# Italian Bread



## y2kpitt (Mar 4, 2006)

I was searching for a recipe for Olive Bread and while I didn't find one I did stumble across this recipe for Italian bread, it was a perfect complement to my Provencal Pork Stew with Olives and Fennel.  It was as easy as any other bread in the bread maker; I cooked it on the standard setting for a one pound loaf with light crust.  After my minor Cuban crisis I think Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m starting to a hang of this bread maker

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp yeast 
3 cups bread flour 
1 1/2 tsp salt 
1 c warm water 
2 Tbsp olive oil 
2 Tbsp of herbes de Provence (this I added to match the stew)

Link to stew recipe http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=5304


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## monty (Mar 4, 2006)

Michael, here's a recipe you might like. It is for a roasted pepper and olive bread and specifically for the bread machine. Follow this link:

http://www.breadworld.com/index.cfm

It will take you to the main page of Breadworld sponsored by Fleischman's Yeast. From the main page do a search for recipe #6. I did not want to reproduce the recipe here because of copywrite issues. While you are there you may want to register and spend some time browsing. All things bread and big on both conventional and bread machine baking!
Cheers!
Monty


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## y2kpitt (Mar 7, 2006)

Monty,

Thanks for the great link, I already made their â€œSimulated Sour Doughâ€ recipe, which is number #32.  While it doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t quite compare to real sour dough going from no bread to fresh almost sour dough in just three hours with minimal effort was awesome and it worked perfect for our chicken paninis.  I am sure I will be utilizing a lot more of their recipes.  My wife warned me that if I was going to turn into a breadhead she was going to get me a tie-die apron
:mrgreen:


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## jlloyd99 (Mar 8, 2006)

Welcome to the club Y2K.  Bread baking used to be just an occasional hobby.  Then I had to go win this local bread baking contest and wouldn't you know it everyone wanted my bread.  Being the obliging gal that I am I of course said "SURE".  Little did I know that one little yes would turn into a full fledged bakery business within a few months.  That was back in September and now I make about 20 to 30 loaves a week!  I go the traditional route and don't have a bread machine but there are days when I'm up to my elbows in flour and the massive quantities of yeast packets are falling around my head every time I open the cupboard door that I wish I had a little mechanical help.  

I'm glad you've found the joy of fresh baked bread.  It's truly a rewarding hobby.  And I've found that it goes hand in hand with the smoking hobby.  After all whats good Que without good bread to searve it on.  And don't forget to wear that tie-dyed apron proudly, perferably with a floppy chef hat to match :) !


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## scott in kc (Mar 8, 2006)

I took up breadmaking during a particularly long and boring winter about 16 yrs ago. I've made tons of different types, all a lot of fun. The one I still make a couple times a month is a simple Italian/French type baguette. I lean heavily on my Kitchen-Aid anymore, but still give each batch at least a few turns by hand. 
There's just nothing like the smell of fresh bread dough with a good dose of olive oil in it, well until it hits the oven anyway.

The other yeast based thing I still bake a lot of is pizza crust. After TONS of trial and error, I finally have a thin crust recipe that I'm really happy with. Still working on a deep dish recipe that suits me.  

Bread making is very much like Q in that it takes some time, is very addictive,  takes a lot of practice to get repeatable results and will occasionally remind that you're not an expert yet!!


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## Dutch (Mar 8, 2006)

Scott- I'm with you on the KitchenAid thing (I own two) and turning the dough by had a couple of times is a MUST in my book too.  My kids thought I was terrible when they wanted to learn the art of bread making. . . I taught them to do it by hand first!!  :twisted:  Once they could turn out some decent bread then I taught them how to do it with the KitchenAid.  Last January my oldest daughter actually thanked me for teaching her how to make bread by hand. She had just started up her KitchenAid when the power grid for her subdivision went out. So she dumped the bowl out onto a floured counter top and finished it by hand. She said her hubby had a look of surprise on his face when he walked into a dark house and smelled the fresh bread that she baked using the gas oven!!


