How to fit bread making in

[innocentize]

I’d really like to make my own bed regularly
rather than relying on shop bought but all the rising seems to take so long! If you do this, how do you work it into your schedule? And any simple every day recipes?

What's your work routine?

It doesn't require much interaction, just time in the house.

You can make multiple loaves at once, so you only have to bake once a week.

You can put the dough in the fridge to rise slowly while you are out at work.

Use a bread maker. Needs even less interaction.

I have a fairly standard work pattern, Monday to Friday 9-5.30, although often from home. I don’t really have time to be doing anything in the morning because of getting the kids out the house, but was hoping to work it into the making dinner, clearing up from dinner sort of routine. Don’t really want a bread maker as don’t have much surface space.

I only make focaccia, but I do a couple of loaves on a weekend, portion it up and freeze them defrost and refresh in the oven as needed.
ETA - takes about 2 hours total.

I know you’ve said no to a bread maker and I do get that, but there are some small ones out there that you may be able to store in between use? I’ve recently started baking bread for the same reasons and love it, max 5 minutes to put the ingredients in. I start it off in the evening then we have fresh bread in the morning. Or banana loaf. It’s fabulous!

On a WFH day, make the dough at lunchtime and put in the fridge. Then it'll slowly prove until you're ready to start after work.

One thing to bear in mind is it proves faster on hotter days, so it's never totally predictable.

If you have days when you work from home it's perfect.

1. While making dinner, mix your dough and set it aside - 10 minutes
2. Before you go to bed, stretch and shape your dough and put it in the fridge to rise slowly overnight
3. Once the kids are out and before you start work (or at elevenses), take the loaf out of the fridge and bake it

It takes 1 hour to prove after the initial mix, then 1 hour to reprove after shaping and then about 45mins to 1 hour to cook. I just shape by putting into a casserole dish with greaseproof paper and putting the whole thing into the oven to cook.

I make one loaf on average every 3 days.

yes I suppose I could just put it away somewhere in between! I did used to have a bread maker but I only really cooked the sides, the top was always a bit pale. Are there any that are better than that?

I want to get one. Are you able to.make rolls in them, soft or crusty. Thanks

Bread machine bread is fine, bit nowhere near as nice as proper bread. Give proper bread a good go first.

I fit sourdough around long working hours and kids. I do the dough in the evening: mix the dough, few sets of stretches and folds and bulk ferment, then into fridge. Next evening I bake then leave to cool overnight.

Sounds like a right hassle, but really isn't. It takes about 10 mins of hands on time in total. It took a few weeks to get my head around it, but now I do it without thinking.

I use this recipe. https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2020/06/whole-wheat-sourdough-bread/

I tend to use my breadmaker more as a doughmaker tbh. I put the ingredients in and and hour and a half later I get dough that just needs knocking back, shaping, then a final prove and in to the oven. It does all the hard work and I just need to choose what shape I want the bread to be.

Sourdough worked pretty well round working from home.

I found a bread maker easiest when we had a houseful. Panasonic is good.

I make sourdough several days a week. On WFH days, feed the starter around 7am. Put ingredients in the bread maker around 12pm. Remove from bread maker around 6pm, oil and bash it a bit and put it in the tin. 9pm cover with foil and put in the fridge. Next morning bake it for 50 minutes.

Once you get the hang of it sourdough isn't at all labour intensive and the bread is soooo much nicer than bread machine bread. And because you just do a few stretch and folds rather than kneading the dough it is much quicker than other homemade breads.

You can make an easy "no kneed" bread in 10 minutes in the morning, then let it stand during the day (reduce the yeast) and bake it in the evening. This bread is great: www.recipetineats.com/easy-yeast-bread-recipe-no-knead/

Can you speed up proving in the oven? I deliberately bought a oven that could be set at 30 C so I could use it to prove bread. Then I just whack it up to 220 to bake.

Like a PP I usually use the bread maker to make dough which I then shape into a bloomer shape loaf. You also don't need to keep the bread maker in the kitchen, it can live anywhere near a plug if you have more room elsewhere.

But it does take some timing and planning so you don't find you're up while midnight waiting for the bread to finish.

No knead bread. 10 hour rise, sometimes a 12 hour depends on the time of year. Just put it in a bowl with a lid on or some cling film

I dont touch it at all, some advice is to do some slight stretches with it but I dont bother now, chuck it in a raging hot casserole dish with a lid, bake for 40 mins on the hottest temp you've got

Perfect bread. You wont buy bread again

On Sunday morning I make 3 500gm loaves:

I put 600ml water in the microwave for 30 seconds, 1kg strong floor into a bowl - mine is a kenwood chef bowl.
Heat oven to 35 degrees c
Add 4 packets yeast into the water and stir
Add the water to the flour and mix with a dough hook for 5 mins on low.
Add 15gm salt to the dough and mix for a further 3 mins.
Cover and place in Oven for an hour

The dough will have risen after an hour. Turn onto a floured surface and divide into 3 (I have 3 tins for 500gm loaves). I also line the tins with greaseproof paper. Roll each pièce of dough into a roll to fit into the tin.

Leave for 30 mins, then put the Oven on 235 degrés c with à tin of boiling water on the bottom of the Oven.

When the Oven is hot put the loaves to bake for 30 mins. After 30 mins take the loaves out of the tins and put them back upside down in the oven for 5 mins.

Leave them to cool then freeze them for later in the week.

Honestly it isnt à lot of work, you just have to be présent.

Leave to rise in the fridge overnight/equivalent length of time in the day. It then takes longer to prove, though, but I like breaking it up like that.

I also nearly always make a double batch, then slice and freeze.

sponge method

in the morning mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of flour and add half a teaspoon on dry live yeast.

when back home from work add another cup of water, 500g flour, 5g salt.
knead, shape loaf and put into tin. leave to rise for 40 min or so.
then bake for about 50 min (not preheated)

makes a soft(ish) sandwich loaf

I just put the ingredients in the bread maker and and set the delay timer ready for breakfast. 5 minutes!

I can get this in the oven in 7 mins 😄
https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/easy-wholemeal-soda-bread/#recipe