Day 31: Buttermilk Whole-Wheat Bread

This bread came out a lot differently than I was expecting. The recipe uses buttermilk obviously, and a bunch of molasses. When I was making the dough the molasses was overpowering the flavor and smell of the buttermilk, (which I was thankful for) so I just figured this would come out as a sweeter bread. While baking the molasses completely disappeared and the buttermilk came back to give it some taste once done. It was the weirdest thing and I was not expecting it at all. Another thing that happened was that it about doubled in height while in the oven. There was plenty of space above the loaf but it rose and just sank into the heating element. It left a sweet mark on the top, but didn't affect the bread anymore than that. 

As I mentioned before, the bread started as molasses bread but eventually came out as buttermilk. Buttermilk gives bread a unique taste and mouth feel when used for baking bread. There have been a few recipes I've done so far that used it, and I'm sure there are plenty to go in the book. The recipe was pretty simple, except for the fact that there wasn't a first rising. You just proof it once in the pans and throw it in the oven. This might be why it rose a lot more than I was expecting. As a bread it tastes really good. It's really really big and extremely fluffy. It's got a good crust (especially at the very top) and some great color. I already made a sandwich out of it and it was excellent. 

As January comes to a close I can't believe how many different breads I've made so far. This is easily the most baking I've done at home in my entire life. Whenever I look at the recipes to come I get extremely excited to bake all these different kinds of bread, rolls, and baked goodies. I'm having fun with whole wheat but I can't wait to get to the real crazy stuff! 

Day 30: Honey-Lemon Whole-Wheat Bread

We're finally onto whole-wheat breads! January is almost over and there's nothing like starting a new month off with a new type of bread. There are some pretty crazy sounding breads coming up in these next few weeks, and this is a great one to start off with. It has a ton of honey and a bunch of lemon zest in it. I'm going to try and halve a lot of these recipes just so I don't have to buy tons of whole-wheat flour, and it turned out pretty well for this loaf. 

This is the first bread so far that I've had to let it rise in the refrigerator. If they want it to rise in the cold, I could probably just let it rise on the counter next to a window. The suggested rising time is 2 - 24 hours, according to the recipe. It says to take it out when it's about doubled in size, but Bernard Clayton makes it sound like the longer you leave it in there the better it gets (he says he always leaves it in the fridge for 18 hours!). I took it out at about the 7 hour mark, and it turned out exceptional! The crust is really soft and the inside is jam packed with flavor. You get hints of the honey at first and bits of lemon scattered throughout, and c'mon, what more could you ask for?

This is a perfect bread to start whole-wheat with. I hope that the recipes only go up in quality. I generally prefer whole-wheat breads just because it's healthier for you, and I think some of these future recipes are going to persuade other people to go whole-wheat as well. I bet this bread makes great toast, and even better sandwich bread! I can't wait to try it with all sorts of combinations! 

Day 29: High-Fiber Bran Loaf

Well this is the last of the bran bread, and I must say that it's grown on me. I went from not enjoying the stuff to actually wanting to eat it. Bran has got a weirdly addictive bland flavor and it's awesome. This loaf was actually the only bran bread baked like some real bread. The others didn't have any yeast so they were simply mix it up, put it in a pan, and let it bake. I think that helps this bread a lot because the name itself can be a little intimidating. The yeast, and allowing it to rise, gives the bread a lot more air in the loaf so it doesn't seem as dense and dry as other bran loaves.

The recipe was pretty straightforward, whole wheat flower, bran, yeast, the usual other stuff, but with a surprise ingredient of orange zest. You can definitely taste it in the final loaf and it reminds me of the caraway seed bread I made a bit ago that also had orange in it. I only put a little in, but the recipe calls for the zest of a whole orange, which I feel would have been extremely overpowering. But maybe that's the key to getting people to eat something called high-fiber bran loaf. I feel like it's not most people's cup of tea but it turned out really well. It's nice and soft with a good color and as already mentioned, good flavor.

