Bread

Cobra

Cobra

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Is it just me or does shop bought bread seem to have a much higher water content these days?

I have also noticed that the multi seeded batch loaf from a well known supermarket, slices ,have been reduced by about 1/4
I only noticed this recently when it fitted in my (ex) toaster without issues.
 
Most things are getting smaller and the prices creep up , Little and often
 
I do remember reading somewhere on here I think that they have found a way to increase the water content in shop bought bread a hidden way of increasing prices :(
 
LCPete said:
I do remember reading somewhere on here I think that they have found a way to increase the water content in shop bought bread a hidden way of increasing prices :(
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Yep, you are quite right I found it, it roughly begins HERE
 
We gave up buying shop bread years ago when we bought a Panasonic bread maker. You just fling the ingredients in, poke a couple of buttons and in a couple of hours we have fresh bread.....even I can make a loaf now.
 
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broc said:
We gave up buying shop bread years ago when we bought a Panasonic bread maker. You just fling the ingredients in, poke a couple of buttons and in a couple of hours we have fresh bread.....even I can make a loaf now.
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Me too and it tastes much better than the shop bought stuff. :)
 
Same here. I finally managed to convince my OH that we needed a bread maker during lockdown, and just about managed to get one . He was convinced we'd stop using it, but we haven't bought a loaf in over 2 years now :)
Cobra said:
I only noticed this recently when it fitted in my (ex) toaster without issues.
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I'm just wondering why you're putting bread in an ex-toaster, and is that a toaster that doesn't work any more, or has it transformed into something more exciting? :LOL:

They do talk about hydration levels when you are making bread, and I think the more water you can manage to get into it the better from what I can glean, but the harder it is to knead because it gets so sticky. https://www.weekendbakery.com/?s=hydration
 
Bebop said:
I'm just wondering why you're putting bread in an ex-toaster
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There is another post that explains that my toaster died today. HERE
The bread issue was before DT ( dead toaster )
 
broc said:
We gave up buying shop bread years ago when we bought a Panasonic bread maker. You just fling the ingredients in, poke a couple of buttons and in a couple of hours we have fresh bread.....even I can make a loaf now.
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Us too as well it’s excellent homemade especially when fresh is so much nicer
 
I have been making bread the old fashioned way for many years, no breadmaker, just two large plastic bowls a nice working surface and an oven with accurate thermometer. Water content in dough can vary tremendously, I tend to use a fairly high hydration - 80-90%, which is difficult to work with but gives good results, like Fre4nch bread and ciabatta.

www.flickr.com

Bread and baking

Explore this photo album by Andy on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com
 
@andya700 That's ( the link) is just showing off :D

I've been looking into it, and its seems a lot of hassle for someone who doesn't eat a lot of bread.
Its far easier to pick up a loaf with the rest of the groceries, and moan about the quality on TP :D
 
My son also has a Panasonic breadmaker, we bought it for him after he admired ours, he makes his pizza dough in it. We have made various seeded & fruit loaves & panattone dough . During the first lockdown I found a flour mill in Gloucester that had all sorts of speciality flours to try.

We can even put the breadmaker on a timer overnight & wake up to the smell of fresh baked bread. It's a bit difficult slicing it when hot though, but the butter melts nicely.
 
Sorry to hear about the loss of your toaster! It can take ages to teach a new one to do the toast exactly the way you like!
 
Baloo said:
Sorry to hear about the loss of your toaster! It can take ages to teach a new one to do the toast exactly the way you like!
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Thanks for your condolences Roger, as i'm learning, taming the shrew toaster is an art all unto it self :(
 
Cobra said:
There is another post that explains that my toaster died today. HERE
The bread issue was before DT ( dead toaster )
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r.i.p. toaster. That would explain why you're putting bread in an expired toaster.
I think the link expired too ;) it doesn't go anywhere.
 
Bebop said:
r.i.p. toaster. That would explain why you're putting bread in an expired toaster.
I think the link expired too ;) it doesn't go anywhere.
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Thanks for the sympathy Bee, It seems I created the link, and forgot to hit save.
It must have been the stress of losing a loved kitchen appliance, that I've had for years :(
Just for you, it really is HERE
 
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It depends what you buy, some cheap bread is like cardboard, then there's Warburton's that is so doughy they should have left it in the oven another 10 mins to bake properly.

