I wanna see a warm buttered slice, please!

It looks great; I use silicone pans for baking my machine-mixed bread. I think the moisture came from the ceramic pan, but that won't hurt it as it will dry off.

OOOHHHHH....Yum! My mouth and eyes are watering! Nanny

You just keep on practicing, and I'll send you my address so you can send the 'not so perfect' loaves to me. I'll eat my slice with butter and black raspberry jam.

Shirley

omg, I can smell it from here! Looks so good!

When my mother baked our bread, she formed each loaf with two large balls of dough. One of those balls always became a "pully loaf." Since hot bread cannot be sliced, we pulled thin slabs off the loaf to eat plain or with butter.

*drool* looks good to me!

It looks wonderful......

I love baking bread and it is a several times weekly thing around here. Today I baked 16 rolls.

Fresh baked bread brings back a childhood memory for me. We lived in a very small town. We were in a nearby city one time when we smelled fresh baked "sliced" bread coming from a commercial bakery. My Dad asked if he could buy a loaf of hot bread, they gave him one fresh off the line and we had the hot bread with butter outside in the shade. Slice bread was such a treat then, now home made bread is.

OMG Ruthie.
Would you share some of your bread recipes?

I'm wondering about a nice Italian type bread that has "pull" and chewy.

it would be wet if you left it in the pan for more than a minute or 2 after you took it out of the oven...it "sweat" in the pan.When you take the bread out of the oven from now on,remove the loaf from the pan immediately and place it to cool on a wire rack==no more wet sides.....you can butter it with a brush then for a nice golden softer crust too!

Thanks Ont Gal.
I tried taking it out right away but I couldn't get it out.
Found a "flaw" with the ceramic loaf pan I bought. Doesn't have any handles! Never noticed it. It's a green President's Choice if you see one in your travels, check it out.

Anyway, it was hard to grip and I was trying to shake it out.
It did come out after a few minutes. I buttered the dish too.

That's also why the top is flattish, it fell on it's head.

One of my son's friends loved home baked bread. He would come home from school with DS and they could each eat a loaf.

AT graduation time he sent me an invitation requesting "just" 3 loaves of homemade bread instead of a gift. HE GOT THEM

"That's also why the top is flattish, it fell on it's head."
Nope... gotta say it.... "Like baker, like loaf?" :D

And who says hot bread can't be sliced?? Bread is never not cool enough to slice! I love taking a hot slice of bread and having peanut butter dripping off from it! And no, contrary to what some claim it doesn't dry out the loaf... doesn't get a chance to dry out! Eaten too quickly! LOL Oh, when my mother would make dinner rolls for the holidays... I'd be up early to help keep her awake, assist as I could and of course would get one of the first hot rolls from the oven, pop it open, burning hands a bit, put a glop of peanut butter in there and I'd be one happy kid.

That loaf looks fine to me Jasdip. Many breads have the "mushroom" shape to them. It's how many breads look. Want a little tip? When you go to slice those types of loaves flip it upside down so the top is down and you start cutting into the bottom of the loaf. Usually seems to give straighter cuts and less ripping on the loaf, at least for me.

Also for the sticking, give a good coating of shortening or butter and flour it. For me, margarine would stick unless glopped on so I always use shortening or butter and a light coat of flour. (For sweet breads, muffins and things like that I dust with cocoa, powdered sugar or sugar.)

Phyllis, I've come close to buying a silicone pan to try but have read so many complaints about them, I've been hesitant to try. Although bread probably would be a good use for it but it seems what I've seen it doesn't brown too much in the silicone. Not that it's that necessary but just looks different. It makes sense that they wouldn't since they're not sticking to the pans like metal to be able to brown more and would likely have a bit of steam buildup. Any problems handling them? Some complain they're so floppy they lose their shape and for a batter or something they're easy to spill. I assume you put it right on the rack? I've seen some that have a little reinforcement ring that goes around the top of the pan. Not to hijack the thread but what's your experience?

jasdip...pick up a spray can of Pam or one of the similar sprays and spray coat the pan b4 u add the bread dough

Most people do have a hard time resisting cutting that hot loaf but the purpose for not doing it is to allow the full flavor to develop and for the residual heat to finish the baking.

I've never had a wet loaf so I can't answer that question but check the link below, someone will probably be able to answer.

The Cooking forum right here at Garden web is another great place to find good recipes. Ann over there is a great cook and bakes lots of great looking bread. I haven't been over there in awhile so I'm just assuming she is there but they have archives about bread making.
I'll share for sure but most of my recipes and lots of my knowledge came from the site below. Learning bread baking is an on going process from the day you make your first brickbats until you have that Ah Ha! I finally get it moment...

Most of my favorite recipes came from the site below. I have one Honey Wheat that is our favorite. It came from Annie at the Harvest Forum right here at Garden Web...we have shared lots of bread recipes there. I usually just cut it in half if I am making it in the breadmaker...1 large loaf. If I am making it in the kitchenAid, it will make the whole recipe but it gets rough at the end.

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 pkg. active dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp. oil
1 egg
PREPARATION:
In large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, the yeast, and salt and mix well.
In saucepan, heat milk, water, honey, and oil until a thermometer reads 120-130 degrees F (warm)
Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Beat this batter for 3 minutes. Then, gradually stir in rest of whole wheat flour and enough remaining all-purpose four to form a firm dough.
Sprinkle work surface with flour and knead dough, adding more flour if necessary, for 5-8 minutes until smooth and satiny. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, until double in bulk.
Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll or press each piece of dough to a 14x7" rectangle. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edges and ends to seal and place dough, seam-side down, into greased 9x5" bread pans, making sure short ends of bread are snugly fitted against the sides of the pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until the dough fills the corners of the pans and is double in bulk, 30-40 minutes.
Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until bread is golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. I like to brush the bread with butter when it's still hot from the oven for a softer crust.

