farmergirl

re: ingredients

Made fresh bread for almost the first time today--from scratch :-)
Followed a full-proof recipe so I couldn't go wrong.

Recipe called for 2c. of water, but it said I could also use any
combination of water & milk that I wanted up to 2c. What is the purpose
of milk in a recipe? I had NO idea whether I wanted milk in there or
not, or how much, but I did use 1/2c milk and 1 1/2c water. Bread
turned out fine, btw, but would like to know what milk does to a bread
recipe for next time.

btw, the recipe didn't call for eggs, but in the mixing instructions it
said that if I had an egg or two that I wanted to add, I could. What do
eggs contribute to fresh home-made bread dough?

Any expert advice would be appreciated as I'm still a newbie to bread
making techniques.

tia,
Bobbett

randall nortman

Milk makes bread more tender, a bit more moist, and slightly sweeter.
It improves crust color and flavor, and adds flavor overall. Full-fat
milk will have a more profound effect on texture and flavor than skim
milk, but if you want to be really precise, you should account for the
fat in your measurements (1 cup of full-fat milk has less water in it
than 1 cup of skim milk) but most recipes will be forgiving. Milk
also improves keeping quality (i.e., makes the bread last longer
before staling) and adds a good helping of protein.


Egg whites make bread drier and fluffier, and add protein. Egg yolks
create a tender, smooth, silky texture, good flavor, and a rich color
in both crust and crumb. Whole eggs, of course, do both (with the fat
in the yolks balancing the drying effect of the whites somewhat).
Don't feel you have to add whole eggs -- play around with different
ratios of white and yolk if you want to really see what effect they
have. Take it easy on both, though, because doughs with a lot of egg
(more than one egg per loaf, roughly) change the character of the
bread completely. High-egg doughs are something to tinker with after
you've mastered the basics.

You are asking excellent questions! You obviously want to understand
the fundamental principles rather than just blindly follow recipes.
Understanding what's going on and making up your own bread formulas is
what is most fun about bread baking!

With respect to the particular questions you are asking, fantastic
bread can be made with simply flour, water, and salt. (No, you don't
even need yeast -- head on over to rec.food.sourdough after you've
mastered the basics if you're interested in naturally leavened
breads.) In fact, there is a sub-culture of bakers that never use
anything other than flour, water, salt, and sometimes yeast, and scoff
at any "encrichments" such as milk and eggs. These bakers improve
flavor and texture by using long, slow rises, pre-ferments, and other
"artisanal" techniques. You could dedicate a substantial portion of
your life to mastering these techniques. Other bakers add things like
milk, eggs, honey, barley malt syrup, carraway/fennel/anise,
cranberries, cheddar, jalapeños, etc. in order to add flavor and
texture. Some borrow a little from both schools of thought -- a
pre-ferment for complexity of flavor, and a little enrichment to
mellow things out.

--
Randall

farmergirl

Thank you VERY much for answering all my questions :-) Very informative.

Thanks for the link to the sourdough list, too :-)

Regards,
Bobbett

graham

Go to alt.bread recipes! they are a really helpful group and they have a
FAQ page:
http://planeguy.mine.nu/bread/

rec.food.sourdough also have FAQ pages and you must read them before asking
any questions of the group. Some of the regulars are a bit "testy",
especially to newbies:-(
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html

HTH
Graham

kenneth

Howdy,

.... and some others are happy to help folks who are starting
out with their SD baking.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

graham

Kenneth:
You are one of the very kind and helpful ones!! However, a newcomer might
be put off by Dick on a good day or Samartha on a bad one!
Graham

kenneth

Hi Graham,

Thanks for your kind comment...

It really does make me sad to see new folks driven away from
the group, and, as you know, that has happened very
frequently.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."