Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Quote du jour/James Beard

Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.
James Beard

Here are the results of the first loaf made in the new bread machine. We couldn't be more pleased. The loaf is now finished, and tonight we'll try the little program button to have fresh, warm bread tomorrow morning.


23 comments:

  1. What could be nicer than fresh home made bread and butter! With just a little honey maybe? I write this after having a hot English crumpet with butter and thyme honey for tea!
    Ah the simple pleasures of life!

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  2. Always so nice to hear from you, K. Crumpets are one of those things I've never had success making. Your crumpet sounds perfect, perfect.

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  3. Love warm bread and melted butter...sounds wonderful!!!

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  4. I just finished setting bread - fresh bread for supper - delicious!

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  5. There is nothing better than a well made loaf of bread. And, in my humble opinion, a good slice of fresh bread doesn't need any butter - the flavor and texture along with a good crust is all you need.

    I'm still a traditionalist. Even though I graduated to a KitchenAid some years ago, I still finish off my kneading by hand. Not sure about a machine made loaf - I think it's the Luddite in me. I feel like I have to physically handle the dough to keep it honest.

    Some of the best bread books I own are written by Bernard Clayton - he really "taught" me how to bake a good loaf. Everything from simple pan type loaves to hand shaped and braided.

    Peter Reinhart is another great baker.

    But by hand or by machine - nothing beats a loaf of home made bread. A pleasure to all the senses!

    - Jeff

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  6. Thanks for coming by, Lisa, Island Sparrow, Staci, and Jeff. I'm really pleased with this new 'toy.' It is as close to the 'real' thing as possible, and the toast is divine.

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  7. Hey Jan...try this recipe the next time you want a nice white bread. It's so good you will never want to buy a loaf again.

    http://hipchickshome.blogspot.com/2009/11/grandmother-bread-in-bread-machine.html

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  8. 'Jan' here :<) - I'll check it out, Hip Chick. I've been making my own bread for gee, I think 37 years now, and have gone through a bunch of changes. All fun. And this is the latest! I tend to make whole wheat or mostly whole wheat with an occasional mostly white loaf.

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  9. Holy moly that looks good. And James Beard was right.

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  10. Made my mouth water!
    Carole

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  11. Hey Nan - I have been away for a few weeks and look at you -- all redesigned and all! My daughter had to bake bread for "Lifeskills" last week. Border Patrol dropped by as I was washing the dishes - just a friendly chat (I don't like Federal agents dropping by even to make nice) but anyway, I was glad to be baking bread at the moment Officer Friendly decided to pay his call.

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  12. Nan, your bread looks awesome!! I used to make bread everyday when the girls were little,I really need to get back to doing that (maybe not everyday but every once in awhile would be great!) Thanks for sharing the first part of your blog with us too! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

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  13. Sherri, thanks! And the same to you. This bread machine is great. This morning we had warm fresh bread after setting the timer last night. Wow!

    Carole, how I'd love you to be sitting at my kitchen table!

    Thomas, yes, he was!

    KSV, I swear, you live a life like no other. It truly is a 'wonderful life' full of humor.

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  14. I like that Poppy. I'll have to check out the book. Happy American Thanksgiving to you!

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  15. Thank you, Colleen. I just love the book.

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  16. I love the aroma of bread baking, and I could live on Italian bread and butter!

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  17. Mare, if you come back, what makes Italian bread different?? Do you have a recipe? I have made a 'peasant bread' and wonder if it might be the same?

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  18. What brand bread machine did you get? My old machine made loaves half the size of what yours makes. I didn't get around to making any this weekend and now I'm wishing I had a machine like yours! We'll have to suffer through some store bought bread until I'm feeling up to making a couple of loaves.

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  19. This looks delish! I am amazed at all that snow! Apparently we usually get 10inches in Nov and we had trace amts. So we are due here in MN. I Love the music you've features the past few days. I don't think I'd ever heard of Vera Lynn until you featured her. Love that 'sound'.

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  20. Tara, this loaf was great and every one we've made since. Every two or three days we throw in the ingredients, push a few buttons, and in a while there is bread! I love this bread baker. I'm afraid the snow is melting. :<( It has rained most of the day. There is more on Vera L. here:

    http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2009/09/saturday-sallyseptember-19.html

    Les, it is a Zojirushi. It is fantastic. I couldn't be happier. The loaf in the picture used 5 cups flour. Yesterday we made a recipe with only 3 and the loaf was smaller but still plenty big. I love this thing!

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  21. I just wanted to let you know that your post inspired me to set the bread maker to make us breakfast while we slept. We have a small apartment, so Rudi says he did notice it when it turned on, but that he just put headphones on and turned back over to sleep. I'm a bit foggy in the a.m., so couldn't quite figure out what the cooking smell was as I awoke today, but it sure was delicious once I got my bearings!

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  22. Oh, Sprite, I am so, so happy to hear this! Thank you for sharing the details. I'm just delighted!

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