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Farm Kitchen:  Bread the MaryJane Way  |
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Evonne
Farmgirl at Heart
6 Posts
TN.
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 Posted - Jan 17 2009 : 6:25:22 PM
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Thanks for the welcome! Well,my bread was a BAD flop this time. It did not rise, it is cemented to the pan, so I guess that really was part of the problem. I don't know whether to start with a new mother,given the mishaps I spoke of in an earlier post,or just try again and try to correct all my mistakes,including generously greasing the pot or using the parchment paper.
Anyway,although I am disappointed I don't have fresh hot bread to eat,I am not about to give up! So,the story continues !
And I hope everyone else has delicious bread to eat!
Evonne
You can take the girl out of the country,but you can't take the country out of the girl! |
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LindaStimson
Farmgirl at Heart
3 Posts
Linda
Brookings
Oregon
USA
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Posted - Jan 17 2009 : 6:42:12 PM
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Hi Everybody,
Just signed up so this is my first post. I have been reading about the problems and I have had the same problems! No rise. I was so disappointed. So I will start again tomorrow. Was it the flour: Organic Gold Medal? Or the wet towel verses the dry towel? I used a wet one. I got bubbles at first then only a few. Then none.
I really like the idea of doing things the old fashioned way. How did they make bread before you could buy yeast? I had no idea. I have researched it some on the web. I got a wood stove this year. First time in my life I have had a real fire. I have cooked several meals on it and found I had to slow down to wait for the heat. Not a knob to turn! So when we build the house I want a wood burning stove. I will have to have an electric one as well though. Sometimes here on the coast in Oregon we get high temperatures. This week we had 70 degrees! Needless to say we did not light the fire! Was that why I go no "rise"? We were hot during the day and cold at night?
Thank goodness for my Bread Machine. Not perfect but far better than store bread..
I will watch with interest as we get through this together!
First Herwick sheep in America. British sheep raised by a British farm girl! |
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chessie
True Blue Farmgirl
402 Posts
Karen
Vista
CA
USA
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 06:21:01 AM
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Hey girls when setting your dough to rise you want to maintain an even warm temperature not one that fluctuates.
Linda - ihavent tried the gold medal organic so I am not sure. Some other have expressed that they weren't thrilled with it. I am using king Arthur.
Evonne - I'm glad your not discouraged. I'm not sure what all of your issues were the first time but I'll bet you get it right this time.
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.willowtreecreek.wordpress.com
Felt and Fabric Crafts
www.willowartist.etsy.com
www.willowtreecreek.com
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Evonne
Farmgirl at Heart
6 Posts
TN.
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 06:36:45 AM
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Thanks for the encouragement. And Linda,sorry yours didn't work either. What is the general opinion here, do we start new mothers or carry on with the old one? As for flour, I used King Arthur unbleached, unbromated,(is that the right word?don't have the bag in front of me),but the bag did not say organic. I used distilled water.
I think I will wait for some opinions before I go on with this little experiment. If I have to have organic,I think my store carries another brand,in a small bag.
But I really want this to work!
Have a good Sunday,
Evonne in TN. where is it ICY!
You can take the girl out of the country,but you can't take the country out of the girl! |
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ennoid
Farmgirl in Training
22 Posts
D
FL
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 09:15:33 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Bonne
I think mine flopped for whatever reason. It smells sour but I've gotten no bubbling. Think I need a new mother.
 http://bonne1313.blogspot.com/ BLOG
Mine looks like this in the mornings. It's like the water and flour are separating??? I did use a moist towel the first three days so I think that might be the problem. I can smell it souring though. Tomorrow is my day for baking but I'm not too optimistic. |
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Evonne
Farmgirl at Heart
6 Posts
TN.
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 09:29:08 AM
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I went ahead and started a new mother. I used the same flour,but I used purified water instead of distilled. Also,covered with a dry cloth instead of moist. So the adventure begins.Again.
