Better Bread

It has been a few months now of baking bread for my family. In that time I have bought very little bread. With all that practice it isn't surprising that I have picked up tips and discovered lots along the way.

Most mornings I would start baking at around 6am-6.30am.A few weeks ago I was running late. I had recently seen a youtube clip which talked about a long knead time and stretchy thin "window pane" when the dough was stretched out. They seemed to skip the second rise altogether. I was usually rushing the kneading part, yes, it was well kneaded and smooth but barely. This time, I decided to give the dough a long knead time (in the Kenwood mixer). I gave it about 20mins. I took some of the dough and roughly formed rolls and popped them straight in the warmed oven.  The rest of the dough I formed and let rise longer. I was so surprised when the oven bell went off and there on the tray were these rolls that just about popped in half they had risen so much.

They tasted good too, but I did prefer the ones left longer as they had more yeasty flavour. Since then I have kneaded all my bread much longer and skimped on the second rise if need be. The texture inside is just gorgeous.

I have more tips to share of my bread-making adventures over the next month or so.

Meanwhile, today ended up a full-on cleaning day (a long weekend with DH pitching in YAY!)so the new clippies are not up yet at www.stitcharooney.com.au but I hope to list them tomorrow. Don't forget to enter the giveaway if you haven't done so yet. The link is on the top right of this page.

Some people have wondered if they would be suitable for themselves and I can say that although my original intention was to make clippies for little girls, there have been a few customers now that have bought them for themselves to wear.  Enjoy!