That's what I thought, too; the more you knead the better. Hm. Also! I just bought a new oven, so let the baking commence! :-D
I make all my bread by hand. I have a ton of recipes I would be willing to share. With some bread, not all of them, you can use a KitchenAide or a machine like it with a bread hook to do some of the kneading. That is especially helpful when you have small children. I was given a bread machine one year but I passed it on to a friend as I prefer to make it by hand. I love the making of bread too much to use a machine. But whether you do it by hand or use a machine- I believe one of the best aromas in the world is the smell of bread baking. Add some homemade butter or jam- heaven! This is an especially easy baguette style bread that I find to be foolproof. I have had friends swear they could not make bread and when I gave them this recipe, they reached bread making success. 1 tablespoon/ 15 grams dried yeast 1 tablespoon/ 15 grams sugar 1 tablespoon/ 15 grams salt 5-6 cups/ 700 grams all purpose flour 2 cups/ 500 ml warm water 1 beaten egg white Mix the yeast, sugar, salt and 4 cups/ 450 grams of flour with the water, adding the flour 1/2 cup/ 50 grams at a time. The dough should be soft but stiff enough to knead. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and add as much flour as you need to prevent sticking and knead until it is soft and satiny. (If you have a KitchenAid or other device with a bread hook, you can "knead" it with that instead of on a floured board. Just mix it all in your bowl and add flour a little at a time as you "knead" starting with a low setting and then moving up.)_You will know when the dough is ready by touch- it should feel satiny soft with an elasticy feeling. Now place the dough is an oiled bowl (I prefer a glass bowl for this) and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise for at least two hours, this dough can handle a longer rise. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and cut into three or four equal portions. Shape the dough into baguette shapes, roll slightly with hands to lengthen them and make them nice and smooth. Place them on baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal or on a bread stone or in baguette pans.Brush the surface of each with the beaten egg white and make slash marks at 4 inch/ 10 cm intervals with a very sharp knife. Allow the dough to rise again until doubled in bulk for at least a half hour. Bake at 430F/ 220C for 20 minutes. Your loaves should be golden and sound hollow when you knock on them. I bake mine in perforated baguette trays that I purchased from Sur La Table but I have also made them on a pizza stone and on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Be confident- you can't mess this recipe up. Sometimes I use 2 cups of wheat flour in place of 2 cups of the all purpose. Experiment with it. It is a very forgiving bread and so yummy. A real comfort food.
I printed out the reciepe - I'm going to try it. I do thank you for the encouragement also. Maybe I'll turn into a bread maker.
Jungseed, you can do it, I know you can. It really is a forgiving bread. You can sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top after you brush it with the egg white. The important thing is that you have good yeast and you knead it- by hand or machine- until it is satiny smooth and elastic. Once you taste bread you made yourself, after inhaling that yummy aroma while it rises and then bakes, you will be hooked!
My bread machine makes great bread and it doesn't bake the crust to brown.I never made any kind of bread homemade in my life.My Aunt Mary did all the bread and roll making.I do like beer bread homemade and its easy for me to make.
One thing I forgot to add to my breadmaking suggestions- if you want a crispier crust, just fill a little spray bottle with water and mist the inside of the oven just before you put your bread inside to bake. And I always use a little temperature gage- one of those cheap ones that hang on the rack to make sure my oven is exactly as hot as I want it. If your temp isn't right, you won't get a nicely browned loaf. One of my friends sticks a little pan of water on the rack beneath her breadstone and that seems to work nicely as well.
It appears that even I couldn't ruin this reciepe. It is very good. Thanks. I really do love to bake. If it has chocolate in it I can make it. But bread always gave me trouble.--- until now!!!
Hey, i am not ever made bread with the hands but i eat hand made bread its little bit different in taste with that from machine made.