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## delaware smoker (Mar 9, 2006)

Hi,which model do people recommend for a bread maker?Been reading this thread, it sounds like making homemade bread would be fun.I've searced the web,and there are many different bread makers.I read the reviews on each one,and walk away confused.Some people love theirs,others hate them.So can someone give me a good review on the one that they use? 
Thanks,Bill


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## scott in kc (Mar 9, 2006)

Bill, having made bread for a long time, I just don't care for the machines, there's too many times I need to see and more importantly touch the dough that a machine just doesn't allow for. Someone gave my Dad one and he didn't like it, he gave it to me and I didn't like it, I gave it to my cousin and he didn't like it, I don't know where it eventually ended up.
A Kitchen Aid mixer that will take the manual drudgery out of beating a sponge and kneading that's all the machine you need, the rest of breadmaking is easy. A KA will do so much more, and will last a lifetime. Heck, it'll even pull a pork butt!! 

I guess for those that are intimidated by breadmaking, the auto features of a machine are OK, but there's just no substitue for getting your hands on the dough.


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## jlloyd99 (Mar 9, 2006)

I'm intrigued, how does your KA pull a pork butt?  I only ever use mine to mix up my baked goodies.  I knew they were versitile but I guess I had no idea just how versitle they could be.


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## delaware smoker (Mar 9, 2006)

Scott,with a Kitchen aid,how do you go about making bread?Do I need to buy attchments,or does it come with everything I'll need?Thanks for the help.Bill


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## Dutch (Mar 9, 2006)

Lady J, just pull the bone from the butt, toss the meat into the bowl with the KA set up with the mixing paddle and turn it on low and increase the speed to level 4 and the machine will do the "pulling" for you!!

Delaware: The KitchenAid mixer is a pretty heavy duty mixer, in addition to the mixing paddle it also comes with a wire whip (beater) and a dough hook. The instruction manual that comes with the unit will have instructions on how to do breads. I love both of mine!!


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## bob-bqn (Mar 9, 2006)

Repost from: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=3237

I heard a handy tip a while back for shreadding pulled pork. If you have a kitchen Aide mixer, put about half a shoulder (maybe 2 or 3 pounds of meat) in the large mixer bowl and put the dough hook on the mixer. Turn the mixer on low and it pulls the pork for you, honest, I've done it.  











It's easy & fast, only takes about 20-30 seconds a batch. Just be sure to seperate out the bone and any unwanted fat first. You may have to manually chop the bark.




I just bought my wife a Zojirushi BBCC-X20 bread machine. Hope it's a good one.


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## y2kpitt (Mar 9, 2006)

Delware,

I have to agree with everyone else that a hand made bread is a better loaf than a machine made loaf.  But a machine made loaf is still better than a store bought one, and your house will smell great.  The breadmaker I have is the Toastmaster Bread Box.  It has worked great for me and right now I'm up to about two loafs of bread a week.  So at this rate I would imagine this machine will last longer than me ;)  But I should stress that we got this as a wedding gift, I havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t ever tried any other one and canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really compare to other experiences.

All that being said, if your lazy, _which I have been called a time or too_, or just want to focus on something else while your bread goes on autopilot then a bread maker maybe for you.  But if it was me I would look around a few garage sells before buying one new.  I think a lot of people get/give these as gifts and then they never really get usedâ€¦.did you ever see the movie â€œOld Schoolâ€  :D


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## monty (Mar 12, 2006)

To each his own. During the winter months when I am on call 24/7 and most likely to work very long hours I enjoy dropping a bunch of ingredients into my Breadman, choosing the settings and dropping into bed only to awaken to the aroma of fresh baked bread. Sorta kinda takes the sting out of winter!
Yes, hand mixed and kneaded bread is best....when you are not busy with all the other things that it takes to survive in today's world. I still cherish my second cousin's pizza dough recipe which can only be made by hand and then there is my collection of various other family recipes for everything from french bread to zucchini bread. 
The bottom line is: Fresh is best. How you get there depends on you!
Cheers!
Monty
BTW I also make pizza dough in my machine. Don't even think of asking for Vinnie's recipe!


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## Dutch (Mar 12, 2006)

Ah, come on Monty!! Not even a hint of the ingredients? (insert "hound dog" look here) :)


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## monty (Mar 12, 2006)

Sorry, Dutch! Vinnie is enjoying his eternal reward now and the pizzarias are still in operation. I would not dare! Besides, a promise is a promise. I will give a hint, though! Refer to my recent post in the Sausage  area!
Cheers!
Monty


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