bread info please

[amber]

Hi. My name is Amber and I am a student at Uconn. I am doing an article for a journalism class on all aspects of bread. I have emailed some of you on the website individually and it was recommended that i post a new thread so i thought i would give it try. I am trying to include any aspects of bread that I can. I have thought of these questions so if anyone is able to answer a few or if possible all of the questions. If you do answer the questions can you include your name, occupation, and place of work so I am able to site it in the article. For anyone who is able to help me I would be more than happy to email you the finished article. Thanks so much, I really appreciate it. My regular email is aborajkiewicz@hotmail.com if that would be easier for anyone. I understand there are a lot of questions and they seem simple but I need to get my information from people and not books of other articles so whatever you can help me with would be great. Amber. So here goes...
1. What are your best tips for the storage of bread. Do different types of bread nee different types of storage?
2. do you know any fun bread facts.
3. What are some other uses for bread, not in loaf form. ex. bread pudding
4. What is the best way to slice a loaf of bread. Is it best to buy bread sliced or unsliced from a grocery store or bakery.
5. Any tips for perfecting bread baking?
6. What are the different types of yeast and what types of bread need what type of yeast?
7. What are the different types of flour and what types of bread need what type of flour?
8. What types of bread go best with different types of meals?
9. What types of bread go best with what types of wines?
10. What are some delicious bread spreads you know about besides plain butter. any recipes?
11.What are some international breads that are well known or have importance within that culture. ex. Pan de Muerto for Mexicos day of the dead.
12. How do you know when the dough is done rising?
13. How would you make a tasty crouton out of stale bread.
14. Which breads do you recommend freezing and which do you not?
15. What are some tips for baking and cleaning up easier?
16. What ingredients give a sour bread its sour taste?
17. Do you recommend the use of a bread machine? Which are the best ones to use?
18. How do you proof yeast?
19. When you use a bread machine do you typically use a box mix or add your own ingredients?
20. Any tips for successful bread machine baking?
21. If you could categorize bread into different categories what would the categories be? ex. sour breads, sweet breads, etc.
22. If someone doesn't have the exact ingredients for the bread they are making what would you recommend for substitutes? ex. granulated sugar instead of brown sugar.
23. Is bread fattening?
24. Where is the best bread you have ever had?

If anyone has made it to these last questions thank you so much!!! if there is anything i can do for you please let me know.

[nancya]

Hi Amber...let me slip in here and say something as a home baker. There are a lot of experts here and you will get some great perspectives from them...I just can't help but intrude because baking bread is a passion of mine.

My own "Philosophy of Dough" I call experimental baking. I have a basic recipe that I use for all but specialized breads like challa or brioche. You can substitute sugar/food, salts, flours, liquids, and fats and get different results. I pretty much always use plain old dry, instant yeast. Proofing it for different amounts of time will also give you subtle flavor differences in the bread. You can add eggs, flavorings, cheese, onions...etc. I bake bread by feel. I don't measure, I don't weigh. I know what the dough is supposed to feel like, smell like, and taste like. I know how it responds to different levels of kneading. I know what a softer dough will turn out like versus a stiffer dough. [question 22] And I'm always learning. I find a lot of cool ideas here that I try out in my own way in my own kitchen.

I hate bread machines. I'd rather die than use one. [questions 19-20]

No food is fattening in moderation. Bread is a carbohydrate and messes up my blood sugar, so I don't eat it much anymore. [question 23]

My favorite bread [question 24] is usually whatever I baked that day. Last week, it was a really specatular rustic potato bread.

At any rate...that's the view of one home baker.

[catciao]

Hello Amber, I wish I could say I was into breadmaking like nancya, I honestly haven't tried. It's a bit intimidating to me. But I love eating fresh bread and I never throw away old bread. I do love making savory bread puddings with egg, cheese, wild mushrooms, onions, herbs etc. Use the same idea as in quiche and you can make any savory bread pudding especially if using old rye, pumpernickle (sp) and sourdough.

[momoreg]

Hello again amber,
As I mentioned to you already, you will easily find a lot of your answers in the previous threads in the Baker's Dozen Forum. And, as I suggested before, perhaps you ought to visit a bread bakery, and ask your questions of a professional bread baker. I'm sure you have a bread bakery nearby, no?

