Mar. 1, 2006 - The Perfect Loaf of Bread

Before I started worrying about phytic acid, I had bread making down to a science. Dump 1 ¾ cups of water into the bread machine. Add ½ cup of olive oil and ¼ cup of honey. 2 teaspoons of salt go in, and then 4 cups of wheat berries go into the grain mill. Dump the flour into the bread machine and then 1 T of yeast. Start the machine and in less than 3 hours, I would have the perfect loaf of bread.

But now, I just can't seem to get it right. I started by adapting Sue Gregg's two stage bread recipe to the bread machine. I ground my 4 cups of flour, like always, but then I soaked it in 2 cups of water (with 2 T of cider vinegar). I also proofed the yeast before adding it in. This turned out to be way too much water. The bread was edible, but not what we were used to. For my next loaf, I decided not to proof the yeast (that would cut back on the water by ¼ Cup). It was better, but still not right, so I tried again. This time I only used 2 T apple cider vinegar with water to make 1 ¾ Cups, and the bread turned out good. The only problem is that it is very difficult to get the flour all wet with only 1 ¾ cups of liquid. I have had success with the last couple of loaves, pretty close to what we are used to. Then there was today. I started the machine last night, and when I took the bread out this morning I knew that something went wrong. The bread had fallen, and when I cut it there was a big hole in the middle of the loaf.

Bread is a staple of our diet, so I need to have a reliable recipe. I borrowed a dehydrator today, so maybe I will start experimenting with sprouted wheat bread.