The fabulous baker boy

TheCookingShow's Blog

I used to sneer at bread machines before I went to a garage sale and paid $5 for that snazzy Magic Chef number up above. It took a little bit of orienting myself to the different controls, and meanwhile it sat in its box in the basement for two years. But now it fascinates me.

As the song goes, you can't always get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you knead!

Hahahahaaaaa! Anyway.

A bread machine is its own little home entertainment center! It is hilarious to watch.

You pour in all the ingredients in the order listed, wet stuff on the bottom, dry stuff on top. Then the machine grunts into motion. It makes one stir. Then another stir. Then faster and faster, as the dough gradually gathers into a ball. It makes noise. There is a window so you can watch, either that or just lift the lid and poke your head in the way I do. I love watching the thing toss around the ball of dough, hitting all the corners, gathering up all the extraneous bits.

The best thing is, no cleanup! When you knead the dough by hand, you wind up with flour all over the kitchen. Well, I do anyway.

I read that the bread machine is a Japanese invention because their kitchens are tiny and they do not have Western-style ovens as we do. That is why the machine will even bake the bread for you. Sometimes I let it do that, just for fun. Garcon! Boulanger! One loaf, s'ils vous plait, and have it ready when I come home.

But often I like to take the dough out after it has risen and then I deflate it and put it in bread pans and bake it in the oven. It is shaped better that way.

To end we shall quote Julia Child: "A house is not a home without a bread maker."

My friend Ari Silverstein repeated that quote to me and we laughed ourselves silly. But now I have seen the light.

The red light on the bread maker that says "Start"!

Now let's get cooking.

WBIG.TV  Make bread. Don't make any plans! 

RECIPE

This is for a kind of lazy baker's sourdough bread, pictured above with a jar of homemade strawberry preserves that I made once when I couldn't sleep. (Another story for another day!)

 It comes from a 17-page bread-making booklet that I picked up at another garage sale. It is yummy and works great in the machine.

YOGURT WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Put the little stirring attachment into the pan. Do not forget this step!

Now pile in these ingredients in the order listed:

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup (I used honey)
1 1/8 cup whole wheat flour
1 2/3 cup bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons wheat germ (I don't have this so I either skip it or use rolled oats)
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dry yeast (I use instant yeast)

Plug in the machine and let it rip!

You could also make this by hand. Here is how I would do it: Put the yogurt and the warm water in a bowl, make sure it's not too chilly or too hot, put in the yeast. Add the oil and honey and, gradually, the flour. (By the way I personally use all whole-wheat flour.)

Knead it until it's smooth. Let it rise in an oiled bowl with plastic on top. Deflate it, put it into pans, let it rise again, and bake it for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.





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