This was a good finale to bran bread. One of my favorite breads to eat is Harper's Homemade Bran Bread but you can barely taste any bran when you compare it to these loaves I made. That loaf is also a lot moister, which makes me skeptical of just how much bran is in there. Hopefully I'm completely wrong and they just have the secret to make bran bread incredible tasting (which that bread is). I'm now going to move onto whole wheat recipes, there's a little over two weeks worth, so it should be about mid February before we finally get to rye breads!

Day 28: Butter Bran Bread

I think bran is growing on me for some reason. The first bran loaf I made I didn't like so much, but these last two have been really delicious. This one was probably the fastest recipe I've done so far. It required a bit of bran, some flour, eggs, butter, cornmeal and milk. I cut the recipe in half because I'm still wary of bran but this one would have been okay as a full loaf. The raisins in it really make it. It tastes a lot like the cereal raisin bran but a little more moist.

With three bran recipes down and one to go, I'm sad to see all this bran go away. It was fun to bake with it and do some different things with it because all of these bread doughs have been a lot like cookie doughs when they turn out. The Hilo recipe has been my favorite so far but this one is up there. I'm interested to see how the last one turns out. Maybe they saved the best for last! 

Day 27: Hilo Bran Bread

So I decided to mix it up today and make some muffins! The recipe suggested it would be good as muffins so I decided why not? I know it's not technically bread but I used the exact bread recipe (just cut in half). The recipe said that it made 6 muffins, so I was expecting only 3 muffins. It called for a regular muffin pan, but muffin pans must have been bigger wherever this guy lived because it made 10 muffins. I wasn't expecting it but I'm not complaining too much. I can handle 10 bran muffins.

Bran muffins are pretty far down on my list of muffins, but these ones are actually bomb. I put extra molasses in them which probably helped a ton. They're soft and chewy and great warm. I was actually super surprised by how good they were. I'm thinking now that maybe I should have made the full recipe. Gives me something to look forward to next time I make it though! 

2 bran recipes down, 2 to go. I'm not sure really whats different between all of them. They seem to be half flour, half bran, some molasses, some sugar, some baking soda/powder, and then you just either put nuts or raisins in them or you don't. This recipe is much better than yesterday's however, but I think that's because it is sweeter than that one. Once all is said and done I'll compare and let you guys know how each stacks up! 

Day 26: Bran-Nut Bread

Well we are finally out of the White Breads and on to the Bran Breads! Can't say I'm too happy about this, because I'm not the biggest fan of bran. The occasional bran muffin keeps reinforcing this. I know there is a place for bran, but it's just not for me. So to be fair, I wasn't expecting much from this bread. I think the recipe is off because it said the loaf was going to be crisp, but this thing is pretty dry. It calls for pouring the batter into the bread pan but mine was no where near the consistency of being able to pour. This stuff was thick and chunky.

It tastes like everything that has bran in it, but the walnuts were a nice touch. They added some variety to this super bland loaf. The recipe also said that it goes well with cheese so I tried a piece of with some muenster, and it wasn't actually bad. The bran and nuts go well with a flavorful cheese like that. All of these bran recipes use molasses as their sweetener and I might just have to go super hard in that regard. I'm sure if it was sweeter then even I'd like it more.

Overall, it was a little better than I was expecting. A little part of me wants to skip the rest of these breads, but there's only 3 more so I might as well bake them. It doesn't hurt and they only make 1 loaf each, so I'm not going to be drowning in bran bread thankfully. If you do like bran bread then this one, and the next couple, are going to be a real treat for you!

Day 25: Methodist White Bread

So I actually messed this one up as well, but this time in a good way. This bread uses a starter that you make from mashed potatoes and let it ferment 6 hours before anything else. The recipe calls for 2 cups of water for 3 the medium potatoes, and you use that water in the starter. I have no idea what size medium potatoes are, so I just used two bigger looking ones. The problem was that I didn't measure the water and just covered the potatoes to boil them. 6 hours later I'm ready to start making the dough and I end up using about 10 cups of flour to make this anywhere close to being workable.

The recipe is supposed to make one big (9 X 5) loaf but I think I effectively doubled the recipe. It made two giant loaves of potato white bread. While it was rising in the oven I didn't think the bowl I used was going to be big enough because it was spilling out on all sides. Just another reminder that baking is a very careful science and every measurement counts.

