I have enjoyed and learned from the B.B. Digest for a number of months. I
thought maybe I had something to contribute.
I've been baking bread for 44 years. First by hand, then I had a bread pail
and would bake 7 loaves at a time (wish I'd kept it), and then with my
Cuisinart (2 & 3 loaves at a time), tried by Kitchen Aid mixer and went
back to the Cuisinart, and now as a rule with a bread machine. I still use
my Cuisinart when I want to do specialty breads.
10 of the last 12 years I ran a cooking school and taught bread baking
classes (each person making a loaf and a pan of cinnamon rolls by hand) and
regular classes where I often taught a bread along with other items, and
always used my Cuisinart for this. I retired 2 years ago.
I've read a number of comments about the amount of protein in flour,
particularly bread flour. Back 10 years ago, flour sacks listed the protein
in percentages of, I believe, a pound of flour. 13-14 percent was
considered good for bread. Somewhere around 7 years ago the government got
involved and said all foods had to list ingredients per serving. On a flour
sack 1/4 cup of flour is considered a serving. This 1/4 c has something
like 4 grams of protein. You will find about the same listing whether it is
bread or all-purpose, as it is difficult to figure in that small a
quantity. Cake flour is usually 2 grams. The government (as often it does)
has messed up being able to really tell the percentage of protein in a bag
of flour.
I always taught measuring flour by weight. This is the most exact way. You
need an accurate scale that has markings by the 1/4 ounce to do the bast
job. Cuisinart makes a small scale that weighs up to 10 ounces that is
excellent and not too expensive. If you measure a cup of flour and weigh it
you will probably not get the same weight twice. Bags usually list 1 cup as
4 ounces, but it is difficult to get a cup to weigh that light, even if you
sift. Some experts say you get 3 cups to a pound (which would make each
weigh 5 1/3 ounces). I have always taught, and had excellent results, to
weigh flour for bread at 5 ounces per cup. For cakes, etc., where one is
using all-purpose, to figure 4 1/4 ounces per cup. Whole wheat flour is
probably best figured at 4 ounces per cup. One reason 5 ounces per cup
works so well is that you can figure 15 ounces of flour will absorb 1 cup
of liquid. This makes it easy to play with recipes. I sometimes use sour
cream for part of the liquid, sometimes an egg or 2. This will vary the
bread texture and flavor. (Never figure oil, if you use it in your dough,
as part of the liquid.)
My favorite yeast is the Instant S.A.F. yeast. I can buy it in 2# bags at
some outlets &/or health food stores for $3-4. I store it in a canning jar
in the freezer. I figure 1 Tablespoon per package of yeast called for. This
is not exactly accurate, but a little more doesn't hurt and is simple to
measure. I never bring it to room temperature. If I'm not making bread in
the bread machine, I always proof it first in a little of the liquid.
If you happen to have a Great Harvest Bread Company in your area, check and
see if they will sell you their whole wheat flour. They grind it fresh each
day, and it is wonderful to bake with. Keep it in your freezer.
Hope my long ramblings have been helpful. Sometime I will write and tell my
reasons for preferring the Cuisinart to a Kitchen Aid for bread making. I
do use my Kitchen Aid, just not for bread making, and perhaps give a recipe
or so.
Gloria