Saturday, February 13, 2010

A Little Late

The Bread Braid for February 1 was to make the Soft Wheat Sandwich Bread from the HBin5 book. I finally got my book in the mail recently and have been able to get busy! The first thing I made with this dough was hamburger buns. They poofed up a little more than I wanted them to. They flavor was good, but they ended up being too dense for a hamburger bun. We had them with shredded beef.



Next I made a loaf of bread. I was very excited about this one. Others had reported how happy they were with how theirs turned out. My loaf didn't rise as much as I had hoped and when I cut into it, it was denser than I wanted also. The flavor was good as I cut a couple of slices and ate them for breakfast. I was going to make grilled cheese for lunch and as I continued to slice, I found that my loaf wasn't done baking! I had a whole in the middle where the raw dough had collapsed. UGH! Here is a picture of the loaf, though.



Lastly, the objective was to make Apple Strudel Bread. I had just a little dough left and not enough to do a loaf of bread. We were having breakfast for supper that night and I usually fix muffins. So I decided to do little apple strudel rolls. This was one thing I was very happy with. They kids would have preferred muffins that night, but I enjoyed them!

16 comments:

  1. I had some trouble with not baking my breads long enough too. But in my Christmas Stocking I got an Instant Read Thermometer and now I just stick the thermometer in the bread and when it reads 201-203 degrees I know my bread is done! Instant Read Thermometer vary in price, but the one I have was in the sale bin for $7.

    Love your stuffed muffins...such a great idea!

    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with Michelle, instant read thermometer is great way to go. I use a probe with an alarm on it and love it! Keep going. You are doing great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It seems like it always takes a bit longer for the loaf to cook inside after it browns. Next time you will have had the experience and I know your loaf will turn out. They sure are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your loaf, buns and muffins looked great. Sorry the loaf didn't bake all the way through, but keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've still yet to bake any real buns, so you are ahead of me! The baking time is always tricky on these breads with the different flours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you everyone. I had read people's thoughts on the instant read thermometer in the group and hadn't decided if it would be the useful or not...now I guess it is! :-) The is the first loaf that I have had to that since baking in HBin5 or ABin5, but it is my first wheat loaf. I suppose I need to remember they will look darker faster on the top. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everything looks great!

    I agree about the instant read thermometer. I bought a second one, an OXO, with huge digital readout. I LOVE IT!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the little apple strudel muffins! They look quite delicious and perfect for portion control. I kept cutting myself the hugest chunks of strudel bread. What you mean 1/4 of the loaf isn't 1 serving?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yup, five minute breads are sneaky! They give every appearance of being done on the outside, when they are often still underdone on the inside. The instant read thermometer takes all the guesswork out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. what a darling idea to make strudel muffins!!! well, at least your loaf looks beautiful on the outside (and I think your bread pan is wonderful!). I bought an instant read therm to start using only to discover that it can't be used in the oven....argh.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I was thinking, I do have a meat thermometer that is digital. Would it work or would it take too long to read? I can close the oven door with it in, would that be a problem leaving it in with the bread?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your muffins look great! I made some from the chocolate dough and they were amazing. Glad you've joined us!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The apple strudul muffins are darling! What a clever idea!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cute little muffins and I love your loaf pan. I think if I see an instant read thermometer (at a decent price) I might have to invest like Michelle suggested. With all this bread baking, I know it would be handy. So far I've been lucky but I never know.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had the same thing happen to my bread. I had a tunnel in the middle of the dough. I think an instant read thermometer is a very good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I did use my meat thermometer earlier this week when I made a loaf the mixed berry dough into a loaf. I am glad I did, because it ended up taking quite a bit longer than I would have thought and my top was a little more than done. Maybe next time I will try an aluminum foil tent on top of my bread as it bakes.

    ReplyDelete