Comments on: A Loaf of Bread Musings

By: Nathan Pralle

Nathan Pralle — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:43:48 +0000

Marie: Yeah, I've got a bread machine, and I like using it, but the stuff it produces is...not bread. It's close, but it isn't REALLY bread. It's a bread product, which is close to, but not quite like, the Real Thing. That's why I gave it a shot on my own. Shelley: Some day the gods will bless our kitchen with a KitchenAid. This is not that day, sadly. Julie: Agreed with Dave about this one. Plus, I've made a lot of breads that are heavy in whole grains, flax, wheat bran, and so forth. That "healthys" it up pretty quick. Dave: Agreed on your points about bread, and agreed on HFCS. I hate it, and it's so hard to avoid, especially on a budget. Some day we'll figure out that it's really terrible and ban it, but.... Courtney: Yeah, it's one of those appliances that you love desperately for about 3 months and then eventually you only pull it out when you can be bothered. Kinda like a fondue pot.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:24:59 +0000

Bread is yummy. My parents used to have a bread machine and there is nothing that smelled so good as bread baking in that thing. That makes me want a bread machine, not that I have space for one. Courtneys last blog post..My Husband, The Animal Rights Activist

By: Dave Lieberman

Dave Lieberman — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:08:23 +0000

Oh, and do you know what they call the guy who graduates last in his class from medical school?

“Doctor”.

By: Dave Lieberman

Dave Lieberman — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:06:38 +0000

@Julie

Doctors will say anything. Funny how obesity was not a huge problem for millennia while most humans ate a starch- and grain-heavy diet (bread in colder climes, rice in hotter climes, or cassava root in very hot climes), yet in the last 50 years it’s taken off. I don’t think we can blame bread.

You’re probably right that it’s processed foods, but bread is not “processed” and most varieties contain no cholesterol — the ingredients needed to make breads from whole wheat to baguette are flour, water, yeast and usually salt. Only sweetened breads (like raisin-cinnamon) or brioches/egg breads (like challah) have anything else like butter, milk or eggs.

High fructose corn syrup is NOT food. The UK and Canada won’t allow its use; Mexico regulates it strictly and won’t allow it in foods destined for under-18s. I hate it and it is one of the reasons I cook from scratch — there is no use for corn syrup in my house, because the only thing I would make that needs it is caramel and with sufficient skill (to prevent sugar syrup from crystallising) I don’t need it.

I’m overweight because I don’t take enough exercise, simple as that. When I exercise, I lose weight.

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:44:18 +0000

I love bread too but there are now doctors who are saying that this is not a true staple of eating (like fruit or meat is), but because it is processed, it is artificial and part of the reason we are overweight and have high cholesterol. Has anyone else been frustrated by this lately? All my favorite food have high fructose corn syrup or flour.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:31:21 +0000

I love bread. It is the best! if you get really into it, I highly recommend getting a stand mixer. Much like driving a stick shift, I’m too lazy to knead bread on my own too – I’d much rather have a machine do it for me.

Shelleys last blog post..Tie Dye Shirts

By: Marie

Marie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:15:41 +0000

Nothing quite beats home-baked bread, cut thick, toasted, with real butter.
I have a bread making machine, which makes my kitchen smell nice, and saves me all the grunt work. It’s satisfying enough to watch the machine beat the dough down through the little window at the top.

By: Katy

Katy — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:51:44 +0000

I love bread!!!

That’s all I have to say about this!

By: Nathan Pralle

Nathan Pralle — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:45:03 +0000

Patrick: No, not yet. He’s not quite at that age yet…right now, he’d be satisfied to dump it all over the floor, and then eat it, I think.

Dave: Interesting…not heard of that book, although I’ve seen her Cake Bible before, although I don’t have a copy. Will put it on my list to pick it up. Got a scale for shipping that is portable and pretty accurate…might have to give it a shot in the kitchen.

Niche: Amen…sourdough rocks, although I’ve not tried it yet myself.

Becky: Damn, I should have guessed you’d say that. ARGH. Uhm…how about, ‘pervasive’…does that work better for you? And yet, you comment, and don’t comment on the role of bread (or lack thereof) in Japan….c’mon! Content, content, content! Show me the content!

By: Becky Allyn

Becky Allyn — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:38:41 +0000

I think if you call anything “universal” I’m automatically going to comment. Especially as I’ve just visited Japan…

Becky Allyns last blog post..New Entry?

By: nicheplayer

nicheplayer — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:34:57 +0000

I'm a sourdough fan, m'self. Love the stuff. And with all these no-brainer, super simple recipes floating around these days, what's the excuse for not making some? nicheplayers last blog post..This is how we roll

By: Dave Lieberman

Dave Lieberman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:27:16 +0000

What you need is a good scale and a copy of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “Bread Bible” — and the errata from her website. I’m telling you, it’s the most maddening thing to wait for a starter to rise overnight in the fridge, and things like “4.2 grams of this specific brand of yeast” seem overly picky but it is ABSOLUTELY worth it in terms of flavour.

I convinced myself not to go to Breadbar for lunch. I love their bread; I do not love the idea of a $15 sandwich, even six steps from Beverly Hills.

By: Patrick Fergus

Patrick Fergus — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:28:30 +0000

But the real question is whether Keston has discovered the joy of being a “dumper”–participating by dumping the ingredients into the bowl. Wish I knew what the great allure is for adding flour, sugar, etc. into a mixing bowl.