I ***CHEAT*** a lot baking bread! Do you?

I am going to make an admission. I use a bread machine. The reasons are simple: 1. I have arthritis, due to many years of a crazy active life combined with crappy genetics. 2. It now gets stupid-hot here in Montana and the oven is not my friend. And lastly, 3. I'm doing a lot of different things and can't always pay attention to when to when to punch down, knead (like I could?), and put into pans for the next rise.

So, do you cheat? If so, how and why?

I don't, anymore, but used to. In fact, I killed a few of them, from over use. Now, I do it with the stand mixer doing the bulk of the work, and use a stretch/ fold instead of kneading, because of my hand troubles.

The reasons I stopped using them was because: 1 - replacing them after  killing them got expensive; 2 - I really always hated that hole in the middle, that ruined a couple slices; 3 - I didn't like being limited to one size & shape of loaf; 4 - I most often bake sourdough breads, and could find a way to make them come out right, in the bread makers.

Carla Burke wrote:I don't, anymore, but used to. In fact, I killed a few of them, from over use. Now, I do it with the stand mixer doing the bulk of the work, and use a stretch/ fold instead of kneading, because of my hand troubles.

The reasons I stopped using them was because: 1 - replacing them after  killing them got expensive; 2 - I really always hated that hole in the middle, that ruined a couple slices; 3 - I didn't like being limited to one size & shape of loaf; 4 - I most often bake sourdough breads, and could find a way to make them come out right, in the bread makers.

I misplaced my old bread maker from when I was much younger, then inherited my mom's bread maker. When that no longer baked, I gave it to a friend who needed it to knead. Since then, I've been on my second bread maker. Weirdly, the Amazon bread maker was relatively inexpensive and it does really well.  

I have heard of people using the dough hooks on stand mixers, but I think I've used one maybe once. I have two inherited stand mixers that I use one and have one as a backup. Of course, I use the stand mixers for other things, but not bread making. Does it work well for you? Does the mixer get hot?

Mine is a 20 something year old Kitchenaid, and it does beautifully, with the dough hook. But, I only mix it for about 10 minutes, then switch to the stretch & fold method. Works like a champ, and my bread is always requested for big gatherings, so...

Carla Burke wrote:Mine is a 20 something year old Kitchenaid, and it does beautifully, with the dough hook. But, I only mix it for about 10 minutes, then switch to the stretch & fold method. Works like a champ, and my bread is always requested for big gatherings, so...

Okay, I think I know what the stretch and fold method is, but maybe not? (Yeah, mine are KitchenAid too!). I really can't manipulate much with my hands without pain, except a keyboard...

My hands are pretty crippled up. Trigger fingers & thumbs, EDS, arthritis, CTS, injuries... Stretch & fold is easy, and quick. You lay the dough out on your work space, lift one side up, stretching the dough, and fold it over the other side, turn it 90°, and lift up & fold over a different side, and repeat this 2 or 3 times. For the bread I make most often, I only do this once, but there are a couple others that need it to be done as many as 4 times, allowing the dough to proof, in between.

Ankarsrum dough mixer

This thing has been amazing. We did everything by hand for 4 years and once we got to doing bread, tortillas, pizza dough or a combo daily, we made the investment for this mixer. We don't have physical limitations, probably more time limitations with an 8 person household. We still have the kids mix by hand sometimes because they enjoy it and we don't want them to lose the "feel" of what it should be.

I don’t use the bread machine, but my wife does.  But then, she is the primary bread baker.

Carla Burke wrote:that hole in the middle, that ruined a couple slices

OMG all the forgotten frustration about that came flooding back!!! I forgot how much I HATED that stupid paddle getting stuck in the bread.

