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How To Bake Easy Focaccia With Your Bread Machine

This is just about as easy as it gets for some really good homemade focaccia. Make the dough in your bread machine (or with a stand-type mixer). It doesn't take a lot of time and it's a great project to tackle with the kids.

Here's how:

Start with a lean, white bread machine mix, or use the recipe below. By lean, we mean one that is low fat and doesn’t call for fresh eggs. A buttermilk bread mix is perfect.

Easy Bread Machine Focaccia

Bread Ingredients

1 1/4...

Focaccia, bread, how to, recipe, Italian, crusty, crusty bread

This is just about as easy as it gets for some really good homemade focaccia. Make the dough in your bread machine (or with a stand-type mixer). It doesn't take a lot of time and it's a great project to tackle with the kids.

Here's how:

Start with a lean, white bread machine mix, or use the recipe below. By lean, we mean one that is low fat and doesn’t call for fresh eggs. A buttermilk bread mix is perfect.

Easy Bread Machine Focaccia

Bread Ingredients

1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dough conditioner
1 4-gram yeast packet

Add the ingredients in accordance with the manufacture’s directions or mix in your stand-type mixer. Set the bread machine to the dough setting. If you are using a stand-type mixer, after mixing, let the dough rise until doubled.

Punch down the dough, shape it into a ball, and then cover it with plastic wrap. Let it stand for 15 minutes. In the meantime, mix together the following ingredients for a topping:

Topping Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano flakes
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-4 tablespoons good quality olive oil
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Gently place the round dough on a large greased baking sheet and press it into an oval 9x15-inches. Make 1/2-inch deep indentations in the dough with your fingers one to two inches apart.

Pour two to four tablespoons of olive oil over the dough, letting it run down into the indentations. Spoon the topping mixture evenly over the dough.

Bake the bread for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top turns golden brown. Remove the bread to a wire rack to cool for ten minutes before serving warm. Makes ten to twelve servings.

Notes: You can use this as a pizza crust or vary the toppings or spices to taste. Try onions, mushrooms, or spinach. If you don't have olive oil, you can use melted butter or a good quality vegetable oil.

Copyright 2003-2007, The Prepared Pantry (http://www.prepraredpantry.com ). Published by permission

 

How To Bake Multi-grain Bread

A quick perusal of your baker’s shelves will tell you how popular multi-grain bread is. But it’s not hard to bake—you can make your own. You can use any recipe and add the cracked grain mixture though traditionally, a whole wheat recipe is used. The following instructions and recipe will tell you how.

With most cereal mixes, 1/3 cup to 6 tablespoons of cereal per loaf is about the right ratio. If you want soft cereal bits in your bread, soak the cereal for an hour in hot ...

multigrain multi grain, bread, whole wheat bread, rolls, how to, baking

A quick perusal of your baker’s shelves will tell you how popular multi-grain bread is. But it’s not hard to bake—you can make your own. You can use any recipe and add the cracked grain mixture though traditionally, a whole wheat recipe is used. The following instructions and recipe will tell you how.

With most cereal mixes, 1/3 cup to 6 tablespoons of cereal per loaf is about the right ratio. If you want soft cereal bits in your bread, soak the cereal for an hour in hot water before starting the bread. It’s not necessary but a nice touch. If you are baking bread in your bread machine on a three hour cycle, the long cycle will tend to soften the grains without pre-soaking.

Because both the bran in the whole wheat and flour and the sharp edges of cereal tend to cut the gluten strands as they develop, a couple tablespoons of added gluten is a good idea. Always use a quality, high-protein content bread flour. Your bread will never be better than the flour that you use.

Hi-Country Seven Grain Bread Recipe

This recipe uses a seven grain cereal mix. You can certainly use other cracked grain mixes or cracked wheat. Because different grain mixes and different grain sizes absorb water differently, be prepared to adjust the water to flour ratio in the recipe. (With our flours and cereal, in our kitchen, this is exactly the right water to flour ratio.)

Ingredients

3/4 cup seven grain cereal or other cereal or cracked wheat
1 1/2 cups hot water
6 tablespoons butter
3 cups good quality bread flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat gluten
1 teaspoon dough conditioner
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup baker’s high heat dry milk
1 7 gram packet of instant yeast
1 cup warm water at 105 to 110 degrees

Directions

1. Mix the cereal with the 1 1/2 cups hot water. Set aside for two hours to absorb the water and soften.

2. Melt the butter in the microwave and set it aside to cool. With shortening or butter, grease a large bowl for the dough and
2 large loaf pans (9 x 5-inch). If you are going to make hearth loaves, grease a baking sheet and sprinkle it with cornmeal.