Potato bread is one of my favorite kinds of breads, and while this doesn't really count as one, it's incredible. It's light and fluffy with so much flavor in it. The crust is the perfect chewiness and it springs back into place right after you cut it. If this bread didn't take so long to ferment then I could definitely see myself making this one again. I'll definitely double the recipe too because this bread is way too good to make just one loaf!

Day 24: Portuguese Sweet Bread

I had a few problems making this bread, some of which were my bad, and some of which were the recipe. It all started out as a normal bread but once I put the raisins in (yes there are raisins in it) it all fell apart. The dough wouldn't hold so I had to constantly add more flour and then more water to try and find a happy medium. I eventually got it perfect but the raisins had been minced in the process. I think the recipe called for way too much flour for this one.  

The next thing that happened was that it didn't rise quite right. After about two hours it barely got any size so I had to take it out and knead it for a few more minutes to get that gluten working. After letting it rise for two more hours it was finally where I wanted it. I'm not the best braider of anything, so that was a little struggle I had to deal with myself. I was going to add more raisins to it right before I threw it in the oven but my mom hates them so I held off.

The last problem was the egg wash made the loaves extremely dark. The recipe called for letting them bake for an hour but I took them out at 45 minutes and wished I had done this sooner. While the color is pretty dark the flavor is precise. I sprinkled sugar on the loaves right after the egg wash and it adds just a touch of sweetness to the bread. It's soft on the inside with a little chewiness from the crust. I think it would have been better with raisins or currants, so I'll have to try that next time I make these delicious loaves!

Day 23: Lee's Rich Loaf

Cinnamon swirl loaves are a special delicacy all their own. Over Christmas break I made a ton of these loaves for people and they couldn't get enough. I used a different recipe but these ones turned out just as well. To mix it up these ones used walnuts and raisins, something I might do in future loaves. The recipe also makes one regular loaf, because I guess this bread is delicious enough to not be a swirl loaf. 

The recipes are the same, you just make the filling for one of the loaves, and let the other bake normally. I gotta say that these two loaves are fantastic separate and together. I might have to make a sandwich using a slice from each of them. They both have a good solid crust but are super soft in the middle. The swirl loaf is so soft that it's actually hard to eat because it falls apart so easily. This is definitely a plus in my book though.

These last few white breads I'm doing are going to be sweet breads, so I guess I've saved the best for last. I've had to mix up the order due to ingredients and time to prepare (one coming up has to sit for 6 hours before I even start) but I think all the ones to come are going to be delicious. I might mix it up more down the road depending on holidays and events (Super Bowl coming up!) but for the most part we're going to just cruise through the whole book! 

Day 22: Monkey Bread

We're almost out of the White Bread section folks, and these last few loaves are all looking tasty. You can make this recipe into either a sweet bread like I did, or a regular bread with sesame seeds in it. You bake them almost the same way (cut the dough into strips, dip it into the mix, and then throw it into the pan) but I was craving the sweet sugary goodness of some Monkey bread. There is one thing to note, the recipe called for a 10" pan, and I used a 9" and only used half the dough. I transferred the rest to a 10" pan and there was no way all the dough could fit into one 10" pan.

The recipe used currants, so I had to go to the store and grab some, but I think it would have worked identically with some raisins. Next time I make it I'm going to do the poppy seed version and then a raisin version and compare. The filled pan turned out a lot less brown than the non filled pan. They both taste great though, just one is a little on the crunchy side. Having choices is never a bad thing though.

This bread is so tasty I'm definitely going to have to make it again. It's got some good flavor but it still tastes a lot like bread, which is why I'll probably eat one of the loaves whole. They're super delicate when they come out of the oven but after you let them chill for a bit they pull apart just fine and don't fall apart. Can't wait to make this relatively simple recipe again! 