I had a breadmaker but it didn't make the cut when I moved abroad; I brought my mother's 1988 KitchenAid and that's been my heavy lifter for 20 years now.
I sometimes knead by hand but after several years of hand issues (during which we shifted from morning toast to morning oatmeal, it was simply not happening) that's mostly in my past.
I do make a lot of no-knead bread and flatbreads that require next to no manipulation. I learned that mixing up bread with a spoon and letting it sit works just as well with many of the breads I make, so why bother? This was also a lesson learned from sourdough. We have a dedicated mix-and-rise bowl with a cover that probably accounts for 75% of our bread products.
And when I make noodles, even things like udon, I'm using the KitchenAid, no question.

Personally, I don't consider anything cheating. Is the bread on the table? Awesome, reward granted.

(if anyone's interested, the flatbread recipe that changed my technique entirely, and has been adapted in every way you can imagine, is
https://merryboosters.com/turkish-flatbread-recipe-bazlama/
Make it 100% whole wheat, swap in things like amaranth or quinoa meal, corn, oats, rye, sourdough discard, I have never had this recipe fail, always soft and delicious and cooks on the stovetop.)

My "cheat" when making bread from white flour (usually King Arthur bread flour) has been the no-knead approach, as advocated in the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" books.  Stir yeast and salt into warm water, stir/fold the flour into the liquid, allow to rise loosely covered for 12 to 24 hours (temperature dependent), then refrigerate until wanted for baking.  On baking day, cut/pull off enough of the dough for each loaf, allow to stand for 1/2 hour to one hour (part of which can be during the oven's preheat cycle), then bake as usual.  Mostly, this has been loaf bread (boule, batard or 1/2 length baguette with boules in a cast iron dutch oven, batard and baguette on a pizza stone), but I have done a bit of pan bread this way, also (cinnamon raisin loaves for Christmas presents for the neighbors).  I could believe that a stronger dough would result from additional kneading, but this method has resulted in some very nice loaves, with a crispy crust and a nice crumb.

However, for freshly ground whole meal bread, this approach hasn't worked as well for me, even with long fermentation cycles - though your experience may vary from mine.  But, I am hopeful that I can, with the help of Kate Downham's new book, make a better (i.e. less brick-like!) whole meal bread this winter.

My favorite way to cheat at breadmaking is to make a thick batter of the dough, something too wet to even think of kneading, and pour it into an oiled or buttered cast iron skillet. Then I let it rise and bake it. This works with anything—einkorn wheat, rye, cornmeal, etc.

I haven’t made this kind of bread for more than a year, not eating grains. I made however a very delicious rye bread a few weeks back by sprouting, wet grinding, rising, and baking the rye grains, and found it wholesome. I’d like to get back into it but never going back to anything white flour, and likely going to have anything be well fermented and ideally sprouted too.

I briefly considered buying a used bread machine...for making compost!

I made no knead bread, almost exclusively.
I have one special piece of equipment for mixing bread dough, a danish whisk.
My special tool for cleaning dough off of mixing bowls is a chainmail scrubber.
I bake in closed top containers, as is common for no knead bread
My containers are were the typical Dutch ovens, but I wanted to fit more loaves in  so I shifted to using old crocks out of crock pots.
Now I use 1/6 size steam table pans.
Their rectangular shape fits most ovens better than a crock does, they are lighter, less bulky and they stack.
I spray them with oil after they preheat in the oven, right before I add the risen bread dough.
This prevents sticking and builds layers of seasoning.
I use a thermometer to check for doneness(200F)
I use channel locks to handle the hot pans.
I use an electric carving knife to slice bread.
I use a spray bottle to finish the loaves with a vinegar/brown sugar/salt brine.
I store them in brown paper bags.
Putting a fresh loaf in plastic bags ruins the crust, in my opinion.

There are also recipes for no knead sourdough for folks that have health issue related to kneading.

For folks with health issue I would consider using what ever tools will make their lives easier.

I love my bread machine because it does so many other jobs than just making bread.  Cakes are my favorite.  Some machines even have a jam/jelly cycle.

When I was feeding sandwiches to me and 2 kids, I used a bread machine.

My cheat was to mix up all the dry ingredients in a series of 12 jars that fit nicely in one drawer. All I had to do was put the yeast in the bread pan, put the dry stuff on top, mix the wet ingredients in my measuring cup and pour it on top, close the lid and push the button.

