[epdeans]

I have set a goal to learn to make bread for my family this summer. Yikes. I have always been so intimidated that I have never tried.<br><br>
Does anyone have any resources, book suggestions, blogs etc that you can share to help me get started? I would love something pretty basic as I have never made bread from scratch before.<br><br>
Thanks for reading,<br>
Elizabeth in NC

 

[Llyra]

My favorite bread book is Laurel's Bread Book. It's the book that taught me to bake, and taught me to love baking. It has a "Learning Loaf" that you can make, that goes step-by-step through each part of the process. It explains not just WHAT to do, but WHY you're doing it, and what your alternatives are if you want to do something different. It also has an extensive troubleshooting section so if you have a loaf that comes out badly, you can figure out what went wrong.<br><br>
It then goes into a wide selection of recipes you can try once you feel more confident, to expand your skills.<br><br>
I highly recommend it.<br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325&tag=motheringhud-20&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FLaurels-Kitchen-Bread-Book-Whole-Grain%2Fdp%2F0812969677%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1273528215%26sr%3D8-1" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Laurels-Kitche...3528215&sr=8-1</a><br><br>
This is a newer edition than the one I have.<br><br>
It is very focused on whole-grain baking. If you want to make white bread, though, the book is still very relevant and will still teach you an awful lot.

 

[lightforest]

Laurel's Bread Book is a great suggestion! I wanted to also mention the <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/" target="_blank">King Arthur Flour website</a>. Their blog has very detailed step by step instructions, and they have a huge recipe section. I especially love their "Sharing Loaf" recipe, but there are many many other great recipes/instructions to be found there.

 

[WednesdayO]

I have tried random recipes in the past with varying success, but my husband got me this book for Yule and I love it!!<br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325&tag=motheringhud-20&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FBread-Eric-Treuille%2Fdp%2F0756618894%2Fref%3Dsr_1_12%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1273537145%26sr%3D1-12" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Eric-Tre...537145&sr=1-12</a>

 

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I love the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" book. Super easy. I think it is a great way to jump into making your own bread.

 

[Sarah W]

Bread is really easy to make. I use bread flour and yeast, but the only time it takes is for the bread to rise. I just googled how to make bread for a starter recipe and I really liked it. You'll be surprised at how easy it is and how good it is.

 

[luv-my-boys]

I know there are a lot of die hard bread by hand makers here but I absolutely LOVE my bread machine<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love"><br><br>
We go through a lot of bread easily 1 loaf at dinner time alone so I wanted something super fast and really I wanted to do as little as possible with the opportunity to make a variety of types. I have a breadman pro and literally just pour in the ingredients and press start and go<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumb.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbs up"> It even has a delay timer on it so I can dump the ingreidents in the AM and have fresh hot bread at dinner time.<br><br>
My machine has 1, 1.5 or 2 lb loaves<br>
light med or dark crusts<br>
16 bread types (french, egg, white, wheat, etc)<br>
delay timer<br>
auto shut off/ keep warm button<br>
most loaves are done in 3 hrs from start to finish<br>
my machine is at least 10 yrs going strong, only bought another insert so that I could make another loaf while the hot one cooled

 

[63977]

I also love my bread machine, but I have a question. Can a regular bread bread recipe be used for a bread machine without changes? So far, I've only used the recipes that come with the machine.

 

[mama2toomany]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>luv-my-boys</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15392650"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I know there are a lot of die hard bread by hand makers here but I absolutely LOVE my bread machine<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love"><br><br>
We go through a lot of bread easily 1 loaf at dinner time alone so I wanted something super fast and really I wanted to do as little as possible with the opportunity to make a variety of types. I have a breadman pro and literally just pour in the ingredients and press start and go<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumb.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbs up"> It even has a delay timer on it so I can dump the ingreidents in the AM and have fresh hot bread at dinner time.<br><br>
My machine has 1, 1.5 or 2 lb loaves<br>
light med or dark crusts<br>
16 bread types (french, egg, white, wheat, etc)<br>
delay timer<br>
auto shut off/ keep warm button<br>
most loaves are done in 3 hrs from start to finish<br>
my machine is at least 10 yrs going strong, only bought another insert so that I could make another loaf while the hot one cooled</div>
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Word. I cannot live without my bread machine, I make 2 loaves a day and 3 loaves every other day, lol I give the 3rd loaf to a neighbor of mine.<br><br>
You can make rapid cycle white bread in about an hour and a half.. and it is very good bread, tastes great with honey butter mmmmmmmm

 

[walkere]

I have experiemented with this alot recently myself. I have mastered quite a few breads and my next step is sourdough. I have found several recipes I like. Shot me a private message and I will be happy to show you. I have some that use my stand mixer and some that I can do without.<br>
Love you,<br>
Emily in NC

 

[Arduinna]

My mom is a baker so I learned a lot from her growing up but she always just gave me tasks. I used Bernard Claytons Complete Book of Bread to learn the complete processes. I'm not a fan of bread machines, but I do love my food processor and stand mixer, I like that he gives instructions for both methods, along with hand kneading. I learned challah and bagels from a Jewish cookbook and I can't remember where I picked up my pizza dough skills anymore. I'm not a fan of the new no knead lots of water doughs that are the current fad. I do have the artisan baking in 5 minutes book and tried some of the recipes, they taste good but I hate working with that texture of dough, and I personally feel that learning traditional baking is an important skill.

 

[christianmomof3]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Biscuits & Gravy</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15392351"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I love the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" book. Super easy. I think it is a great way to jump into making your own bread.</div>
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I have used that book and the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day book recipes. I like them and it can be a quick, easy way to bake bread. I also have a bread machine and that can also make bread making easier. It is also fun and yummy to bake breads from scratch. I think it is good to experiment and find out what you and your family like best.<br>
I like to use my vitamix to grind my own flour from a variety of grains - I usually use kamut, brown rice, lentils, millet, amaranth, and a little teff and I am going to try adding flax seeds next. I also use the vitamix to mix fruits and veggies into the liquid that goes into my breads. I have used leftover cooked winter squashes in breads - that is very yummy, as are cooked potatoes or sweet potatos and raw apples, bananas, carrots, zucchini and pears can be good in breads too.

 

[Artichokie]

My DH likes The Bread Book by Sara Lewis.