Our boys have several food allergies. I have not found a bread I can buy in a regular store that doesn’t have something in it they are allergic to. Benjamin’s milk allergy isn’t life threatening so I usually let him have slices from a loaf of store-bought bread which has a small amount of milk in it. A couple of weeks ago, I was out and Hubby let the kids have a little kitchen fun by making their own sandwiches for dinner. That was fine, but before he knew it, Benjamin had eaten about four sandwiches. That equals eight slices of bread!!! This was just too much milk for his body to handle without a major reaction. He started itching and swelling around his lips a little bit after all of that bread.
I’ve been thinking about buying a bread machine for about a year now. After reading about them and what one can and can’t do with them, I’ve decided that a bread machine is not going to help us. I realized I had to learn how to make bread with ingredients that won’t make anyone sick. So, this past Saturday a friend who makes her own bread, sans machine, let me watch her make bread.
She told me that she usually bakes 6 loaves in an hour and a half. She grinds the wheat, mixes everything together, lets it rise, kneads it, puts it in her pans, lets it rise again, and bakes it. She has very nice appliances, including a convection oven. The bread was absolutely delicious. She let me bring a loaf home to share. Benjamin loved it! For dinner Saturday night we all had rolls, but Benjamin specifically requested the homemade bread.
Anywhooo, after all of that I decided I couldn’t make my own bread because I don’t have a place that will maintain the right temperature to let the bread rise. How did women do it hundreds of years ago before there were convection ovens? I don’t know. I took a cooking class in college. The day we made bread, we had to take the dough to the big kitchen to put the dough in special proofing ovens. I know there is something special about this step in the process, so I had given up ever making our own bread.
While perusing some blogs of ladies who bake their own bread, I found one who just uses her regular oven, but turns the light on just before she starts to knead the dough. The oven light heats the oven to the perfect temperature for making the bread rise!!! I had no idea my oven light could serve a greater purpose than allowing me to be tormented while cookies bake!
So, I’m all excited that I don’t need a special oven to bake bread. I don’t think I need to grind my own wheat, either. I do, however, need a mixer with a real motor and a doughhook.
I just feel so relieved that I can do something about our bread predicament.
Any mixer recommendations?
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Leslie Wiggins 
13 responses to “Bread”
I’m thinking the 6-quart, 575-watt Kitchen Aid monster will do wonderfully.
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I have been making bread since I was in High School using a Bosch mixer. They are more expensive than a Kitchen Aid, but they are much more powerful. Something to do with the transmition I think. Anyway, I make 4 loves at a time and do only one rise in an oven that I set to 200 and then turn off when I put the loves in to rise. Because of the powerful motor, the gluten gets developed more than a traditional kneading. Grinding your own flour is nutritious because the some of the nutrients are lost after 3 days. However, at this stage in my life I use King Arthur Whole Wheat flour as a good substitute. Adding a little extra gluten helps the loves to not be so crumbly. I know you can find Bosch mixers on-line. It might be worth looking into since you have such severe food allergies. I love mine. I’d be happy to share the recipe with you if you’re interested. I actually saw Bosch mixers on Ebay. Mine is at least 16 years old and works great.
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Hi there Leslie – I had to start baking bread for a while too because of allergies, though we finally found a light rye bread my daughter can have.I’ve been baking bread since I was a child. You don’t need anything fancy to get that dough to rise, not even an oven light. Just a normal, warm house will work fine. If I want things to move faster I’ll put the dough in the oven with the light on. On top of your fridge is also a nice warm spot for proofing yeast and rising dough. But, if you just leave the dough to rise in your kitchen it should take about an hour (or less).When I bake bread I do a double batch, making four loaves. I bought four loaf pans so I can do them all at once. The loaves we aren’t going to eat right away are placed in well-sealed freezer bags and put in my deep freeze (btw, I learned from Martha Stewart that the best way to thaw the loaf is to put it in the fridge overnight).Believe it or not, I worked in a restuarant after high school where we made about 20 loaves of bread a day. We did the whole batch all at once, and kneeded by hand!! I tell you, I had quite the strong arms after a year of that kind of work :)Bread is one of those things where you just have to practice and get a feel for it. Eventually you’ll just know when you’ve kneaded enough and added enough flour. Best tip I ever got for proofing yeast, “When you’re getting the sugar water ready pretend you’re giving a baby a bath” this way you’re water temp. will always be just right.Anyway, enough! Sorry to hijack your comments 🙂
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Don’t have any suggestions, sorry but I hope you get it worked out – homemade bread is delicious
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I have a Kitchen Aid. I think it is a 300 watt? It works great and I have loved having it. I have heard great things about the Bosch mixers, but I know they are pricey. I always have trouble w/bread rising. I may have to try the light trick.I’m w/ Benjamin, I love homemade bread.