Full jars were right side up in the drawer, empties went back upside down, so it was easy to tell at a glance whether mixing up more jars needed to go on the list.

Now I do the same for my regular sourdough recipe, even though it has fewer ingredients. I only make 8 at a time as I'm not going through as much.

Tereza Okava wrote:
(if anyone's interested, the flatbread recipe that changed my technique entirely, and has been adapted in every way you can imagine, is
https://merryboosters.com/turkish-flatbread-recipe-bazlama/
Make it 100% whole wheat, swap in things like amaranth or quinoa meal, corn, oats, rye, sourdough discard, I have never had this recipe fail, always soft and delicious and cooks on the stovetop.)

This video demonstrates the stretch & fold method, too. I'm going to try this recipe with some keto flours! (There is only one keto brand of a similar flatbread I've found, and it costs over $1 per flatbread, if you're lucky enough to find them, at all.)

I cheat to the third power.....

I run 3 bread machines...    

1 loaf gets used right away, and the other two loaves go into the freezer.    

So little time to load and walk away, faster than going to grocery store.

Tereza Okava wrote:

Carla Burke wrote:that hole in the middle, that ruined a couple slices

OMG all the forgotten frustration about that came flooding back!!! I forgot how much I HATED that stupid paddle getting stuck in the bread.

Do you remember the early ones that when you removed the bread, the paddle stuck into it? Sometimes I'd forget the paddle was in the bread and when it went bad, I accidentally threw out the paddle. Apparently that was common and you could contact the company and get a new paddle. 🙄🙄🙄

Yes, wild.

Carla Burke wrote:

Tereza Okava wrote:
(if anyone's interested, the flatbread recipe that changed my technique entirely, and has been adapted in every way you can imagine, is
https://merryboosters.com/turkish-flatbread-recipe-bazlama/
Make it 100% whole wheat, swap in things like amaranth or quinoa meal, corn, oats, rye, sourdough discard, I have never had this recipe fail, always soft and delicious and cooks on the stovetop.)

This video demonstrates the stretch & fold method, too. I'm going to try this recipe with some keto flours! (There is only one keto brand of a similar flatbread I've found, and it costs over $1 per flatbread, if you're lucky enough to find them, at all.)

Mmm, flatbread! Oh, I must make this.

T. Woolf wrote:
Do you remember the early ones that when you removed the bread, the paddle stuck into it?.

So I hope this means the modern machines came up with some better solution? That stinking paddle....

I use Jim Lahey-Mark Bittman's No Knead Bread approach, modified for ½ whole-wheat, ½ all-purpose, some rye &/ or einkorn, small dutch oven into toaster oven.  It makes a nice rustic, farmhouse, sourdough- & crunchycrust-as-you-like loaf I can pop out three times a week for the family now that we can't find good bread in the big city any more.

Tereza Okava wrote:

T. Woolf wrote:
Do you remember the early ones that when you removed the bread, the paddle stuck into it?.

So I hope this means the modern machines came up with some better solution? That stinking paddle....

They still have "the paddle," but the paddle is smaller and sticks with the pan. Because it's smaller, you only get a small hole from it when you take the bread out. If it is truly bothersome, you can always use the bread machine and set it on "dough." Then, when it's done, you take the dough out, put it into loaf pans, let it do its second rise, and then bake it as you normally would. It takes a lot of the work out of it for you. I just do the full cycle because it gets too hot to fire up the oven in the summer or I feel too lazy to bother. 🤷‍♀️

Patrik Schumann wrote:I use Jim Lahey-Mark Bittman's No Knead Bread approach, modified for ½ whole-wheat, ½ all-purpose, some rye &/ or einkorn, small dutch oven into toaster oven.  It makes a nice rustic, farmhouse, sourdough- & crunchycrust-as-you-like loaf I can pop out three times a week for the family now that we can't find good bread in the big city any more.

What is this? I will have to look this up. Or you could elaborate... 😉