Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cooking and bread

Best way to clean bowl in which you've mixed bread dough?

markcmyers — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:22:24 -0800

Best way to clean bowl in which you've mixed bread dough?

Simple bread recipe for kids?

swrittenb — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:40:36 -0800

Anyone have a good recipe for a safe, tasty, and digestible "first bread" for an infant? I love making breads, and look forward to the day when my little boy can really start mowing down on a lot of tasty treats. However right now, he's a seven month old still working on getting those teeth to erupt. He's working through the solid food list, and is getting more and more curious about semi-solid foods that he can play with while eating. The soft inside of a fresh loaf of bread seems like a good option (small pieces that aren't a choking hazard, obviously)

Has anyone made bread for little kiddos, and could you share a recipe? Is a good plain white loaf acceptable, and at what age did you start giving things like whole wheat flour? Are there things we should be concerned with, or reasons to wait? We're not in any huge rush, but it would be fun to help him explore new treats.

How can I make sense of this coconut bread recipe?

CKmtl — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:29:09 -0800

I found a recipe for delicious-looking coconut buns, but it's missing a bit of info and has distinct ESL qualities. Can anyone help me make sense of it? The author seems to be Chinese. She's done a pretty good job writing it up, but a few parts are unclear (at least to a baking novice, like myself):

- Would you take the spoons of yeast and salt to be teaspoons or tablespoons?

- What would you take "crush it up with (unsalted, I presume) butter" to entail?

- "You can do all of the above with a toaster"... Buh?

Bread for all seasons.

1f2frfbf — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:28:58 -0800

Good all-season low-temperature breads or tips? I live in an old, un-conditioned house. During the summer I can make sourdough and other breads to my heart's content since my house stays between 68-78° F, and yeasts will happily do their thing without my assistance. However, during the winter my house rarely gets over 60° F and can get as low at 40° F if I'm not home to throw wood in the heater. I've experimented with keeping rising loaves in the oven, but it's tricky to do, especially when I'm at work and the loves can easily overheat and bake, not rise. My mother kept dough on the water heater, but mine is in a very un-appetizing basement. Are there any breads I can get to work at such low temperatures so I can have fresh bread on cold winter nights or does anyone have any helpful temps for keeping yeasts warm and happy?

A more breadifying experience

rouftop — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:05:49 -0800

What is the secret to bread texture? I've been baking bread for a few years now. My loaves are generally tasty, but nowhere as good as a nice loaf of artisan bread from a bakery. It all boils down to texture. Loaves I make tend to have a somewhat crackly crust (or soft if I use milk on top) and a uniform crumbly texture inside. Compare that to what I buy at a bakery, where a crust can be flaky or have a kind of hard chewiness to it (my favorite), and the insides have air bubbles and a certain sponginess to it.

What do I need to do take my loaves to the next level? Building a brick oven is out, but I'm amenable to purchasing stones or other gadgets if they really help.

I want my home-made microwave foods to be crisp, but how?

vytae — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:50:51 -0800

I want relatively crisp reheated food from the microwave. Can can I buy or make something to do this for me, like that silvery-coated paperboard that comes with frozen foods? Many bread-related frozen foods come with microwave crisping devices - frozen personal pizzas have round trays, hot pockets have wrap-around sleeves, and Lean Cuisine paninis come with the "revolutionary grilling tray". I know I can put together a healthier, cheaper melt sandwich or mini pizza if I make it myself, but the only source of heat in my office kitchen is a microwave. Without the magic crisper thing, I get soggy, unappetizing food.

Using google I've discovered that these coated paperboard things are called "susceptors" and I've found a couple companies that manufacture them for the food industry, but so far nobody seems to sell them directly to the consumer. Do you know where I could buy them? Or, can I make something at home to help crisp up my microwaved foods? I would experiment with aluminum foil, but I'm nervous about setting my kitchen on fire.

I've seen the Waveware Microwave Crisping Dish, but the reviews don't inspire much confidence. If you know anything more about this or similar products, I'd love to hear it.

Pan Sobao and Pan De Agua Recipes!?

Void_Ptr — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 09:12:27 -0800

Puerto Rican Food Recipe Filter: I am a transplanted Boricua looking for recipes for Pan Sobao and Pan de Agua. Google gives the wrong recipes! I am looking for someone who: 1. Has had actual Pan Sobao from Puerto Rico. Pan Sobao from La Facciola is best. 2. Actually MAKES this, preferably in Puerto Rico, and has the right recipe. Google returns the following recipes, both of which are WRONG WRONG WRONG:

Pan Sobao:

Pan de Manteca-o-Sobao

Recipe By :
Serving Size : Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Volume 8-04 Apr 2005

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ ------------------------------...
5 pounds flour
1 1/2 ounces salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 liters water
1/2 ounce dry yeast

Preheat oven on 340F to 350F.

Mix water, sugar, salt and shortening for 2 or 3 minutes.

In a heavy-duty mixer, add flour and yeast and knead the dough for 15
minutes. (You can also do it by hand. My abuela didn't have a fancy mixer).

