Making Bread at Home

Deb, thanks for that link. It looks awesome and I am anxious to try that recipe! I've never had instant yeast on hand, though, and I'm not sure where to find it. I understand GFS carries it, but does anyone know of anywhere closer to the Germantown/downtown/Highlands area that carries it? Thanks!

Laura,

You can buy instant/rapid rise yeast at any grocery store- you'll find it in the baking aisle. The popular brand is Fleischmann's comes in a strip of three packages with a bright yellow label. They also make a " Bread " yeast which comes in a jar so you can easily spoon measure it ( costs less in volume too). I've used the later for years until I recently bought the King Arthur brand.

Fresh yeast is different, I've never used it, so I'm not sure where you'd get it. I always do a conversion to active dry yeast or Rapid Rise instead.

Deb

Laura,

Also, regarding Flour to use: I exclusively use the King Arthur flours anymore now that they are readily available at Kroger and Meijer ( I used to mail order them on occasion, but that gets really expensive). I highly recommend them- a little more expensive , but it's still super cheap to make your own bread.

Deb

Hmm, okay well maybe I was over-complicating matters but for some reason I thought there was a difference between the typical grocery store "active dry yeast" and the "instant yeast" referred to in that recipe. I guess not if you're successfully using the Fleischmann's rapid rise!

Laura,

There IS a difference between active dry and Rapid Rise. Rapid Rise as the name suggests activates/rises faster. both are dry granules and sold at grocery stores. Typically recipes call for one or the other, and you can't substitute one for the other.

The confusion is the "instant" yeast - this is the same thing as Rapid Rise ( Rapid Rise is just the trademarked name for this companies brand of instant yeast).

Does that help?

The confusion is the "instant" yeast - this is the same thing as Rapid Rise ( Rapid Rise is just the trademarked name for this companies brand of instant yeast).

Does that help?

Deb, thanks so much! That is the piece of the puzzle that I wasn't clear on. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me.

I made the Jim Lahey recipe and OMG! Definitely will add extra salt next time but, WOW. I made this? I feel like it pretty much made itself!

Isn't it great!?
I'm so glad you tried it. Be warned: You'll probably become bread-making obsessed now ( at least for a while). It's pretty addictive.

Deb

Deb, I use the one in the jar.... when I make bread in the bread machine.

Also, the fresh yeast can be found near the cheeses, and benedictine, and refrig. bagels at Kroger.

I think you're right, Deb! I agree, the recipe definitely needs more salt so I plan to make it again with more salt and we've already been brainstorming other yummy additions we would like to try (rosemary, cinnamon/raisin, etc.). I was reading the comments on the original NY Times recipe and people were saying they got the "instant yeast" at Whole Foods. I might check there just to see what they have. However, several people also commented that they used regular active dry yeast with good results. Truly foolproof recipe apparently!

If you were going to make bread at home and had absolutely no experience, should you buy a breadmaker or just use your oven?

I tried a breadmaker years ago and was very dissatisfied with it. It was my first experience making bread and I thought I must be really dense if I can't even make "good" bread in a bread machine, that does all the heaving lifting for you!

I tried a variety of recipes and kept at it, but never really cared for the bread that it produced. As someone said in this thread, the crusts just never seemed "right."

I did switch to letting the bread machine do the mixing/rising, but then removed the dough to form and bake in the oven.

Was much happier with the results.

Whatever you decide, there's nothing like the smell of fresh-baked bread, so have fun with it!