You Answer - how to make 'easy' home made bread on your smallholding (From Smallholder)

You Answer - how to make 'easy' home made bread on your smallholding

11:34am Monday 30th July 2012 in Q&A

 Last month Liz Wright (Editor) said she would make bread if only she had time. C Roberts has written to say why not try the easy way – the so-called Doris Grant way!

 

<p>If you have a rayburn (but any other oven will give a good result too,  the Doris Grant loaf is hard to beat for an easy wholemeal loaf.

(I have never made white bread so I don't know how it would turn out using the Doris Grant method) But it’s worth a try!

Recipes vary slightly..Everyone seems to have their own favorite one......but the basics for a loaf are - Warm flour, warm water, yeast ,sugar and salt .

The quantities depend on how much bread you want to make. The sugar activates the yeast and makes the bread rise and the salt prevents it from OVER activating!

A word on flour and yeasts...I use spelt flour (because I'm not very tolerant of wheat). It’s a bit dearer than ordinary wholemeal and has a nice nutty taste Most people who cannot use wheat, can tolerate spelt.....it is a wheat first grown as long as two thousand plus years ago by the Romans. It makes a more solid loaf (which I prefer), but if you wish for a lighter loaf just add a dollop of lemon juice or vinegar (not from the pickle jar though!) - about a teaspoon to a dessert spoonful will suffice.

As for the all important yeast:......I don't think its possible to get fresh yeast now, (unless you know an artisan baker who is a stickler for original materials) .so you will have a choice of "Dried Active Yeast for hand baking" (which is NOT suitable for machines!) or "Easybake" yeast which IS used for machines.

I use the "Dried Active Yeast for hand baking" for the Doris Grant loaf.....but I would imagine the easy bake would probably do too although I have never used it.

Whatever yeast you are using READ the instructions on the tin or packet!!

I get my yeast in 500g or 100g tins which is a lot cheaper, but you can get smaller sizes in sachets.

I also get my flour in 16kg bags which is a lot cheaper too but you can get flour in as little as 1kg packets.

.........................................................

Just follow your usual recipe for quantities of flour water sugar salt and if using it, oil, for a wholemeal loaf, But INSTEAD of turning the dough out onto a board and kneading it -just tip it straight into the tin/s and prove ONCE and then bake.

This is what you do…… (Usually 650g (1lb5oz) of flour needs about 1 level tablespoon15g /1/2oz) of dried active yeast) Thoroughly mix the yeast and sugar and WARM water and stand somewhere warm to "work" which takes about 10 to 20 mins....(it’s ready when its covered in froth) Meanwhile mix the flour and salt in a bowl and warm in the oven or on top of the stove. When the yeast is ready add to the warmed flour and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon to a dough... Put the dough into the greased tin(s), cover with a cloth and stand somewhere warm to prove.

(I use a wire rack on the top of the Rayburn in order to keep the tins about 3 inches or so above the hotplate) When the dough has risen to the top of the tin (around half an hour ISH) put it in the oven - takes about 40/45 mins at the usual bread temperature.

(My oven thermometer doesn't work so I "hand" test it!) This is done so that the loaf sounds hollow when you knock the bottom of the tin. You can then take out the loaf and turn out onto a cooling rack Its a nice change to make "flowerpot loaves" too.......to do this I used a new terracotta flower pot.....you NEED to "season" it before using for bread!. Do this by coating it well with oil inside and out and standing on a tray or in a cake tin and "cooking" it , empty, in the oven.....when all the oil is absorbed the terracotta will have a lovely silky smooth feel to it!......(wait till its cool before using to make a loaf) There is no need to wash it after using ....washing spoils the surface......just wipe it out and put away for next time......children love the shape of the flowerpot loaves and so do I and you can use ANY size terracotta pots can make tiny loaves for the kids or for dinner parties.

I have also made authentic "Bara Brith" which is the delicious traditional welsh fruit bread, using the D.G. method. Just add plenty of dried fruit and peel and mixed spice and about an ounce of butter to the same recipe).

The original Bara Brith. ("Speckled Bread"). was made with some of the ordinary bread dough put aside when making the family loaves and then adding the above ingredients and baking as the normal bread. ......

There seem to be a lot of variants on the recipe now......using eggs etc.....but the real stuff is bread NOT a cake. It has a lot of fruit/peel/and spice.and is best kept for a day or two before cutting!......(If you CAN keep it!) The BBC had Doris Grant on Radio 4, when she was aged 90.....she said that as a young wife in the twenties she started making bread.....and either forgot or didn't realise it should to be kneaded so she just put the dough in a tin and when it had risen put it in the oven!

