Bread machines are convenient for mixing and kneading the bread dough when you have problems with your hands; arthritis, weak wrists, carpal tunnel, etc. Back when we were baking bread in a bread machine often, my brother in law came up with this chart which simplified the process.
My sister and I kept copies of this chart taped to the inside of a kitchen cabinet, right over the working area in our individual kitchens. We would make up individual Ziploc bags with all of the dry ingredients pre-measured per type bread; flour, salt, sugar, butter, and powdered buttermilk, if the recipe called for it...including the yeast which we would put in a small Kodak or Fuji film canister and store inside the bag with the rest of ingredients needed except for the liquids.
Measure and prepare a dozen bags for a dozen loaves all at one time and store in the crisper drawer of the fridge and just take them out to use as you need. Dump the dry ingredients from the baggie in the bread machine, add the contents of the film canister and then the liquid. Follow the rest of the instructions to mix, knead, rise and bake the bread...or even if you just use the machine to mix, knead and let it rise and then bake in conventional method.
When making bread to which you add raisins or other dried fruit, nuts or dried herbs, you can add the dried fruit and/or nuts or herbs to the baggie mix and store until ready to make the bread. For fresh herb breads just add the fresh herbs at the last after emptying the baggie contents into the baking pan.
I need to get back into bread baking. Somehow a few years ago I stopped and haven't been making bread as often as I used to. Finding the image of the chart while cleaning out some old files might get me motivated again.
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Comments: 25
It is much more fun to make it and I am seriously considering going back to baking it myself.
Having the recipe at hand and the ingredients already pre-measured takes a little bit of the drudge out and whether you use a bread machine or not, having them ready is motivation to bake!
The pre-measured bags idea can be used with non-machine bread baking methods also. Just look up the recipes you use the most and get your ingredients together and start preparing bag!.
BTW, I haven't seen a prompt or replies to prompt for the Genre Shorties...Any idea what happened this week?
LOL