Home baked is best, but who can afford to run the oven at 220c for 30 mins these days.
 
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Whitefiver said:
Cobra, you might want to look at the "Doris Grant" loaf, or the "NYT No knead bread" recipes, which are really easy, and involve very little work - certainly no kneading!

Or....., just buy a Panasonic bread maker. Nothing beats getting up to a freshly baked loaf in the morning.
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The last loaf in my link was a no knead effort, probably the closest to sourdough, with a really nice crust and chewy texture. I caught the bug back in the nineties, when we used to go to France a few times each year, ate loads of nice bread over there, and decided to really try to copy it. I haven't got there yet, but the flavour is better than 90% of shop bought IMHO. The bread which beats mine usually costs more than a fiver a go.
 
Whitefiver said:
Cobra, you might want to look at the "Doris Grant" loaf, or the "NYT No knead bread" recipes, which are really easy, and involve very little work - certainly no kneading!
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Mostly I use my bread maker, but I do enjoy making it by hand too. Thank you for the link!

andya700 said:
The last loaf in my link was a no knead effort, probably the closest to sourdough, with a really nice crust and chewy texture. I caught the bug back in the nineties, when we used to go to France a few times each year, ate loads of nice bread over there, and decided to really try to copy it. I haven't got there yet, but the flavour is better than 90% of shop bought IMHO. The bread which beats mine usually costs more than a fiver a go.
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We can't believe you about the crust and the chewy texture unless you share the recipe and technique :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: It looks fabulous in the photos.
 
Only bread I make these days is pizza based, and that's at 62% hydration. Higher water content the better usually, but gets harder to work with.
 
Cobra said:
Is it just me or does shop bought bread seem to have a much higher water content these days?

I have also noticed that the multi seeded batch loaf from a well known supermarket, slices ,have been reduced by about 1/4
I only noticed this recently when it fitted in my (ex) toaster without issues.
Click to expand...

Yes, I believe they are using heavy water ;)
 
Bebop said:
Mostly I use my bread maker, but I do enjoy making it by hand too. Thank you for the link!


We can't believe you about the crust and the chewy texture unless you share the recipe and technique :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: It looks fabulous in the photos.
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600g Allinsons extra strong bread flour in one 40cm plastic bowl - add 2 teaspoons salt and and distribute evenly in the flour.
500ml lukewarm water - add 2 teaspoons sugar, let dissolve, then pour into a medium pyrex bowl, add 2 packets of instant yeast, stir and cover the bowl with a plate and leave to activate.
When the water/yeast/sugar mixture has a good head on it, the yeast is activated.
Add the yeast mixture to the flour/salt in the large bowl, get a metal spoon and stir thoroughly, so that there are no bits of mixture around the bowl and no dry flour. This is a very wet dough, so if you just put your hands in at this point and tried to knead, it wouldn't go well. So, I had a glug of olive oil to the side of the bowl and start to bring the dough together from that side, ensuring that I have oil on my hands. Once the oils has amalgamated with the dough it is easier to work, but only for a couple of minutes.
Then place the second 40cm plastic bowl upside down on top and leave it to prove overnight.
It should easily double in size.
When the first prove has done, you need to turn the dough out onto a floured surface. There is a huge potential for this to stick. I find shaking flour on top then rolling it on the floured worktop works. Then transfer it to a floured flat baking tray
Get a Dutch Oven or oval Le Creuset type covered casserole dish, heat the oven to 230C (mine takes 30 minutes), with the dish inside. Aafter 30 minutes, take the dish out, place it on a wooden board, then roll the dough off the tray into the dish - that is the most difficult part IMO.
Into the oven for 25 minutes lid on, remove from oven, take the extremely hot lid off and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes lid off.
 
whiteflyer said:
but who can afford to run the oven at 220c for 30 mins these days.
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I often cook a Sunday roast.
IF I was inclined to bake the bread, I'd put it in there while crisping up the potatoes.
 