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Jeannie, the lady who provided the bread tutorial, has a Bosch mixer. She went on and on about how great it is. She has had hers for more than ten years and she says it still works as well as when she bought it. She also told me that if she needed to build a tractor she could use her mixer’s motor–it’s that powerful! I know they’re pricey. She paid about $450 for hers, and that was over a decade ago. If I’m willing to spend $350 for the kind of Kitchen Aid I’d need to mix the dough, then what’s another $100 for the better Bosch brand? (I can’t believe I just typed that!) I would love to read how you ladies make your breads…a carnival of bread baking? How many cups of flour do you use? Jeannie used about 12!Amy–Hubby keeps our thermostat around 68 degrees. It’s freezing around here. I’m not sure anything will rise in this kitchen. I guess I could sit it outside. The temp outside is around 80. Top of the fridge is a good idea. I can’t tell you how many times Jeannie said, “After you get started, you’ll get a feel for it.”Christina–do you have a wheat grinder? Jeannie uses a Whisper Mill. I would like to be able to grind my own, but buying a mixer is all I can do right now. Maybe next year or the year after that, I’ll get a grinder.
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I just wanted to share my tip about helping the dough to rise – I usually set mine on top of my dryer while it’s going – my laundry room is right next to my kitchen – and it helps it rise fairly quickly.I don’t have a tip about the mixer, though. I mix all mine by hand. Terri http://www.momsdailythoughts.blogspot.com
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I hsve never made bread so feel somewhat silly commenting, but I do have a small toaster oven that is convection. You may check into those to see if it would be helpful!
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Yes, I do have a wheat grinder. It is a Magic Mill. I don’t event think they make them anymore. Mine is really old; I got it at a garage sale for $10. But it works great. It is loud however. It also takes a little more time to grind your own flour. Using King Arthur I can get the bread going in about 5-10 min. Another 10 min mixing in the machine and then into the oven. 45 min rise, 35 min. bake and we’re done. That’s all the time I have to spare these days! As to the flour, about 12 cups seems right. I don’t really measure. And how much you add depends on the humidity and can change from day. I go more by how it looks (pulling away from the bowl).
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Hi Leslie, I just made bread today. You inspired me (see blog for recipe). If you find a good bread recipe, please share. I can’t believe mine actually turned out today!
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What great comments! I have been using my Kitchen Aid mixer for 13 years now…it’s still great. But if you have a chance to get a Bosch, wow, go for it! They are worth it from what I hear…if only for the ability to do such a big batch of dough! I posted my whole wheat bread recipe at my site a while back, along with what kind of grain mill we use and my tips on gluten and using Vitamin C as a preservative. The post was titled: Homemade Bread and Jam, and can be found in my “Cooking and Food” category. I love my recipe…it’s so fast and easy and good for you! Got it from my pastor’s wife several years ago who has a family of 8 and made all their bread from scratch. My recipe is halved from what hers was and makes two loaves.The vitamin C secret is crushing a tablet and adding it to your dough. My bread stays fresh days longer this way. The only problem is, homemade bread just doesn’t usually last long enough to worry about preserving it! (Too many bread lovers around here!)Oh, I was going to add, that I also turn my oven to 200*F for a couple of minutes, then turn it off and use it to raise my dough. Works great.
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Mary–my friend Jeannie gave me her vitamin C crystals as a dough enhancer; I didn’t remember that it is also a preservative. Thanks for the info about your bread recipe on your blog. I’ll be sure to check it out!
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Hey Christina–I can’t find your blog! What happened?
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