round loaf so rarely do it in a tin.
I just Google recipes if I fancy something different (cheese, olive, garlic & herb etc). I make the dough by hand, no mixers.
It's a relaxing Sunday afternoon activity for me (not every weekend though, I only make it when I feel like it, so it never feels like a chore).

Oooh this is so exciting and very helpful everyone! I am going to buy myself a 6 month baked in bread subscription and maybe a £50 stand mixer as my splurges!!

Although I do have a magimix so wonder if I can knead the dough in that....

I know you can get bread mixes in the UK. I would suggest getting one (maybe start with a white bread) so you get used to the mixture and texture of bread dough and kneading etc. once you get the feel of that, you can find some simple recipes to start with.

I use a bread machine (zojurushi) and we make all of our own bread, mostly a multigrain 100% whole grain. I use sprouted spelt and wheat, plus stone ground whole wheat flours. It is yummy and very healthy. I don't add sugar, but do add a bit of blackstrap molasses for flavour and nutrients.

Feel free to pm me once you feel confident and I'll send you the recipe.

If your magimix is a processer, that won't work - it's a dough hook you need, not a blade/paddle. And a powerful motor. I'm not sure a cheap stand mixer would be up to the job - you'd be better doing it by hand.

I recommend the King Arthur Flour recipe section - American so some ingredients you can't get here but lots of good bread recipes of all kinds. They have a questions section that they're pretty active in answering so good tips from other people's experiences too. Happy baking!

This is the easiest bread recipe.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-white-bread

I make it and leave to rise overnight so we can bake it warm for breakfast., Bloke a pp I just use the dough hooks on my mixer.

You don't need any special gear. I either make a round loaf and bake it in a le Creuset style pan or I divide into small balls and pop in a muffin tray to make little rolls. Easy peasy.

If you are thinking of a bread machine and are anywhere near Birmingham I have un unneeded bread machine going free to a good home. Unneeded because I graduated from machine to hand-kneading within a year.....several years ago, so it is now gathering dust.

I make most of my bread by hand but when pushed for time or doing multiple loaves I use a food processer - I have a magimix which comes with the dough blade if you have that? It takes about a minute or so to knead it to the right 'feel'. But you so need to hold on to the machine as it kneads it, as it starts moving around once the dough comes together!

I use a handy dough scraper, with a metal blade. Great for tidying up afterwards. I knead by hand for 10 minutes, leave to rise in an olive oiled glass bowl, for an hour. Then knock back the dough (basically, knead lightly again), put in a warmed (not hot) bread tin and leave to rise for another hour.
I bake at 180° for about 20 minutes.
I also make focaccia. Tip: dip the chopped rosemary and garlic in lots of olive oil before adding to the dough, it stops it burning.
Happy baking.

I've just bought a bread machine and love it for convenience (5 minutes work). It's much nicer than shop bought loaves but the bread isn't quite as good as a fresh loaf from the oven. A random recommendation from one of my friends was a danish dough whisk, she was practically evangelical about it. Costs a fraction of the price of a mixer or bread machine but apparently it makes it much easier to mix bread dough.

For simple loaves I like to use the magic dough recipe from Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall. It's also my go-to pizza dough. If you leave it to rise in the fridge overnight it develops more flavour.

I used to use my KitchenAid with dough hook. The bread was okay but it wasn’t great. Then I found some fab breadmaking threads in chat and discovered Bake with Jack. My bread is transformed, its so much lighter and tastes fab. I love the process from kneading by hand and turning a sticky goo into a lovely smooth dough, to letting it rest, watching it rise.

I stick to his simple white loaf and we’ve also been using his pizza dough recipe recently which is also a favourite in this house.

www.bakewithjack.co.uk/blog-1/simple-loaf-recipe

Hmm, that said, I still have much to learn and would love to do a bread making course!

The magi mix has a dough attachment so will try it. Have a holiday time coming up so will try a basic mix. Thanks all.