andya700 said:
600g Allinsons extra strong bread flour in one 40cm plastic bowl - add 2 teaspoons salt and and distribute evenly in the flour.
500ml lukewarm water - add 2 teaspoons sugar, let dissolve, then pour into a medium pyrex bowl, add 2 packets of instant yeast, stir and cover the bowl with a plate and leave to activate.
When the water/yeast/sugar mixture has a good head on it, the yeast is activated.
Add the yeast mixture to the flour/salt in the large bowl, get a metal spoon and stir thoroughly, so that there are no bits of mixture around the bowl and no dry flour. This is a very wet dough, so if you just put your hands in at this point and tried to knead, it wouldn't go well. So, I had a glug of olive oil to the side of the bowl and start to bring the dough together from that side, ensuring that I have oil on my hands. Once the oils has amalgamated with the dough it is easier to work, but only for a couple of minutes.
Then place the second 40cm plastic bowl upside down on top and leave it to prove overnight.
It should easily double in size.
When the first prove has done, you need to turn the dough out onto a floured surface. There is a huge potential for this to stick. I find shaking flour on top then rolling it on the floured worktop works. Then transfer it to a floured flat baking tray
Get a Dutch Oven or oval Le Creuset type covered casserole dish, heat the oven to 230C (mine takes 30 minutes), with the dish inside. Aafter 30 minutes, take the dish out, place it on a wooden board, then roll the dough off the tray into the dish - that is the most difficult part IMO.
Into the oven for 25 minutes lid on, remove from oven, take the extremely hot lid off and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes lid off.
Click to expand...
Brilliant, thank you. I believe you now then :ROFLMAO: I know I won't be able to bake for a few weeks, but I have copied this, noted it is your recipe and will eventually give this a go(y)

I have made a very wet dough before and tried the technique of stretching and folding rather than kneading. It did work well, but was a bit messy. I hadn't tried the dutch oven method. It does sound tricky getting it into what will be a Le Creuset for me.
 
whiteflyer said:
It depends what you buy, some cheap bread is like cardboard,
Click to expand...
I quite like Batch multi-seeded from Tesco. at about a £1.
Warburtons make nice toast I wouldn't make a sarnie out of it though.
 
Bebop said:
Brilliant, thank you. I believe you now then :ROFLMAO: I know I won't be able to bake for a few weeks, but I have copied this, noted it is your recipe and will eventually give this a go(y)

I have made a very wet dough before and tried the technique of stretching and folding rather than kneading. It did work well, but was a bit messy. I hadn't tried the dutch oven method. It does sound tricky getting it into what will be a Le Creuset for me.
Click to expand...

There are plenty of videos of this I think but this the original New York Times “no knead” method:

View: https://youtu.be/13Ah9ES2yTU
 
sphexx said:
There are plenty of videos of this I think but this the original New York Times “no knead” method:

View: https://youtu.be/13Ah9ES2yTU
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That sounded amazingly crusty! and has a very open crumb I guess that is because of the container keeping the water/steam in. I notice that Panasonic have brought out a microwave combo oven that will now produce steam - like the commercial bread ovens do, I think.

Sorry for hi-jacking your thread @Cobra but it has been an education :)
 
Bebop said:
That sounded amazingly crusty! and has a very open crumb I guess that is because of the container keeping the water/steam in. I notice that Panasonic have brought out a microwave combo oven that will now produce steam - like the commercial bread ovens do, I think.

Sorry for hi-jacking your thread @Cobra but it has been an education :)
Click to expand...

There’s no right or wrong way to make bread they‘re just all different, sometimes the right way is just the Wright way:

1653166232834.jpeg
 
 
My attempts have always been very simple, nothing fancy at all
Pour flour in bowl, add yeast packet and salt, mix, then add warm water,
Knead for 5 mins or so and put in plastic bowl
Leave in the bowl with a tea-towel over it for a couple of hours
Tip out, pour a load of seeds on and re-knead
Put in a load tin cover with towel and leave again for an hour or so
In oven at bread setting (220c) about 30-40 mins

bread2.jpg
 
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