Day 21: Home Roman Meal Bread

So this bread is actually based off of a real bread you can buy in the store called Roman Meal Bread. It uses a grain cereal, developed by the same company, called Roman Meal. According to the packaging, this cereal consisted of whole wheat, rye, bran, flaxseed and came out a lot like oatmeal. It's called Roman Meal because it was apparently fed to the Roman legions. This creates a few problems: you can't buy Roman Meal bread around here, and you can't get just Roman Meal cereal either. I've looked on their website and amazon and they are currently unavailable. I was surprised that it is still around though. The recipe even says that it is found in stores in the Western United States and you can mail the Roman Meal Company to get a price and order some. This stuff is old school. I wonder if this recipe is even in the updated 30th anniversary edition of this book.

That being said, I still wanted to make it, so I found the next best thing: Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal. It sounded a lot like Roman Meal; it has wheat, rye, bran, and flaxseed, with a few extra things such as oats, barley, and millet. I made a bowl of it before I put it in the recipe and it was the blandest thing I've ever tasted. If Roman Meal tasted anything like this stuff then I'm not surprised at all that Caesar was killed. The recipe also calls for some extra wheat germ (another recipe uses it!) although there seems to be enough grain action going into this loaf. 

This bread turned out so much better than I thought it would! The outside texture is a little rough, but that happens when you have 10000 grains mixed in you. It's a solid chewy loaf with good texture while also being really soft. The flavor is fairly bland, but that just means it'll make a killer sandwich bread for people craving some whole grain goodness. If I ever find a box of Roman Meal or some way to buy it, I'll definitely make this bread again and compare the results! 

Day 20: Hearty White Bread

I had to go pick up some special things to make this bread. The first one being instant potato flakes. I didn't think a lot of breads used these but it makes sense for the same reason some breads use instant dry milk. I was looking at the potato bread section (yes it's coming eventually) and a lot of them just use mashed potatoes. I'm not really sure the difference when it comes to baking though. The next thing I had to buy was wheat germ. I hope that more breads use this stuff because you can only buy it in a giant jar. It looks like a jar of sawdust. You can put it on oatmeal and stuff to get some whole grain action but that sounds miserable.

This recipe actually makes either two small (7 X 3) loaves or one big (9 X 5) loaf. Since, yet again, I don't have any 7 X 3 pans, I went for some big bread. I'm not sure how much different it would have been with two smaller loaves, because this bread is dense. I think it was the eggs, potato flakes, and wheat germ. It's an excellent sandwich bread, and it's great toasted with a little bit of butter, but damn does one slice go a long way. There isn't really a crust and overall it's soft and chewy.

When it was in the oven it actually browned incredibly fast, and the recipe recommended that if this happens to cover it with tin foil. I'm not sure why it got brown so fast, but I think that it might have been that the dough was a darker dough to begin with (this is caused by the wheat germ). So instead of looking golden brown, it came out just brown. This bread was the first to use potato flakes, but not enough of them to categorize it as a potato bread. I think it's a good white bread, but a terrible potato bread for this reason. Overall not bad, but I can't wait to get to the real potato breads!

Day 19: Chocolate Filled White Bread

This bread is a serious hot mess. I usually wait for bread to cool down before I slice it, but I just couldn't wait for this one. The recipe called for smaller bread pans than I had so i just had to use regular sized ones, which is why the loaves are pretty large. I might have let them rise a little extra too. Even though there isn't a lot of chocolate on the top half of the bread, because it's super soft, you can just break off pieces and dip them into the gooey chocolate.

I'm not that big into sweets but I was really digging on this bread. I used semi-sweet chocolate but using full sweet chocolate would make this recipe even better. The bread itself is actually super soft and tender and melts in your mouth with the chocolate. This recipe is based off a French one that uses specialized pieces of chocolate in the middle, but I'll have to try and find those next time I make this.

Overall this bread is excellent. The book actually says you could easily just leave the chocolate out of the recipe and it would turn out just fine. I agree 100%. This bread is super tasty even when you don't have any chocolate on it. It's perfect for people like me that aren't super into sweets! 

