Very Basic Bread

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

This has to be one of the most delicious breads I have ever tasted! Moist, chewy, and flavorful, and better than anything I've ever bought in a bakery.

I followed this recipe step by step, and even though the dough was a little sticky, it still came out perfectly. My loaf looked a little smaller than Alton's did, but that could be the magic of TV. My only (BIG difference from the recipe was that in less than half an hour, it smelled done. By the time I checked it (30-35 mins with a thermometer, it was reading at 207. I can't imagine what would've happened if I left it in for the full 50. It was also baked on a pizza stone instead of terra cotta, but I don't believe that would've changed anything.

I was tempted to rate it at 4 stars because it is a VERY time-consuming recipe. Not including the night-before starter, this loaf takes 4-5 hours from mixing ingredients to serving. Of course, once I tasted it, I couldn't bring myself to rating it lower - it's that good. I look forward to making this many more times in the future.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Lets start with I am a bread snob. Some are snobby about wine, beer, etc, with me its bread. Food of the gods if done right. And done right is so rare in the USA. I hate the bread sold in grocery stores--I NEVER buy it. I love artisan breads but in my area of the world, they are hard to find.

This bread is awesome. There is now a reason for that $300 kitchenaid on my counter. I wish Alton would provide other recipes for other breads like wheat, oat, french....

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

This is the best bread recipe ever. I've made it 5 times in the past month and every time my bread has come out perfectly. Just follow the recipe and you can't fail. I've always loved good bread but have never been successful at baking a good loaf. The dough is easy to work with and it has never failed to raise. I use unglazed quarry tiles that I picked up at my big box hardware retailer, in place of the unglazed terra cotta dish. Alton's the best. I've tried a lot of his recipes and techniques and I've never been unhappy with the results.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Weighing is very important and I had to add a few Tbs of additional flour. This recipe worked very well at high altitude (5400ft without any changes. I did notice that the cooking time needed to be reduced to about 47 minutes.

I added about 1 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and about 1 1/2 tsp of dried oregano and it turned out amazing. I highly recommend using the bottled water for the yeast.

Thanks Alton!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Not being able to find my scale since we moved, I made this stupid mistake (please don't repeat it. *Thinking to myself* 1lb = 16oz, 8oz = 1c, so 2c = 1lb. Yeah, in FLUID, not in FLOUR. So, needless to say, my bread was stiiiiicky! But, being a relative beginner, like I knew. I did eventually sheepishly added 1/2c, thinking I would ruin the recipe. Re-reading the comments I realized I used 1/2 the flour I should have (as someone else posted, it's almost 4c, not 2c.

Regardless, the bread, amazingly, turned out pretty well. Chewy and dense, but I certainly don't blame the bread for that. The taste reminded me more of sourdough than anything.

In any case, if a recipe can survive my questionable math skills, it must be pretty foolproof. My only thought for the other people who had sticky issues (I mean, this thing was pretty darn runny, the only thing I can think of is you MUST not have used enough flour and made a computational mistake like me. I mean, I used 1/2 the flour I should have! Do your math right (and just weigh it and this recipe really shouldn't disappoint.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I just made this today and it was delicious! I have tried other bread recipes in the past and this one is by far the best. I don't have a dough hook for my mixer, so I kneaded it by hand. The stretch test did wonders! Before this recipe I never had a way to know how my gluten was getting on. Awesome!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

If you own a Kitchenaid standmixer like me, you might want to be careful setting it to MEDIUM as Alton suggests. Medium would mean 5 since 10 is the highest setting on the mixer but the Kitchenaid manual warns about putting it any higher than 2 for bread or pizza dough. Trust me, I learned this the hard way, after following his instructions and setting the mixer on Medium (between 4-5, I ended up with a broken mixer. Not fun, since they aren't particularly cheap either.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I shared some of the information from this recipe with a friend of mine who just graduated from a very professional baking school and she was amazed. This recipe is a great jumping point to learn and then try modifying it yourself. Thanks very much Alton.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I know that a hook should be easier than kneading by hand... but I found that kneading by hand I was better able to better control to which stage I got the dough. Otherwise, it's darn good bread even without the overnight step.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

The end result of this bread is good, but I don't believe the 13+ hours of waiting actually make any difference whatsoever in the final product. In fact, I've found that this recipe results in a dough that doesn't rise to anywhere near what I'd like. It looks great when it's done, but the taste is nothing to brag about.