Breads of Different Countries

[Wotname]

Vegemite folks, vegemite...

Marmite kills a good crumpet!

[Seymore]

Originally Posted by Jd1

Maybe if some kind souls publish their fav recipes ?

As Gord May and Spring Chicken said, Canadian hard wheat flour is considered to be the best. I'm Canadian, and when I had my apartment in Southern Ontario I made my own bread. Here's the final recipe.

Get (ordinary real Canadian) flour from Loblaws or wherever. Scoop a couple of cupfuls onto a bread board. Sprinkle some dry yeast over it. Make a crater in the centre (<==see that? Real Canadian spelling. ) and add water. Knead into a ball. Let it rise, punch down, knead again, shape into a loaf. Sprinkle a cookie sheet with cornmeal.

As I remember, have the oven hot, at 415 degrees F. Put a pan of boiling water inside for a minute. Then put the bread in with the pan of water and bake hot for 15 minutes. Take out, brush with an egg-water mixture, set the oven at 300 degrees and put the bread back in for 15 minutes; temps and times something like that. This makes a wonderful crisp crust, thick chewy texture and rich bread flavour.

No salt, no fat. No milk, no sugar, no pumpkin, nothing. Add these and it's (ugh!) cake. Make it from a different flour and you'll get the soporific bread you don't like.

Later I got a bread machine. At bedtime I'd toss in some water, dry yeast and flour, and set the timer. I'd wake up to the wonderful smell of fresh bread baking, and I'd have thick toast made with fresh bread for breakfast. The bread itself was OK with a soft crust. The convenience and that wonderful smell in the morning made it worthwhile.

[Tom and Maje]

We lived in Europe for almost 30 years all together and England for two. I liked scones and crumpets. In the States, I've just about given up eating bread, with the exception of the very expensive sprouted grain organic bread. For provisioning, I bought sprouted grain bread. When I get around to making a loaf or two I'll let you know how it is.

The problem in the US is that we want cheap food and, for the most part, don't care about the quality. British friends were shocked to discover that unlike in the EU and GB, food is only non-GMO if it says so on the carton and not the other way around.

In St. Thomas, I love dum bread. It probably has no nutritional value, but it is really good and dense.

Maje

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Tom and Maje

...
The problem in the US is that we want cheap food and, for the most part, don't care about the quality. British friends were shocked to discover that unlike in the EU and GB, food is only non-GMO if it says so on the carton and not the other way around.
...
Maje

I don't know, I believe it has also to do with kids and fast food. Here we call that kind of American bread "plastic" bread but many kids like to eat that on MacDonals. That's true that Portuguese MacDonals feel the need to have a Mac done with "decent" bread: the MacBifana.
We Sample Traditional Portuguese Cuisine… atÂ*McDonald’s | RocketNews24
They say it is nice but its really terrible, just a bit better then the traditional macburger.
This is the real stuff and you can get it even out of Portugal:
Sandwich Club: Portuguese bifana

Taking about bread I believe it is a cultural thing. Old regions with strong cultures have great breads. I don't know why UK has not the bread we can find on most European countries, even if on those we can also find industrial tasteless bread also. On most of the places with great bread the same is associated with old manufacturing practices and it is made on a traditional wood oven. I love the differences between all those great breads we can find all around the med and the good thing is that while an industrial bread is inedible the next day, the traditional bread, a week later, is still better than fresh industrial bread. Great to have aboard.

[weavis]

Make your own......
Irish Soda Bread.....

I do....... If you dont want a fruit loaf, leave out the sultanas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp8Q...50bt9Is2sZLrrQ

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by weavis

LOLOLOL

Like I said, its for the home grown brits.......

Indeed. I am ethnically English, so it's clearly not in the blood. That is, you are bred, not born to it. I guess you just have to be conditioned from the cradle to regard industrial waste as food . . .

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Indeed. I am ethnically English, so it's clearly not in the blood. That is, you are bred, not born to it. I guess you just have to be conditioned from the cradle to regard industrial waste as food . . .

Wash your mouth out with Vegemite!!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by weavis

Wash your mouth out with Vegemite!!

Oh, no -- for that, you have to be descended from five generations of convicts . . .

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Oh, no -- for that, you have to be descended from five generations of convicts . . .

Love them as I do, I could NEVER take to Vegemite....... I tried, I really did.

It wasnt a quiet gag either.

Sorry guys... Marmite rules.

[carstenb]

Sourdough is generally much better than ordinary dough. I bake the heavy danish "rugbrød" (like german pumpernickel) all the time - damn good bread. I also bake sourdough white. But here is a recipe for some non-sourdough that is very easy to make and doesn't take much time (except the overnight rising). It is from my cookbook.

There is no reason to eat bad bread - baking your own doesn't take all that much time and the aroma of fresh baked bread filling your boat is fantastic (and everyone else in the anchorage will be extremely jealous!)

The only bread recipe you’ll ever need

Mix all the ingredients and stir with a mixer for about 15 minutes.

1-liter water
50 grams yeast (not the dry kind)
35 grams salt ½ cup olive oil ca. 2 kilos of flour. Use good quality flour. (No harm in adding a little durum flour).

The dough should be very thin. When it has mixed put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 250C-degrees

Sprinkle some flour on the kitchen table and pour the dough onto it. Use a scraper and cut the dough into smaller amounts. Put the dough on a baker’s plate and bake it until golden – about 15 minutes.

This recipe yields about 30 rolls or 10-12 loaves. You can make only the half.

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Sourdough is generally much better than ordinary dough. I bake the heavy danish "rugbrød" (like german pumpernickel) all the time - damn good bread. I also bake sourdough white.

Can you post the sourdough white version please ?

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Jd1

Can you post the sourdough white version please ?

You can make your own sourdough starter by mixing some yeast (live yeast not powder) with buttermilk and flour, say 10-15 grams of yeast and a 1/2 cup of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of good high gluten flour. - let it stand for a couple of days (not refrigerated) and add a litttle buttermilk and a little flour each day - stir it. Now you have the sourdough.
Then:

10 grams of live yeast

1/3 cup of your sourdough yeast mix


a spoonfuld of yogurt (or something like it)

a teaspoon of salt

1 pound of good quality high gluten flour

1/3 pound of just about any other flour (good quality) you can get hold of (durum, rye - whatever)

1/2 liter of water


MIx the yeast and sourdough yeast and salt in a bowl (if you have a dough mixing machine - use it- otherwise a big bowl and a wooden spoon or a fork will do - good exercise!). Mix in most of the flours, add most of the water.

Mix like mad (if you're using a fork). In a machine, run until you have a dough, add the rest of the water and let it mix until thoroughly mixed into a dough.

When the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl - it's ready (if you can pull a piece of the dough very thin with your fingers and it stretches without breaking - you're there

Let it rise in the refrigerator at least overnight. Dump on a floured baking (or pizza ) stone. DO not knead - just slap it into the shape you want.


Bake 250 degrees C for 20 minutes or so

You can save the unused sourdough mixture and use it another time- just stir it every couple of days and add a little buttemilk and flour.


The above recipe will make sourdough bread just like you can buy in San Francisco or Italy

If you make a double recipe of the dough - you can let it keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days and just take it out and bake.


I usually make this and cut the half the dough into breakfast rolls, and ht other half into bread loaves.