Day 18: Pusstabrot

I'm not the biggest fan of fennel but this bread turned out great! It's a Hungarian bread in origin with roasted fennel seeds kneaded into the dough and more fennel seeds sprinkled on it before it bakes. This one also required a starter but luckily it was only an hour beforehand. I bought a ton of fennel seeds for super cheap, but this recipe didn't use a lot so now I'm not sure what to do with all of them. Hopefully more breads down the line use them!

The baking was pretty standard except for the starter. I'm still not used to using starters, but by the time I get past all the sourdough bread I'm making I hope I'll be a pro. This loaf actually came out incredibly well too. It's got a great color, lots of good fennel flavor, and a solid crust. The crust is nice and flaky and the rest of the bread is super soft. This makes cutting it extremely messy. Crumbs and flakes were flying all over the place but I couldn't stop cutting off pieces. 

This was a cool and different bread to make. I'm sure it goes great with a lot of savory dishes (not sure what it's sandwich potential is) and I can't wait to experiment and make different things with it. We're almost out of the white breads but we still have a ways to go until we get into the crazier breads!

Day 17: Zeppelin Bread

This bread is the complete opposite of yesterday's bread. It gets it's name from, you guessed it, it's zeppelin shape. While this bread is baking, the recipe calls for brushing the loaves with a salt-water solution. This gives the bread such a good crust, but I think there was way too much salt in it which is why there are so many white salt deposits on each loaf. If I make it again (which I will for other reasons) the I would definitely cut the salt back a lot.

This bread actually took forever to make. The reason for this is because it actually has a starter you need to let sit for 3 hours before hand. This picture shows what it looks like once it's done. You then take that and mix in more flour and ingredients and go from there to make the actual loaves. Unlike sourdough starters, or sponges, you didn't have to let this guy ferment for days. It definitely smelled fermented though. 

This bread is a great hard bread. Not hard meaning crunchy and dry, but hard like a baguette. It's got a very good, although a little extra salty, crust and a great spongy middle. It is excellent when broiled and holds it's shape well when dunked in some soup. This recipe actually also calls for a can of ashes from a fireplace or barbecue to be in the oven when you bake it, which is why I want to make it again during the summer when I actually have some ashes to bake with. I'm looking forward to making this great bread again!

Day 16: Salt-Free White Bread

I didn't even know that salt-free bread was a thing until I made this. I just figured salt was good in every bread because usually it's only teaspoons per loaf. Turns out, that little bit of salt makes a huge difference. This bread is bland as hell. That's not even really a bad thing either. It's just different. 

The recipe was pretty standard (minus the standard use of salt of course) with some flour, yeast, and hot water, and two risings. Nothing too crazy. As we all know, if you apply a lot of salt to something, it usually ruins/or kills it. The same goes for yeast. In recipes, salt is used to control the yeast so it doesn't rise to crazy proportions, collapse, and ruin your loaf. Now this bread didn't turn into a monster or anything for me, but I can easily see it doing that. You're supposed to watch the leavening carefully, not letting it get too big, which is why I only raised it for about half the time that was called for. 

Like I said before this bread isn't bad for being bland, just different. It actually a very solid crust with a good crunch to it, and tastes a little like your generic white bread you can buy from the store. It's nothing special really, and I probably won't be making it again unless someone really wants to try it, or has some dietary restrictions. Since I have my own, I'm a sucker for making special things for people. Overall I'd say this bread is pretty satisfactory: it does it's job well for being a regular average tasting loaf.

Day 15: Old Order Amish Bread

Turns out there are a lot of Amish breads in this book. I think this is either the second or third one I've done, and I'm pretty sure there will be more down the line. This bread was pretty standard. The only thing irregular was that it rose 3 times, but that's not really out of the ordinary. 

This bread is amazing sandwich bread. As soon as  I sliced it I made a sandwich and then decided to make some soup for the rest of the loaf. I could quite literally dunk this whole loaf of bread into one regular bowl of soup. It is incredibly light and fluffy and absorbed the soup instantly. It was delicious melt in your mouth bread.

This is definitely an easy loaf worth doing again. There's a hint of sweetness in the dough that gives it some character and make it work wonderfully with anything put on it. I'll have to try making rolls out of this dough because it was just way too good in some soup.