Now, all I do is put the wet ingredients on the bottom, the dry on the top, and press the "dough" button. The machine does all the work.

Here are the rolls I made today and they are wonderful. The person posting said it makes a wonderful loaf as well.

Soft "Grandmother" rolls from the link below
19 oz AP flour

1 Tablespoons yeast

1 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

4 oz butter

14 oz warm milk

She didn't give the specifics of making and baking them but I know the procedure so I just did it and for the second rise divided the dough into halves, then into 8ths from each ball, and put in a 9 inch pan to rise...baked at 350 till nice and brown.

Here is a link that might be useful: A wonderful bread baking site...

NEVER come to the KT when you are hungry.

That bread looks so good.

Tammy

lol...never come to the KT when u need chocolit!! :)

The bread looks wonderful! You did good, and that 'mushroom' top is just part of a beautiful home made bread!

I learned how to make home made bread as a child, working with my mom, without a recipe. That's still how I make bread most of the time. Flour, a little salt, and a little sugar go into a large bowl in the kitchen sink (one of those huge tupperware bowls is great). I make a 'mountain' of the flour then make a hole in the center (like a volcano). Warm water, yeast, and a little sugar are mixed together in a glass measuring pitcher and allowed to 'work'. This gets poured into the vulcano along with vegetable oil and the contents of the center of the dish stirred with a wooden spoon until it is sticky dough. Then, in go the bare hands to start kneading. I don't stir in the flour around the edge of the bowl. That's what keeps the dough from sticking to the bowl and as I knead, it eventually gets worked in. By that time the oil in the dough is helping prevent it from sticking to the bowl but I do sprinkle in a little more flour if needed.

I've never used a bread baker. Wish I had one to try, but I suspect it would be one more appliance that sits on the shelf and takes up space most of the time.

Any more, I do often use the Kitchen Aid to mix and knead bread dough rather then doing it by hand. And I sometimes use a recipe, mostly for variety. I haven't made bread since last year before Christmas. I'm feeling the urge coming on now... wish I didn't have to work today!

One thing on my bucket list is to learn how to make bread...ya'll are making me drool here!

Thanks for all the congrats! I don't feel bad.
One thing I love about you guys is I can post pics of my flops.....everything from funny loaves of bread to dying porch plants...,(Alisande started a thread on pretty porch plants and I just had to share), to successes and I get honest comments.

We tried a slice last nite.....it's so good!

I'd love to try making bread completely by hand. I might do it just once. Between Brigette and my bread-maker, I don't need to.

My question is what temperature DO I bake it? I read a couple recipes and they said 400 for 45 minutes (that was cut out of a magazine). Another said 400 for 20 minutes (that's a huge time difference). I'm wondering if 375 is better.

That honey-bread looks good Ruthie. 6 cups flour is too much for both Brigette and my KA, so I'll be cutting it in half as well, for either machine.

That bread looks good to me and I bet it smells heavenly!!

Teresa-who is hungry for bread & butter now!!

My mother used to bake bread at least once a week and she would time it so it would be coming out of the oven right before we all got home from school. What a great homecoming, the house smelled like LOVE! Warm buttered bread as an afternoon snack, then out to play until supper. Great childhood memory. And her bread looked exactly like your loaf in the photo- perfection!

I have never baked bread in a ceramic pan, but you might try coating the pan with the pan coating you use for the muffins and such. Looks pretty good to me Jasdip!

Sue

Normal baking temperatures are 300°-350°, most things like cakes, breads etc are 350°. Less for glass bakeware though. When you get to 400° and over, that's more of a roasting temp unless you're talking artisan breads that can be 450°-550°. I do recall seeing some suggesting 400° for bread. I'd suggest going by what the recipe suggests.

Time is going to vary by density and recipe, and of course temperature. The pan makes a difference too. Like I said, glass generally wants a lower temp, pans that are different thicknesses or materials will vary too. America's Test Kitchen did a thing where they used a thermometer to check if the bread was done but I don't recall offhand the temp they aimed for.

Seems to me you did just fine. I wouldn't worry too much about it and keep doing what you're doing.

I sometimes test mine with a thermometer too, usually when I am rushed and need to get it out of the oven....otherwise you can usually tell just by the browness and hollow sound when thumped. 180 to 200 degrees is done for me. Some people cook theirs to 205 to 210 but there is a lot of residual heat so I take mine out earlier than that and 205 and 210 will give a very dark color when done and I prefer it lighter....

Oh and jas,, your kitchen aid can do all the mixing for that recipe and when it is mixed and you are ready to knead, divide it in half and let the KA knead each half seperately.

My fibromyalgia/arthritis, is the reason I have to use the bread maker or the mixer. I am so thankful to have them or bread would be out of the question.

I have an Italian recipe and I will look for it today but I am sure it came from the link that I posted.

The word "ceramic" is weird, to me too.
Stoneware, bakeware, ceramic, it's all the same thing, I think.
My dish is what coloured casserole dishes are made of.

Here it is. No handles. I'm going to look for one with handles.
I was scared turning it upside down, as the dish was hot, my oven mitts are big, the dish is kind of slippery, all a recipe for disaster IMO for having it slip onto the floor.

I'll bet you wish I didn't have a camera, don't you?? LOL

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