Breadmaking Lesson Six - Other Breads
These loaves all use the basic white bread recipe (a loaf for learning) as a base. I'm listing all these variations here to show you how simple it is to work out your own variations. You can use these ideas with your bread machine dough too.
Wholemeal loaf
Change 4 cups plain flour and 1 tablespoon gluten flour, for
3 and 3/4 cups wholemeal flour and 1/4 cup gluten flour, or
use half wholemeal and half white flour
Milk loaf
Use milk for the liquid or
add 1/2 cup dry milk powder with the dry ingredients
You may like to add 1 egg too if you are after a richer bread
Rye bread
Add 1/2 cup molasses (and less water) with the liquid. Leave out the sugar. Substitute about 1/3 rye flour for the plain.
Mixed grain bread
Use
2 cups wholemeal flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup wheatgerm
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup gluten flour
and about a cup of seeds, nuts, etc
For a darker loaf, use 1/2 cup molasses instead of sugar.
Herb bread
Add dried or fresh herbs into the dry ingredients
Sweet buns
Add 1/2 to 1 cup milk powder, 1/2 cup suger, spices, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons melted butter and some dried fruit (optional).
Hot cross buns
Make sweet buns. Sit them close together on baking tray. Glaze with beaten yolk and water. combine 1/2 cup plain flour with liquid (about 60-90 ml water) to thick cream consistency and pipe crosses onto buns (use a plastic bag with the corner cut out or a piping bag). Prove then bake. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon agar agar in a saucepan and boil until all have dissolved. Use to glaze after they're cool. An alternative glaze is warmed jam.
Onion and mushroom rolls
Gently saute chopped onion and mushroom. Make basic white or wholemeal dough. Roll dough out. Use an 8 cm scone cutter to cut out circles. Put a teaspoon of filling on each circle. Fold in half and press edges together to seal. Prove. Brush with glaze. Sprinkle with seeds and bake.
Savoury crescents
Roll plain white or wholemeal dough out and cut into triangles. Sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs or cheese or olives or combinations of these. Roll up. Prove, glaze and bake.
Sweet crescents
As above, but use an enriched white dough. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon or grated chocolate, or pureed dried fruit, or anything else you can think of!
Spinach bread
Add chopped, cooked, well drained spinach to white or wholemeal bread dough.
Pizza
Use half the quantity of basic white or wholemeal dough. Roll out thinly. Top with tomato paste/sauce, grated cheese and other pizza toppings. Bake.
Rolled onion/cheese bread
Roll dough out to a large rectangle. Sprinkle with sauteed onion or grated cheese or both. Roll up and bake on tray or in tin. Alternatively, before proving you can cut the roll into pieces and turn them scroll side up, place them side by side and bake them as savoury scrolls. |