Is there such a thing as 100% foolproof bread?

[galena]

I've tried making bread many times before and get very frustrated as even the recipes claiming to be easy just don't work out for me! I end up with a brick, or the top looks nice but the bottom is burned, or it spreads too much. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, and I'm pretty good with most other kinds of baking.

Any tips or recipes for someone who is a total failure at oven-baked bread? Or should I throw in the tea towel and accept that I just don't have the knack?

 

[Christine Mlinek]

I feel your pain with the bread. One of my issues, is the warm water is not warm enough to proof the yeast. That yeast must bubble before continuing in some recipes. Then the other issue is not leaving it in the oven for the length of time it needs. One day I will conquer it.

 

[galena]

Thanks Christine, good to know I'm not alone! It's so discouraging to try recipes that claim to be for beginners and end up with something that can't be eaten. I've definitely seen the bubbling yeast, maybe my oven just isn't very good for breadmaking.

 

[justusforus]

I think there is no such thing as any fool proof recipe and particularly bread. Even if you have had success for years, it can be a matter of weather or humidity or what not. Do not take it personally...

 

[Christine Mlinek]

Thanks Christine, good to know I'm not alone! It's so discouraging to try recipes that claim to be for beginners and end up with something that can't be eaten. I've definitely seen the bubbling yeast, maybe my oven just isn't very good for breadmaking.

My oven is very very old, been repaired twice, can't afford a new one, so I work with what I got, and I think that might be your problem too. I invested in an internal temp gauge. That helped A LOT. Also, I learned to turn my goods around in the oven for even baking...... eh, you do what you gotta do.....

I did learn one trick that helped me make ONE loaf that was good: When letting the dough rise, I had my dryer turned on for a few, got it nice and warm, through a towel in for cushion, then I put my dough covered IN the warm dryer for 30 minutes. Whoa did that sucker rise!!!! I learned that on line somewhere.... (no, don't turn the dryer back on, LOL)

One day we will conquer!

 

[Josie]

I never got it right either really. ALL of my bread was too dense for my liking. But then, I was used to store bought bread with impossible softness and air content lol. It's definitely not the bread from our past and there's no way I should have been trying to live up to that. It's not real bread! lol.

The bread I posted below was the best I could do, but it's more a crusty bread. I did enjoy a lot of the bread I made, but that one wasn't heavy at all and the crust was awesome.

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

I thought to find the 100% foolproof bread, which recipe includes just flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt.

Recipe is so easy, but problem is baking time, temperature or something because they do not look like the loaf in the recipe nor the loafs at the bakery, that is the way it should look, supposedly.