Uhm, dumb-arse question time.
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Uhm, dumb-arse question time.
Bread people, how do you clean up after making dough?
I'm finding it an absolute pain, and whilst it's not stopping me from making bread, it is detracting somewhat from the enjoyment knowing I've got a bastard job later cleaning horrible hard/sticky messes from my mixing bowl/wooden board/rolling pin/spatula etc etc.
Is there One Weird Trick That Big Bread Doesn't Want Me To Know?
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Brett Sheffield (he/him)replied to NeonSnake last edited by
@neonsnake I clean the bowl, board etc. immediately in hot water. Generally only takes a few seconds to a minute with a brush. TBH there's very little on the bowl or board - it all stays in the loaf. Compared to other kitchen cleaning tasks I'd say the dough cleanup is one of the quickest jobs, but I mix everything by hand.
Are you using an electric mixer?
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NeonSnakereplied to Brett Sheffield (he/him) last edited by
@dentangle I am, yeah
I've also not yet got to grips with ratios, so am potentially making work for myself - when I get it right, most of it comes off the side as I'm mixing, but for some reason I'm struggling the last week and ending up with very wet doughs
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Brett Sheffield (he/him)replied to NeonSnake last edited by
@neonsnake The advantage of working by hand is you get used to the feel of the dough, and can adjust the flour/water depending on the humidity etc. I always start with a recipe, but once I've made it a few times it's obvious when it needs a little more flour etc. and cleanup is much easier.
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Brett Sheffield (he/him)replied to Brett Sheffield (he/him) last edited by
@neonsnake I've found the Chain Baker's website and YT videos very useful:
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NeonSnakereplied to Brett Sheffield (he/him) last edited by
@dentangle it's to spare my hands/spoons, tbh.
I enjoy kneading by hand, but I can feel it afterwards for hours
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Brett Sheffield (he/him)replied to NeonSnake last edited by
@neonsnake Here's the sum total of my bread-making equipment used today.
Unseen is the cooking paper in the remoska which will go in the bin after several uses.
I barely knead the dough at all.
I mix the dough with the spurtle, just until the ingredients are combined, then leave it to rest for 30 min. Then slap-fold it a few times, shape it, and leave it for a couple of hours. Reshape and put in the remoska (cold). Rest 30-60 min, with lid on, then turn it on for 30 min, flip it, 5 min, done.
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NeonSnakereplied to Brett Sheffield (he/him) last edited by
@dentangle Ah, magic - thanks for that.
I did manage naan bread the other day, so I'm sort of getting there with "flat breads" at least
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Brett Sheffield (he/him)replied to NeonSnake last edited by
@neonsnake It look me a long time to realise I could actually bake things in the remoska, so pizza and naan were all I used to do after our oven broke. It wasn't a very good oven - too big and too cold.
The remoska has just a heating element in the lid and uses very little power. It has no controls other than on/off. On, it will reach 200°C. The only variable you control is time. Does small roasts quite well.
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NeonSnakereplied to Brett Sheffield (he/him) last edited by
@dentangle I'm fairness, I'm very much a "turn it to 180c fan and that should do it", so I can see that the 200c non fan would work just as well
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Brett Sheffield (he/him)replied to NeonSnake last edited by
@neonsnake Aye, and I'm starting from cold, so the slightly higher temp is fine. All the heat is at the top, so need to be flipped and finished off for another 5 min to bake the base.
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Brett Sheffield (he/him)replied to Brett Sheffield (he/him) last edited by
@neonsnake FYI - I probably spent slightly longer getting the equipment arranged for the photo than I acually spent on the bread making. I'd say 10 min tops, including cleaning as I went.
Like you, I'm low on spoons, so I can't blow it all on baking a loaf I tend to do it as a screen break during the day. The ability to do a couple of minutes work and let it rest while I do other things (or rest myself!) is the only way it happens.