Teach a Cooking-impaired Person to Make Bread?

[tate]

Hi! Now that I've started stocking up food, I realize that I kind of need to know how to make food out of it. I am not a cook, and well, my mom's cooking extends to Christmas cookies and PB &J. Right now, I can make microwave meals and jello. My attempt at boiling potatoes set of all the smoke detectors in the house. Basically, I don't know what I'm doing at all, but figure that my stash of food is no good if I can't do anything with flour.

 

So, I decided to learn how to make bread. It's seems like a good starting point (if this isn't a good starting point, let me know, and point me in the right direction.) So my plan is just to google a bread recipe and try not to set the kitchen on fire. Anyone have any advice before I try this? Are there special things you need to do? Please help the beyond ignorant newbie cook.

[Skagitgal]

Ahh yes......FIRST: get a good basic cookbook on basic food preparation. If you have had problems with potatoes, you will HATE bread by the time you are halfway through.

[Grubby]

Here is a thread to get you started. Question...

 

I am horrible at making bread.

[Buttercup]

This is the recipe that I gave Grubby that she is talking about in the thread she gave you.....

 

Never Fail Bread

2 Cups Hot tap water

3 T yeast

2/3 c. sugar

2 t salt

1/4 c. oil

5-6 c. bread flour

 

 

put hot water in a bowl, dissolve sugar and salt, sprinkle yeast on top,

let sit til bubbly. about 20 mins. Add oil, then flour, 1 C at a time. Knead 3-4 mins and let rest 15 mins.

Knead 1 more time and put into a greased bowl turning to grease other side.

cover w/ clean tea towel. let rise til doubled. punch down and divide in 2 equal parts. form into loaves and place in greased loaf pans,

oil tops cover and let rise 1 hr.(covered) bake in a preheated 325' oven for 30 mins.

 

Now the flour that I use with this recipe is a white flour that I bought from an Amish store.. I have never had a problem with this recipe.. I usally double it and make rolls as well.. I will add an attachment and show you what my rolls look like using this recipe.. If you try it let me know how it turns out! Good Luck!

Dawn

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[Necie]

Bread is VERY work intensive. Start with bisquits! (And I'm trying to HELP this poor gal-will have her so confused.)

[westbrook]

If you have a hard time remembering to check on what you are cooking, get a cooking timer.. about $7.00. turn it on for 10 minutes.. it will go off, check on what you are cooking, re-set it as needed.

 

bread just requires you to spend time kneading.. think of it as a work-out and you didn't have to go to a fitness gym to get it!

[Darlene]

My personal opinion is that bread is a little advanced, but I never let things like that stop me. If you wanna start with bread, then go for it!

 

We also could do cooking classes like we have done with learning how to home can a few different things. We could take pictures and do a step by step...is there anything in particular you'd like to learn how to cook?

[HSmom]

A quick bread, like banana bread, is much easier than a yeast bread. Basically you just mix the stuff together and bake it.

 

Do you have a good library? I would suggest a basic cookbook with lots of pictures. You can learn the difference between simmer and fry - without setting off the smoke detectors!

[tate]

The bread was successful enough to eat! And it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Now I must plot what to try and cook next!

[Cat]

[tate]

Yup, we actually have two crock pots(ah, the wonder of wedding gifts). The DH has made beef stew in the crock pot before, and I thought it turned out okay, we've also done those crock pot meal from the freezer section of the grocery store before successfully. I really wanted to conquer making bread, since that food storage plan has so much flour in it, and what else can you do with flour? I'm not sure what I'll do with the beans either, though I've got rice covered (the rice cooker does everything, it may be my favorite appliance in the kitchen). We had cucumber and pepper maki for dinner, yummy.

[HSmom]

Congratulations Tate! And good for you!