Hmm, so it sounds as if it’s not the oven temp. I’ll be looking forward to your results with the butter and the parchment. Will you do the rising as I suggested, or will you use your previous method?
Oh, I forgot to mention it, but yes, I was planning to do that as well. I’ll be making notes and reporting back.
Got a bread maker - I borrowed it from my grandmother. There was an initial setback when the power cord fell out of the double adaptor, and thus I had to ditch my first batch (not mixed properly, too far risen to save). But the second batch? Awesome. It was soft and crunchy on the outside, and really tasty. I followed my normal procedure for measuring/weighing/ingredients, but this time let the machine do the rising and baking. So I guess my earlier problems were related to insufficient rising times and so forth.
Yay! That is good news! Nothing on earth like homemade, fresh baked bread.
Ok, so I made bread today.
Followed my recipe for 3 Seed Whole Wheat as usual.
I used the same pans as always. Earlier this week I cleaned them well with hot water and the rubbed some oil into them and wiped them dry. Today before putting the bread in I rubbed them with butter and lined the bottom of one with parchment.
I tried Baker’s method of putting the bowl in a non-heated oven with a pan of hot water. This did not work for me. The bread rose only minimally and everything was slimy and wet from the steam. Not sure if I did something wrong or not. I took the water out. Dried things off and reverted to my method of heating the oven, turning it off and raising the bread. Raising went as usual.
Just took the bread out of the oven. It stuck badly as the last couple of times. Despite the recipe’s insistance that I turn it out immediately, I resisted the urge to dig around the edges with a knife and left it in the pan for 5 minutes. It popped out right smart.
I know in the past I would literally take it out of the oven and dump it out of the pan onto the rack without waiting. So I’m not sure why I can’t do that now, but if I only have to wait a bit, I guess I can be patient.
Thanks everyone for all your help. Baker, if I did something wrong with the water raising method, let me know, Ok? Thanks!
I’m sure you did the rising correctly. Dang, I wish I could come over and do some bread in your house myself. There’s got to be something I’m forgetting to check.
I wish you could, too! Since I bake all the loaf bread my family eats, I’ll have plenty of opportunity to experament. Do you happen to have any good recipes for hamburger or hot dog buns? I’m looking to branch out.