3. Measure the flours into a large bowl by whisking the flour so that it’s not packed and then spooning it into the measuring cup followed by leveling the top with a straightedge. Add the gluten and conditioner and stir to combine. Stir in the sugar, salt, and dry milk.

4. Put about 1/3 of the flour mixture in the bowl of your stand type mixer equipped with a dough hook. Add the yeast. Add the 1 cup water at the indicated temperature. With the dough hook, run the machine for thirty seconds to mix the water with the flour to create a slurry. Add cereal and water mixture and the rest of the flour mixture. (The cereal and water mixture should be 105 to 110 degrees. If it has cooled beyond that, reheat it in the microwave.) Add the melted butter.

5. Mix at medium speed for about four minutes or until the gluten has formed and the dough is elastic. The dough should be soft but not too sticky. To reach the right consistency, you may need to dribble a little extra water (maybe one tablespoon) or flour as the dough is kneading. Place the dough in the prepared bowl and cover it to keep the dough from drying while it rises. Let it rise until it doubles.

6. Gently deflate the dough and form two loaves either as free-standing loaves on a baking sheet or sandwich loaves for your bread pans. Cover the loaves and let them rise again until the dough is soft and puffy, about doubled in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread for about 35 minutes. The time will vary depending on your loaves, the pans, and your oven. The bread should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. The internal temperature of the loaves should be 190 degrees.

Remove the loaves form the pans and let them cool on a wire rack. Cool completely, or nearly so, before slicing.

Copyright 2003-2007, The Prepared Pantry (http://www.prepraredpantry.com ). Published by permission

 

How To Choose The Perfect Bread Maker

Bread makers are extremely popular. The average person can make delicious, homemade bread quite easily with a bread maker. Even with the ease of a bread machine, you must still use caution when adding the ingredients, even if you use a mix. You can make a variety of shapes and sizes of loaf with a bread machine. Many people use a bread machine to simply mix the ingredients then bake the loaf in a traditional oven. Sizes range from one pound to two pounds or more, and you will...

bread, bread maker, kitchen gadgets, make bread, kitchen

Bread makers are extremely popular. The average person can make delicious, homemade bread quite easily with a bread maker. Even with the ease of a bread machine, you must still use caution when adding the ingredients, even if you use a mix. You can make a variety of shapes and sizes of loaf with a bread machine. Many people use a bread machine to simply mix the ingredients then bake the loaf in a traditional oven. Sizes range from one pound to two pounds or more, and you will most likely choose between a square or round loaf pan.

Some bread makers will have a preheat cycle to heat the ingredients before baking. If you want your bread to rise properly, choose a bread maker that does not heat before time to bake the bread. Bread makers will generally have separate settings for different types of bread. There may be settings for wheat or French bread, and you will be able to choose the doneness of the bread such as a light, medium, or dark setting. There will also normally be a regular or rapid bake cycle. It is desirable to have a window in the top or side of the bread machine to allow you to see the progress of your bread while it is baking.

There are a variety of options from which to choose in bread makers, so you may first want to consider how much space you have to store your new machine. Bread makers come in a variety of sizes, so choose one that you can store easily. You should choose the capacity of the bread maker based upon how big your family is and how much bread they eat. You can choose a bread maker with a delay timer which will allow you to place the mix in the bread maker before you leave home each day and the bread will be ready when you return. If you want your bread maker to prepare the dough but not cook it, you will need to find a bread maker with this feature. Choose a bread maker that will alert you when it is time to add additional ingredients such as fruit or nuts. You will also want a "keep warm" feature in case you are gone when the bread is finished. Look for crust control features and special setting for fruits, nuts, cheese, and vegetables.

Study the warranty very carefully to make sure you will be able to get service and replacement parts if necessary. Keep in mind that if your family consumes a small amount of bread now, once you purchase your new bread maker that consumption is likely to increase dramatically. Choose a slightly larger size that you anticipate needing. Remember that the keep warm feature is great, but if you leave the loaf in the bread maker for an extended period of time it may become soggy and flat. A bread maker is a wonderful addition to your home. Nothing compares to the smell of freshly baked bread from your very own kitchen.