[m brown]

There is a great and easy to understand book called the Bread Bakers. It is geared to young readers or folks who want to bake but the great big books are too intimidating~
good luck~

[panini]

#1... don't store bread.
#24...tummy

[shroomgirl]

Gotta be Royal Crown Bakery in Brooklyn.....wood fired kalamata bread...unbelieveable.

serrated knives slice bread best

Fig pinenut is a fine bread with camembert

Bread spreads, hummos, tapenade, capanota, pesto, baba ganoush, cheesy spreads, "plain butter" sounds so non exciting, I have numorous butters in my fridge/freezer that are not plain by any analysis.

Oh yeah raisin pumpernickle is great toasted with cream cheese.

Amber

Momoreg is right . If you want to become a journalist you will have to do a research on the previous threads or visit a bakery.
I can answer to you only to question 11.

I am a Jew and bread plays a big role in the Jewish religion.Do you know the unleavened bread?
This is called Chag Ha Matzot.
According to the " God''s Spring Feasts" *( this is a book) "In a general sense, the holiday of Passover is used interchangeably with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Technically, however, the Lord’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on Nisan 15, the day after the Passover sacrifice. Known in synagogues as Chag HaMatzot, this holiday lasts for a week. For 7 days the people of Israel are to eat only unleavened bread in remembrance of the day God delivered His people from Egypt."
“They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians.”( "Numbers" 33) ( Numbers is one of the books of the Old testament)
They took their bread in its mixing bowls, without time for the leaven (yeast) to form or for the bread to rise. When the order came to leave, they left—flat bread and all!
"This act of leaving Egypt with unleavened bread has led to one of the most colourful traditions of the Passover season. In anticipation of the days of unleavened bread, Jewish mothers do their “spring cleaning.” With great care they sweep and search and scrub their homes to remove every bit of leaven. Floors are swept, pots are boiled, cupboards are emptied—all in an effort to remove any trace of leaven. Then just before Passover, bonfires are lit in empty lots and fields all over Israel to destroy any of the bread and crumbs that have been found.
Rabbis point out that leaven puffs up bread the way pride does. Flat bread speaks of humility and obedience. Unleavened bread speaks of our readiness to put away from us the evil inclination that lives within all of us. It reminds us that freedom is not enough. God did not deliver His people from Egypt just for them to be free, but that they’d be free from the bondage of sin. He delivered His people to enjoy the liberty that is found by all who learn to live in humble dependence on the one true God"

Another Internationl bread is one from Spain, Roskon.

[Svadhisthana]

I'll answer what I can................
1. Paper bags for short term storage. I guess you could wrap bread tightly and freeze-I don't know about quality if you do.
2. "Let them eat cake" is a reference to the burnt outer crust of breads.
4. serrated knife.
6. Active dry yeast, cake yeast, instant yeast, "wild' yeast-depends on the type of bread, personal preference, etc.
7. All Purpose flour, Bread flour, Cake flour, Wheat, White, Non wheat flours, barley, rice, etc. Useage depends on the type of bread and the results you want.
12. usually when it has doubled in bulk. If you poke it and the indentation remains.
16. I think you are referring to sourdough and the "tangy" taste it has. This is from the starter that is used. Starters can be made from yeast or even grapes. The process takes anywhere from a few days to weeks depending on the method.
17. My mother bought me a bread machine a few years back. I only use it for kneading if I happen to be too busy (or too lazy ) to knead. I have used it to bake bread also but the results are NOT as good as my oven. As soon as I purchase a stand mixer I will be finding a new home for this one trick pony.
18. sprinkle over warm water, sometimes a little something sweet (sugar, honey) is added to "feed" the yeast as well as proofing it.
21. Sweet breads, Artisan breads, Sandwich breads, Sourdough ....
23. anything could be "fattening" if you eat too much. "Everything in moderation." I personaly find that bread is filling and less of it keeps me sated longer than other foods.
24. My own kitchen-it may not be the best bread I can get but there is a certain pride in having created a beautiful boule, loaf, baguette, etc that makes my own taste that much better than one I buy at a local bakery.

I hope I have helped you. Like the others said, you should try to find a local bakery and check out the archives of the boards here for more information.