Divide the dough in 5 equal portions and shape them into loaves.

Place loaves on baking sheets and allow rising until they are doubled.

Bake until golden.

Tips : The loaves are done when you tap them and it makes a hollow sound.

and Pan de Agua (apparently exported from Master Cook):

The crust on this is way too thick and chewy, and the crumb is heavy and inelastic.

Pan de Agua

Serving Size : Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Volume 8-04 Apr 2005

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ ------------------------------...
1 package active yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups flour
3 teaspoons corn flour -- (fine)
2 tablespoons egg whites
2 tablespoons cold water

In a bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and warm water and cover for about 20
minutes.

Mix the salt and the flour and cup by cup add to the yeast.

Knead for about 10 minutes or when it stops being sticky and form into a
big ball. (You can add 1 more tablespoon of flour if needed.)

Spread some butter all around a big bowl and place the ball in the bowl.

Cover it well and let it rise for 1 to 1/2 hours.

On a working area, sprinkle flour (cover your hands with flour too) and put
the ball on the surface on top of the flour.

Knead the bread to form two long loaves of bread.

Sprinkle some corn flour on top of a baking board and place the two loaves
of bread. (You may use an aluminum mold but grease it well.)

Mix the cold water and eggs whites well and set aside.

Make 2 or 3 slashes on top of the loaves with a sharp knife and with a
brush, spread some of the egg white mix on top of the loaves.

Place the 2 loaves of bread into a cold oven. Now, turn the oven on to
400F. and let it bake for 35 minutes.

When they are golden. take them out of the oven and savor them with butter
and a fresh cup of coffee.

Please, I don't need re-posting of the same recipes. I need the correct ones!

Converting cooking measurements from mass to volume

DrSkrud — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 06:21:40 -0800

I'd like to make this (links to a YouTube anime clip including a recipe for making bread in a rice cooker). Unfortunately, all the measurements are listed in grams. How can I convert from grams to more conventional North American measurements? I found some websites on converting measurements (here and here, and some others). These yielded conversions for most of the ingredients, but not all them (such as yeast).

The problem with measurements in mass as oppose to measurements in volume is that there is no direct relationship between mass and volume for all substances! So the amount in grams of a substance could take up a different volume depending on its density -- different brands of different products will have different densities and so a simple conversion could be wrong.

Baking being the exact science it is, I'd like to get my measurements as accurate as possible.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Wholesale Flour in Washington DC

The White Hat — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 14:33:01 -0800

I would like to buy a 25-50 lb sack of flour in NWDC. The only place I can think of is Costco in Tenleytown, and I'm not a member. I'm limited to metro-accessible areas. Bonus points if it's unbleached white or whole wheat.

Baby I Knead Your Love

NewGear — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 14:30:49 -0800

So I'm making a cd for a friend, entitled "Music To Bake Bread To". I'm looking for suggestions for songs to include that have some sort of punny reference to breadbaking. For instance, the whole idea got off the ground when he remarked to me that he was baking bread over the weekend, and his wife asked him if she could play this cd in the kitchen. It turned out to be Barry White, and being a pun fiend, he pointed out how appropriate that was to play while baking bread. I remarked that she could also play anything by Stevie Wonder.

So now I've decided to go ahead and make a cd of songs and artists that are tangentially bread-related. So I've got the above artists, plus Anita Baker, the Average White Band, The White Stripes, and of course, Bread.

As far as songs, I've got things like Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street", Burning Spear's "Rise Up", and the Kinks "I Don't Need You Anymore".

I would love any suggestions for additions to this wacky idea, ESPECIALLY anything involving "dough", "knead", "wheat", "yeast", "pan", or "oven". Famous or well-known songs would be better, but really good titles or artists are always great.

CAVEAT: the pun/reference has to be in the artist or title, so it shows up on the track listing. I'm not looking for anything that only shows up in the lyrics themselves.

Thanks!

How much dough for dough?

bibliowench — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 09:18:28 -0800

I'm thinking about buying a bread machine. Should I pony up the extra cash for an expensive brand like the Zojirushi? Is anyone happy with a less expensive model? (please say yes) I used to scorn bread-machine bread, but I read somewhere that the technology has improved (or maybe King Arthur Flour just wants to sell me an expensive machine). Mostly, I just want to make white and wheat sandwich loaves. I can't stand supermarket bread, the closest bakery has horrible hours, and between kids and work, I don't have time to make my own bread anymore, even with a standing mixer. Ideally, I'd like a machine that would produce a couple of loaves a week, but I'd also like to use the mixing and rising feature for artisian breads.

Sourdough Bread

dame — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 11:11:07 -0800

Bakers, help! How do I get my sourdough sourer? The one thing I miss living Back East is real sourdough. Having despaired of finding it in stores, I have begun trying to make my own. However, I cannot get it to taste the way it should (like it does in Cali). I made starter according to the bread machine recipe & left it out for days, but no dice. Is it a question of the air and the water? Am I just doomed?