Keto, paleo, gluten-free, and low-carb diets are all the rage. I get it — some people are allergic to wheat, react badly to grains, or have a disease that makes it impossible for them to digest gluten without dire consequences. Others have discovered that taking bread off the menu is a fast and easy way to lose weight. About a decade ago, I relied on the Atkins diet — cutting back to just 20 grams of carbohydrates a day — to drop weight. I looked great, and I felt great. But I wasn’t happy. I missed bread.
There’s something special about bread. The tender crumb and chewy crust just feel good between your teeth. Every flour, from the various wheats to spelt and rye, has a unique texture, flavor, and smell. Bread comes in many shapes, too: loaves, cobs, plaits, baguettes, rolls, wreaths, and bagels to name a few. You can add herbs, spices, fresh or dried fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, chocolate, coffee, cheese, and pretty much anything else in the old fridge or pantry to create more bread than you would ever have time to eat. The operative word here is time: Who has time to make all that bread?
If I had nothing better to do, I would bake bread every day. But all that mixing, kneading, waiting for the bread to rise, punching it down, and letting it rise again … shaping, folding, forming, braiding — it’s a lot of work! Still, the idea of making my own bread has always intrigued me. So a few weeks ago, I bought a bread maker. I had no idea what I was getting into. A machine that promised to make loaves with minimal effort on my part seemed too good to be true.
I didn’t get a fancy one. I’ve invested in too many kitchen gadgets only to stick them under the cabinet and forget about them after three cooks or bakes. Mine was just over $50. I didn’t realize at the time that a lot of people (the low-carb people, I suspect) donate their nearly new bread makers to places like Goodwill; I probably could have gotten one for much less if I’d taken the time to look. But mine was still a fair price, and I figured the thing would pay for itself in a dozen bakes or so.
I read the directions that came with the machine, then I read them again. Apparently, all I had to do was measure the ingredients into the pan in the right order, choose the bread type, size, and desired crust — light, medium, or dark — and push start. Three or four hours later, I would have bread. Well, that just seemed like too much magic to me, but I tried it anyway.
There are only a few important rules to using a bread maker. First is to make sure the paddle, a little fin-shaped piece of metal, is attached to the bottom of the pan. Second is to carefully measure the ingredients, make sure they’re not too hot or too cold (room temperature is about right), and put them into the pan in the right order: liquid; dry ingredients, with flour last to form a barrier over the salt; and finally the yeast, which you don’t want touching the liquid or the salt. Third, move the bread machine away from the edge of the kitchen counter. I’ll tell you why in a minute. And fourth is to close the lid and select the kind of bread you want: basic, French, gluten-free, quick bread — the dang thing even makes cakes and jam!
My first attempt was an herbed loaf that the recipe promised would taste just like the bread served at Macaroni Grill. I chose it because my herb garden has been growing wild and I needed to put all those leafy greens in something. I dried the herbs in the toaster oven (I think I may need a dehydrator), added everything into the machine — substituting Bob’s Red Mill Vegan Egg for the egg — and made a little well in the middle of the flour for the yeast. I didn’t even have to mix anything up. Just closed the cover, set the machine to make a basic, 2-pound, light-crusted loaf, and waited. I didn’t really wait — I headed to my computer to get back to work, because it takes three hours to make the bread. Time … the operative word.
So here’s what happens: the bread maker does all the kneading, raising, resting, and baking for you. I hope I don’t sound like an idiot for being the only person who didn’t know that’s what bread makers do. I really expected there to be more work to it. The thing thumped and bumped, and the little window on top fogged over. You’re not supposed to open it while the dough rises, so I put on my headlamp to peek through the misty glass. All those ingredients were doing something. The machine turned them into a ball of dough, all knotty and lumpy. Then it got smooth and rose into a big puffy pillow. I put the headlamp away and went back to work. Sometime later, those herbal scents — basil, oregano, and rosemary — wafted through the house and slipped into my office. My bread was baking.
I’d love to end this column with a funny story about how the whole thing walked itself off the counter and ended up on the floor, but that didn’t happen. Despite all that paddle thwacking, the machine stayed put for the most part. And the bread was perfect: warm, soft, and toasty, with an aroma and taste that made me want to eat the whole loaf.
I did eat a lot of bread that day and have made more loaves since. The only problem I have with this bread maker is that it’s way too easy. I have to find ways to make it a challenge, or I feel like I’m cheating and not a real bread baker. I’m thinking of using the “dough” setting next, to do all the kneading and raising for me, but then doing something fancy with it. I could form the dough into long baguettes and bake it in the oven with steam for a chewy crust, or make little rings of dough and boil and bake them into bagels. I might twist the dough into a braid around cinnamon and chocolate, or make rolls slathered in cream cheese frosting and slivered almonds. So many breads, so little time. But maybe now, with my bread maker … not so much time.
One thing is for sure: my bread machine won’t end up at Goodwill. Carbs be danged. Bread makes me happy.
Susan Joy Paul is an author, editor, and freelance writer. She has lived on Colorado Springs’ northwest side for more than 20 years. Contact Susan at woodmennotes@pikespeaknewspapers.com.
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January 07, 2020 at 02:00PM
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Going against the grain with a bread maker | Northwest Notes - Colorado Springs Gazette
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