Evonne
You can take the girl out of the country,but you can't take the country out of the girl! |
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country roads
True Blue Farmgirl
403 Posts
Melissa
Shinglehouse
Pa
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 10:13:13 AM
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I started my mother yesterday evening. There were lots of bubbles when I went to bed. I added more today and still the bubbles are looking good. I couldn't find the King Arthur brand in organic, so I bought Gold Medal organic and used our spring water. So far so good! I hope everyone elses turns out delicious, I can't wait til baking day.
Take care, Melissa.
Farmgirl # 352
~Think happy thoughts~ |
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LindaStimson
Farmgirl at Heart
3 Posts
Linda
Brookings
Oregon
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 10:21:16 AM
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I have been searching around the internet for more information. I have not found what I was looking for. So I just started two more batches here at home. One using wheat and the other using rye. And warm water. I saw a You Tube with a demo for making sour dough starter in a mason jar. I am going to try that later. I saw one reference to using sour dough in other bread recipes, that it has a slight sourdough taste. Melissa, I used that Gold Medal with our spring water and it didn't rise. Was it the flour? Will warm water do the trick? Who knows? I found a lot of references to a book called, "The Bread Makers Apprentice" Anybody read that book? We don't have a book store so I would have to order it. I will keep trying!
First Herwick sheep in America. British sheep raised by a British farm girl! |
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country roads
True Blue Farmgirl
403 Posts
Melissa
Shinglehouse
Pa
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 10:49:23 AM
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Linda, I really hope mine rises, if not I guess I could try it with well water from my in-laws. Maybe the big grocery store in town would have a different brand of organic flour. I talked to one of my friends and she says they have a whole section of organic there now. I only go there maybe twice a year, its just too big and too expensive.
Take care, Melissa.
Farmgirl # 352
~Think happy thoughts~ |
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Chives
True Blue Farmgirl
226 Posts
Victoria
Shelton
Washington
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 11:34:40 AM
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| Is it okay to grind my own soft wheat flour to start the mother? Thank you |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
7461 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 11:46:23 AM
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Hi Victoria,
If you mean "soft white wheat" berries, the answer is "no." You will need to grind organic "hard red wheat" berries or "hard white wheat" berries. Soft white wheat is okay for pastries but doesn't have enough gluten to give a good rise to bread. Gluten=protein. When there's an adequate amount of protein available, there's gluten available in due proportion. (This is further complicated by growing conditions but usually you can find out a hard wheat's protein content. 14% is what we used to shoot for when we milled berries for bread bakers.) The flours of hard wheats (11 to 14% protein) develop strong gluten complexes during mixing and are therefore suitable for making bread. Whole soft wheats (9 to 11% protein) yield flours that are used primarily for cakes, cookies, and pastries. Durum wheat is used to produce a relatively coarse flour, semolina, used for manufacture of pasta products. You need to use high protein (high gluten) wheat. Make sense? Here's a little trick Miller Barron taught me when I milled with him. Toss a bunch of raw berries into your mouth and go to work making them into gum. If after a good session, you take it out and you can pull it slightly like gum and it sticks together, you'll have a good loaf of bread.
And just to complicate things for us bread bakers, not all mills bring in high quality berries for grinding. Fudging makes them money, so it's important to get your berries and your flour from reputable companies who CARE that you won't be frustrated when you bake.
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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Chives
True Blue Farmgirl
226 Posts
Victoria
Shelton
Washington
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 12:26:22 PM
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| Great advice thank you vicki |
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LynnMarie
True Blue Farmgirl
600 Posts
Lynn
Staunton
IL
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 1:27:23 PM
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Has anyone tried using spelt flour? I can't eat regular flour.
Bringing the Past Back to Life
www.freewebs.com/decampsettlement
"You may never know what results come from your action. But, if you do nothing, there will be no results" -Gandhi |
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carollynn79
Farmgirl at Heart
1 Posts
Carol
Port Hope
MI
USA
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Posted - Jan 18 2009 : 3:10:31 PM
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this bread sounds good, I will try it especially the rye version.
Carol lovin the country life |
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Farm Kitchen: Bread the MaryJane Way |
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Bread the MaryJane Way