As it turned out all right she kept on making bread her way and other people tried her method and it became popular and known as the Doris Grant loaf.

There are TWO "easy" roads to making home made bread.....the Doris Grant way ...and a bread maker!

If you have a rayburn or any other oven, the Doris Grant loaf is hard to beat for an easy wholemeal loaf.

(I have never made white bread so I don't know how it would turn out using the Doris Grant method) But it’s worth a try!

Recipes vary slightly..Everyone seems to have their own favorite one......but the basics for a loaf are - Warm flour, warm water, yeast ,sugar and salt .

The quantities depend on how much bread you want to make. The sugar activates the yeast and makes the bread rise and the salt prevents it from OVER activating!

A word on flour and yeasts...I use spelt flour (because I'm not very tolerant of wheat). It’s a bit dearer than ordinary wholemeal and has a nice nutty taste Most people who cannot use wheat, can tolerate spelt.....it is a wheat first grown as long as two thousand plus years ago by the Romans. It makes a more solid loaf (which I prefer), but if you wish for a lighter loaf just add a dollop of lemon juice or vinegar (not from the pickle jar though!) - about a teaspoon to a dessert spoonful will suffice.

As for the all important yeast:......I don't think its possible to get fresh yeast now, (unless you know an artisan baker who is a stickler for original materials) .so you will have a choice of "Dried Active Yeast for hand baking" (which is NOT suitable for machines!) or "Easybake" yeast which IS used for machines.

I use the "Dried Active Yeast for hand baking" for the Doris Grant loaf.....but I would imagine the easy bake would probably do too although I have never used it.

Whatever yeast you are using READ the instructions on the tin or packet!!

I get my yeast in 500g or 100g tins which is a lot cheaper, but you can get smaller sizes in sachets.

I also get my flour in 16kg bags which is a lot cheaper too but you can get flour in as little as 1kg packets.

.........................................................

Just follow your usual recipe for quantities of flour water sugar salt and if using it, oil, for a wholemeal loaf, But INSTEAD of turning the dough out onto a board and kneading it -just tip it straight into the tin/s and prove ONCE and then bake.

This is what you do…… (Usually 650g (1lb5oz) of flour needs about 1 level tablespoon15g /1/2oz) of dried active yeast) Thoroughly mix the yeast and sugar and WARM water and stand somewhere warm to "work" which takes about 10 to 20 mins....(it’s ready when its covered in froth) Meanwhile mix the flour and salt in a bowl and warm in the oven or on top of the stove. When the yeast is ready add to the warmed flour and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon to a dough... Put the dough into the greased tin(s), cover with a cloth and stand somewhere warm to prove.

(I use a wire rack on the top of the Rayburn in order to keep the tins about 3 inches or so above the hotplate) When the dough has risen to the top of the tin (around half an hour ISH) put it in the oven - takes about 40/45 mins at the usual bread temperature.

(My oven thermometer doesn't work so I "hand" test it!) This is done so that the loaf sounds hollow when you knock the bottom of the tin. You can then take out the loaf and turn out onto a cooling rack Its a nice change to make "flowerpot loaves" too.......to do this I used a new terracotta flower pot.....you NEED to "season" it before using for bread!. Do this by coating it well with oil inside and out and standing on a tray or in a cake tin and "cooking" it , empty, in the oven.....when all the oil is absorbed the terracotta will have a lovely silky smooth feel to it!......(wait till its cool before using to make a loaf) There is no need to wash it after using ....washing spoils the surface......just wipe it out and put away for next time......children love the shape of the flowerpot loaves and so do I and you can use ANY size terracotta pots can make tiny loaves for the kids or for dinner parties.

I have also made authentic "Bara Brith" which is the delicious traditional welsh fruit bread, using the D.G. method. Just add plenty of dried fruit and peel and mixed spice and about an ounce of butter to the same recipe).

The original Bara Brith. ("Speckled Bread"). was made with some of the ordinary bread dough put aside when making the family loaves and then adding the above ingredients and baking as the normal bread. ......

There seem to be a lot of variants on the recipe now......using eggs etc.....but the real stuff is bread NOT a cake. It has a lot of fruit/peel/and spice.and is best kept for a day or two before cutting!......(If you CAN keep it!) The BBC had Doris Grant on Radio 4, when she was aged 90.....she said that as a young wife in the twenties she started making bread.....and either forgot or didn't realise it should to be kneaded so she just put the dough in a tin and when it had risen put it in the oven!

As it turned out all right she kept on making bread her way and other people tried her method and it became popular and known as the Doris Grant loaf.