Inspired (once again!!!) by Bells' and Rose Red's delish bloggy tribute to Nigella, Mouthfuls of Heaven, I decided that this was the weekend I would try my hand as some home-baked bread.
On advice from Bells (and having seen RR's success with the same recipe) I tried out the white loaf from How to be a Domestic Goddess.
Ok, to be completely honest, that's stunt dough.
See, Nigella had this fabulous idea about making the dough in the evening , leaving it in the fridge overnight, then simply popping it in the oven for quick fresh tasty breakfast bread the next morning.
What she doesn't mention is that it takes a really long time for the dough to come to room temperature before you bake it.
Seriously, I waited like 2 hours before I put the loaf in, and it was still a complete bust (ok, not complete. it was passable as bread. and, you know, boys will eat anything!!)
Still, it wasn't the bready treat I was hoping for.
However, I was determined not to be beaten a simple white loaf of bread (you know, if the people on big brother can make it from scratch!....) so I gave it another shot on Sunday - this time without the chill factor.
Rather than the loaf, I decided to try the garlic and parsley hearthbread (also from Domestic Goddess), to accompany the chicken salad we were planning for dinner.
Ok, yes, it looked kinda scary going into the over.
But, taadaa
I think in the end it came out alright =D
There are definately a few more bready recipes in Domestic Goddess that I'd like to try out - the bagels, the nigellan flatbread and the maple pecan bread for a start! - to get more of a feel for the process.
Then I'm seeing corn bread, and nice fluffy pumpkin loaves sprinkled with pepitas!
Oooh, there will be no Atkinsing here, no way - that's for sure!!!
besos =)
On advice from Bells (and having seen RR's success with the same recipe) I tried out the white loaf from How to be a Domestic Goddess.
Ok, to be completely honest, that's stunt dough.
See, Nigella had this fabulous idea about making the dough in the evening , leaving it in the fridge overnight, then simply popping it in the oven for quick fresh tasty breakfast bread the next morning.
What she doesn't mention is that it takes a really long time for the dough to come to room temperature before you bake it.
Seriously, I waited like 2 hours before I put the loaf in, and it was still a complete bust (ok, not complete. it was passable as bread. and, you know, boys will eat anything!!)
Still, it wasn't the bready treat I was hoping for.
However, I was determined not to be beaten a simple white loaf of bread (you know, if the people on big brother can make it from scratch!....) so I gave it another shot on Sunday - this time without the chill factor.
Rather than the loaf, I decided to try the garlic and parsley hearthbread (also from Domestic Goddess), to accompany the chicken salad we were planning for dinner.
Ok, yes, it looked kinda scary going into the over.
But, taadaa
I think in the end it came out alright =D
There are definately a few more bready recipes in Domestic Goddess that I'd like to try out - the bagels, the nigellan flatbread and the maple pecan bread for a start! - to get more of a feel for the process.
Then I'm seeing corn bread, and nice fluffy pumpkin loaves sprinkled with pepitas!
Oooh, there will be no Atkinsing here, no way - that's for sure!!!
besos =)
I can highly recommend the Nigellan Flat Bread. I made them last weekend and haven't posted them yet.
ReplyDeleteI can also say that the overnight method CAN work but probably isn't the safest option for your first foray into bread making. I have tried it twice and it's only worked once.
I also recommend the potato bread in that book.
Oh yum, that looks SO delish! Well done on persevering and all!
ReplyDeleteI definitely heard somewhere that letting the dough rise in the fridge overnight works very well, removes all the strong yeasty flavour - I think there was a famous bakery in the States that used it with great success. But yeah, guess you'd need to let it warm up before baking. Am dredging my memory here, from about 15 years ago...
Great work - it looks yummy! From my limited experience, there's lots about breadmaking that intuitive and feely, so keep trying and you'll find what works best for you.
ReplyDeleteOoh, now I want fresh-baked bread....