If you bake bread regularly and DON’T have a bread maker what’s your routine?

[MrsForgetalot]

DH has decreed a much needed six month no spend rule for new hobbies and interests (sulk) and tbh there isn’t room for another kitchen gadget.

So if you don’t have a bread maker, and you bake bread regularly, what’s your routine?

I bake bread two to three times a week and use my old Magimix to knead it as I can't do it by hand due to my arthritis.

Basically I chuck the flour, yeast, salt into magimix with dough hook, and pour in the water gradually through the spout, with a tbsp of olive oil, until it comes together. Then run the machine for a minute or so. Put the dough into oiled bowl and cover with shower cap (disposable ones from Boots but reuse over and over). Leave until doubled in size (1-1.5 hours although my house is fairly cold). Knock back and shape into loaf tin. Cover with shower cap again (but not tightly) and leave for approx 30 mins for white and 45 for brown. Bake at 200 fan for 35 mins. Take out of tins as soon as out of oven and cool on wire rack.

Then try and wait until cold, but often struggle and cut end off, smother with butter and try not to eat the whole loaf in one go 😅.

I sometimes do sourdough but that's a whole different ball game.

Hope that's helpful.

I do sourdough.

So evening of day 1: feed the starter.

Morning of day 2: make the dough in my stand mixer (older KitchenAid so it still handles it, just).
Evening of day 2 (it takes all day to prove): knock back dough, shape, and into loaf tin, then into fridge overnight - or longer.

Morning of day 3: bake bread. Leave to cool for at least an hour, so I usually get it done by 10:30am.
Evening of day 3: feed starter.

Repeat.

Some weekends I'll make a yeast loaf on Saturday morning, because not all of my children enjoy the sourdough, so then the starter lives in the fridge for a couple of days before I start the process again.

We're a family of five. As my kids are still youngish a loaf every two days works for us. When we have people staying (and I imagine when the kids are older) I make a loaf every day.

I bake bread of some type probably once or twice a week. Occasionally more often. I do a wheaten/soda/fruit soda at least once a week - sometimes twice - then do some form of yeast bread once a week. Sometimes that’s things like Foccacia, other things it’s a white boule, other times dinner rolls, other times an enriched dough like brioche or cholla.

With the Irish breads it depends on when I need them for - if I want them early in the day then I mix the dry ingredients the night before (takes 5min) and leave the bowl covered overnight, then just add the buttermilk/treacle etc in the morning and bung it in the oven. If I don’t need it so early then I’ll just start at whatever time I want - it only takes 5-10min to make and then about 45min in the oven.

With the yeast breads I tend to start early as soon as I’m up and then do all the steps throughout the day while pottering about or going in and out for messages while it’s rising etc. Occasionally I’ll start the night before and put it in the fridge for a slow rise and then get up and get it ready for 2nd proving first thing so that it’s ready for mid morning but that tends to only be at weekends or in holidays.

I use a no-knead, no fiddling recipe - makes 4 artisan looking loaves 😁
Very large bowl.
1 kg flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, seeds etc., 2 tsp yeast (I use Fermipan), mix.
Add 800ml (900 if wholemeal flour) room temp water, stir until forms a dough.
Cover bowl (I use a big saucepan lid) and leave to rise for 8 - 10 hours.
Depends how warm your kitchen is - sometimes it's ready to cook after about 6 hours.
Preheat oven to 190 (mine's a fan). Floured greaseproof sheets on flat trays will make bread easier to move when cooked.
Tip out onto floured surface. Absolutely no kneading required. Will have a lovely aerated texture.
I use a dough scraper to clean the bowl and dough cutter to cut the mix into 4 long baguette shapes.
Cook for about 25 minutes. They rise a lot in the oven.
That's it.
I usually mix the dough last thing at night to cook at breakfast, or first thing in the morning for the evening.
It's my absolute favourite recipe - fresh from the oven with butter and soup!

Peasant Bread - 400g flour (mix of strong white and seeded bread flour or similar), 1 sachet of Allisons easy yeast, approx 300ml water, half teaspoon sugar, 3/4 salt. Mix together. Salt and sugar very much dependant on individual taste buds.

Cover with cling film, leave on top of aga until reaches top of the bowl.

Remove from the bowl, knead for about 30 seconds, then add to 1 pound greased and floured loaf tin. Leave to rise then cook for about 30 mins.

Also can use it in a round bowl instead of loaf tin and add cheese, sundried tomato, seeds, herbs.

Easy and quick to make and tastes wonderful. As no preservatives it does not last very long 1-2 days max, 3rd day ok for toasting.

I bake sourdough. Two a week. Before I go to bed I feed my starter and put the flour and part of the water in a bowl to autolyse. Then in the morning I make up the rough dough with the rest of the water, starter and salt. Room temp ferment for 8-12 hours. Do 6 stretch and folds 10-15 minutes apart. Then cold ferment for 12-36 hours depending on how busy I am. Do another 6 stretch and folds a 20-15 minutes at room temperature. Shape the bread on the final one and score with a razor/lame. Then into a roasting hot oven, poor a pint of water onto a tray at the bottom. Put the loaf in for 20 minutes on high , cook mine on a pizza stove and then reduce it down and cook until it sounds hollow on the bottom. You can get a much better crust in a cast iron Dutch oven but they are just too heavy for me as I have arthritis.

I also use discard for sourdough crumpets, focaccia, cinnamon rolls etc. I'm afraid I can't really give you recipes as I made everything by eye as I've been doing it for so long. But there are loads of fb groups and online recipes that can get you started. It's a really satisfying hobby and I've find that my diet has naturally improved as I'm baking more bread. Lots of veg packed soups and stews to go with the bread! Nothing better at this time of year.

I also make a couple of small loaves a week in my magimix, using the recipe in their book. I then bag it once cold and leave overnight then slice and freeze. Much tastier than shop bought.