The frugal gourmet

oblivia · 06-18-2010, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bit

I really want to make our bread, but I have to find a bread machine first. My wrists can't handle kneading anymore, and after the fiasco with the pasta machine, I'm not willing to take a chance on a second-rate bread machine. That means it's probably not on the list until next year's tax refund.

Sparx makes all our bread for home, all our pizza dough, day to day bread, buns, rolls, etc. We just don't buy it anymore and it has saved us a bucket of $ and I've now totally lost my taste for commercial breads because they taste very bland and artificial now by comparison.. but we started off by craigslist hunting for a used but good quality machine.

You can find some AMAZING deals on bread machines, used, because people are often given them as giffts or buy them and then just never get around to using them. I managed to get Sparx's a couple years ago for like $50 and it was a nice one that makes horizontal loaves...

Although... ultimately I could have gotten a totally different one because Sparx never bakes it in the machine. What She does that really seems to make it fun is she uses the machine for the mixing and kneading, and then unplugs the machine and lets it rise a bit, then pulls it out and shapes it into whatever (baguettes, buns, rolls, loaves, rounds), and if she wants it to have a really crusty outside she sprays the crap out of the dough with a bunch of water (she always mists it lightly while it rises to keep it moist but for a crusty/chewy crust, get it pretty darn damp) and then bakes it. She's finally perfected focaccia which is pretty easy and once you get the hang of it is one of the easiest ones....

We now buy 10kg (20lb?) bags of flour for like $7, and that plus sugar (or honey), yeast, a bit of salt, bit of oil, some powdered milk for white breads - gives them a nice texture) and we figured that our cost per loaf is something ridiculous like $.58-$.60 and omg is it yummy.

Once the bread has cooled, we put it into a plain white kitchen garbage bag to keep it from getting dry/hard too quickly - and it freezes well too (but we have a tiny freezer). LOL

Ursy · 06-20-2010, 06:35 AM

I made pureed cauliflower as a side tonight - it was on a cooking program last week and I was intrigued. Well, we weren't huge cauli fans before that, but we are now! It was a hit!

I was a bit frightened by the amount of butter the recipe called for - I didn't use quite as much as it says below, and it was still really really yummy.

Ingredients
½ head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup milk
125g (1/4 lb) unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes

Place cauliflower in a food processor and process until finely chopped.
Place the cauliflower and milk in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 8 minutes until cauliflower is very soft.
Remove from the heat, then add 1 teaspoon salt and the butter and stir until well combined.
Blend in a small blender or food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing down on the solids with a plastic pastry scraper.

Kätzchen · 06-20-2010, 06:51 AM

Here's what I do when I make bread (I make it by hand, not machine):

When I make regular bread and it has just come out of the oven, I brush down the whole loaf with olive oil (herbed with rosemary) and then when it's not so warm, I wrap it in cheesescloth to help it remain soft.

For those of you who want to reduce dependency on plastic, I have found that cheesecloth works great for various purposes!

Ursy · 06-20-2010, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALovelyKiss

Here's what I do when I make bread (I make it by hand, not machine):

When I make regular bread and it has just come out of the oven, I brush down the whole loaf with olive oil (herbed with rosemary) and then when it's not so warm, I wrap it in cheesescloth to help it remain soft.

For those of you who want to reduce dependency on plastic, I have found that cheesecloth works great for various purposes!

That's a great idea - washable, reuseable, and biodegradable too! Plus it would let the bread breathe

Random · 06-20-2010, 05:29 PM

So I made the bread today..

Umm.. Yummy.. Yummy..

I made one batch extra wet.. (1/2 cupish more water) and it turned out lovely.. I was shooting for a ciabatta like bread that didn't have to mix for ten years...

The white? well, I found out that it only likes one rising after it's been formed... So, I will be handling it much more carefully next time..

( I only have one baking stone and thought to try a cast iron skillet.. nope.. not great results, so the other loaf that I had proofing in another skillet I tranfered to the baking stone and it deflated... pooh..)

The ciabatta was wonderful with soup.. lovely.. yum...

femmennoir · 06-20-2010, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Random

So I made the bread today..

I am glad it turned out well! I just love this method! Even for just one person (me), it works out well, because I can bake two loaves at a time and freeze one if I want to, or bake a larger loaf and freeze half of it! Once you are organized, it is a breeze, and you can experiment with the master recipe, I add whole grains etc...
Elle*

06-20-2010, 06:35 AM	#2
Ursy Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Relationship Status: Engaged Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 274 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 606 Thanked 661 Times in 206 Posts Rep Power: 2127933	I made pureed cauliflower as a side tonight - it was on a cooking program last week and I was intrigued. Well, we weren't huge cauli fans before that, but we are now! It was a hit! I was a bit frightened by the amount of butter the recipe called for - I didn't use quite as much as it says below, and it was still really really yummy. Ingredients ½ head cauliflower, cut into florets 1 cup milk 125g (1/4 lb) unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes Place cauliflower in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Place the cauliflower and milk in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 8 minutes until cauliflower is very soft. Remove from the heat, then add 1 teaspoon salt and the butter and stir until well combined. Blend in a small blender or food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing down on the solids with a plastic pastry scraper. __________________ My art My Zazzle My Printfection

06-20-2010, 05:29 PM	#5
Random Senior Member How Do You Identify?: femme Relationship Status: Married Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: back in the land of trees and snow Posts: 2,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 8,017 Thanked 5,327 Times in 1,378 Posts Rep Power: 21474854	So I made the bread today.. Umm.. Yummy.. Yummy.. I made one batch extra wet.. (1/2 cupish more water) and it turned out lovely.. I was shooting for a ciabatta like bread that didn't have to mix for ten years... The white? well, I found out that it only likes one rising after it's been formed... So, I will be handling it much more carefully next time.. ( I only have one baking stone and thought to try a cast iron skillet.. nope.. not great results, so the other loaf that I had proofing in another skillet I tranfered to the baking stone and it deflated... pooh..) The ciabatta was wonderful with soup.. lovely.. yum... __________________ ~Volunteer~ "It gets in your blood"

06-20-2010, 06:51 AM	#3
Kätzchen Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Join Date: May 2010 Location: Sharing my life with my granddaughter, family & friends. ツ Posts: 16,141 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 29,547 Thanked 33,567 Times in 10,678 Posts Rep Power: 21474868	Here's what I do when I make bread (I make it by hand, not machine): When I make regular bread and it has just come out of the oven, I brush down the whole loaf with olive oil (herbed with rosemary) and then when it's not so warm, I wrap it in cheesescloth to help it remain soft. For those of you who want to reduce dependency on plastic, I have found that cheesecloth works great for various purposes!