The bread thread!

Yes but staying moist and a really good keeper so far. It's a dry-ish, heavy dough, exhausting to work (unless you were really angry about something when you started kneading).

6 c. flour, 5 tsp kosher flake salt, 1/4 lb butter, 1 tbsp active dry yeast, 1 3/4 - 2 c warm water, 2 tsp sugar. Proof the yeast in 1/2 c water with sugar. Sift flour and salt together. Cut in the butter but don't overwork. Add 1/4 cup water to the yeast mixture, then mix in the flour mixture (with one hand only! The instructions are very specific. WHY???) Add the remaining water and mix to a dry sticky dough, turn out and knead HARD, let rise in well-buttered bowl, punch down, let rest a few minutes, knead hard again, let rise, punch down, let rest, knead hard for a few minutes and form into a loaf. Let rise in the pan and bake at 400 F for 40-50 min. If you actually have the proper pain de mie (or Pullman loaf) pan, there are additional gyrations of timing and temperature and pan flipping and finishing out of the pan on the oven rack.

I need a reliable yeast roll recipe, plz. From folks who've actually made it. Thx!
Too, I need a link to Is That Pie?

My family-handed-down-for-generations recipe is called Presbyterian Rolls. This makes about 70 rolls, and the recipe can be halved. I always make up the full amount and freeze after making out into rolls the ones I don't want immediately:

1 c. lard or Crisco
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 c. boiling water

Stir together until shortening is melted.

1 c. cold water, add after shortening is melted.
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cakes yeast (2 pkgs active dry yeast, or I use about a tablespoon) dissolved in 1/4 c. lukewarm water
8 c. flour (or more as needed)

Note: you can also use rapid rise (bread machine) yeast - you don't have to mix it in water separately, and can use a scant tablespoon.

Mix the second set of wet ingredients together well with the melted shortening/water/sugar/salt mixture. Stir in flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough is workable. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth. Let rise in a buttered bowl until doubled in size. Punch down and make into rolls (roll out about 1/2" thick, cut into 2" circles and fold in half on cookie sheet is my family's preferred method). Bake in a 350 deg F oven for 20-30 minutes.

You can make the dough a day or two ahead of time and keep wrapped in the refrigerator. Take them out 2 hours before you want to bake them.

Is That....Pie? is here: http://isthatpie.wordpress.com/

jaq dude, can i put that on "how to nom"? http://www.elishasessions.com/pumpkin

I don't mind Tracer, as long as it's attributed and you link it back to the post on Is That....Pie? once I have the photo essay up after Thanksgiving. I keep getting Page Not Founds when I go to Browse on HTN, or when I try the direct link http://www.elishasessions.com/pumpkin/recipe that I have in the blogroll on the ITP? site.

hmm

i'll definitely source you!

which link gives you a page not found?

If I click on "Browse" from the main page of How to Nom, or if I use the link to the /recipe as in the post above.

Can you only browse if you are a member? If so, I'll take the link off of the Is That....Pie? blogroll.

no, you should be able to browse as a non-registered user, i'll try to fix that.

is that... pie looks pretty great!

I was able to browse a few days ago when I linked it up, but I don't know when it broke. Just now noticed I can't browse, so maybe something changed?

yeah, lots has changed! mainly under the hood. i must have dropped a wrench in there somewhere, cause none of the recipes were showing up for unregistered users but now they are!

if i get a blogroll thingie goin i will link to PIE(?) for sure

I'm currrently experimenting with various things in terms of breadmaking. I got a breadmaker machine from LIDL a couple of weeks ago and have been making loaves since then, did a couple of bread mixes taht I bought from LIDl to progressive degrees of success as ingredients were more accurately measured.
Have now progressed to trying to make loaves to a basic recipe adapted from one taht came with the breadmaker. So I successfully made one loaf substituting apple&mango juice not from concentrate for the water and molasses for sugar and using malthouse flour. Came out pretty well, didn't seem to have a great deal of flavour the night it was made but did the day after and is pretty tasty today. Not sure how long a loaf will last sans preseratives.
Then yesterday i tried something else. I shredded several vegetables garlic, ginger, a bit of chili pepper, red pepper, carrots, aubergine, courgette, cabbage, a bit of butternut squash basically what I make a stir fry out of. Bunged into this veg shredder I bought last year, came out as about a bowlful when shredded. Then put that in with some mixed liquids which came to about 200 ml, a spoonful of molasses and 25 g of yeast. Worked just about but bread is a bit denser like a ginger cake or a fruit/nut loaf so wondering if that is the inevitable result.
Bread is interesting, edible but I'm not 100% sure how recognisable the flavour is and there is an after-flavour presumably from the ginger/garlic/chilli.
So it worked to some extent but may need some honing. Not sure if it might have been better if I remembered to add salt. Or if soy sauce would make a possible substitute which was another idea.

Was told last night that salt is there to feed yeast or at least to some extent and I know I need to look further into reactions like that. Salt and sugar both there at least partially to feed yeast. Sugar helps make the crust the way it works out. Not sure if any of that would be done by other ingredients if you're adding fruit or veg or whatever. Need to read further and not really sure where to look.

ooh - interesting. I thought salt retarded yeast, but maybe I misread that somewhere...

I'm making Jim Lahey's duper famous no-knead recipe right now; it took about 5 minutes to stir and now it's sitting on the counter for 12 or 18 more hours. I'll resume it in the morning

I can't remember where in orbit was talking about yeast not working. Reading this book about fermentation - residual chlorine in treated water can kill it, so maybe that's what's going on? Leave tap water sitting out for a day or two, stirring occasionally or pouring from container to container to aerated.