| 1 | Here are my favorite tips and basic bread recipe: Don"t by those tiny packets of active-dry yeast. |
| 2 | Get it in bulk in a health-food store. |
| 3 | They charge at least 10x more for those tiny packets -- you"re paying almost entirely for the packaging. |
| 4 | (store yeast in the fridge). |
| 5 | 1 packet = 1 tb. Wheat gluten is very useful in helping the dough rise. |
| 6 | I add around 1 tb per cup of non-bread flour ingredients. |
| 7 | Oil is not necessary and actually detracts from the taste. |
| 8 | All you really need for good bread is flour, salt, yeast, and water. |
| 9 | Everything else is optional. |
| 10 | The best breads are simply a mix of flours (whole wheat, rye, oats, corn, buckwheat, rice, or whatever you like). |
| 11 | Remember thought that wheat flours are necessary for the gluten content, unless you add gluten separately. |
| 12 | Adding fruits and herbs and flavored liquids are interesting but i prefer "pure" breads. |
| 13 | I prefer graham flour over regular whole wheat. |
| 14 | Each machine is different and my recipes are usually not exact -- if the dough looks sticky and isn"t forming a ball then it"s too wet: add more flour; if it looks dry (ball doesn"t have a relatively smooth surface, for example) add more liquid a tablespoon or two at a time. |
| 15 | Ok, so with all that idealism taken care of here"s my basic bread recipe: 1 tb active dry yeast 1 ?cup bread flour 1 ?cup graham (whole wheat) flour ?cup rye flour (use the coarse grind, preferably) 2 tb wheat gluten (sometime called vital wheat gluten) 1 tsp salt 1 tb honey 1 2/3 cup water add ingredients in order suggested by your bread machine manual. |
| 16 | This is intended for a 3 cup bread maker, if your machine is smaller just scale it accordingly. |
| 17 | Similarly, your bread maker may suggest using less than 1 tb yeast. |
| 18 | For a particularly festive bread try adding 1 tb basil 1 tb tarragon 1 tsp rosemary chopped garlic.. |
