I used this recipe:

http://www.redstaryeast.com/our-best...-bread?tid=102

Only thing I did not do was put the butter on the top. But in looking at
the picture on the website, my bread looks very similar. It's not bad.
It's just not quite right. Oh and I made only half of the recipe.

I did not use the mixer. I'm not even sure that the hand mixer would work
with this. The name "batter" does not seem to apply. It made a very thick,
sticky dough. Hard to work with. Perhaps I did not beat it for long enough
as it was so very hard to work with. I also had issues with my old honey.
It had crystallized. I melted it but in eating the bread, I bit into a
couple of tiny, crunchy bits which was probably some honey that didn't melt.

The other issues are that the crust seemed overly thick on the bottom. But
when I look at the picture on the website, all of the crust looks overly
thick to me. And the crust has a slightly bitter taste. Not sure why that
would be. Perhaps slightly overbaked? I took it out at 40 minutes.

It's also a very dense bread and the bottom of the loaf seems to have
compacted a little. As in, it is more dense at the bottom and slightly more
fluffy with larger air holes if you will towards the top. Again, could be
from not beating enough.

Also, it didn't get a lot of height. I am used to baking bread that
continues to rise as it bakes. This did not. So I didn't even try to toast
it because for one thing it is fresh and for another, the slices are very
small.

I will make this again but I will also keep looking for other recipes.

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:08:45 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

> I used this recipe:
>
> http://www.redstaryeast.com/our-best...-bread?tid=102
>
> Only thing I did not do was put the butter on the top. But in looking at
> the picture on the website, my bread looks very similar. It's not bad.
> It's just not quite right. Oh and I made only half of the recipe.
>
> I did not use the mixer. I'm not even sure that the hand mixer would work
> with this. The name "batter" does not seem to apply. It made a very thick,
> sticky dough. Hard to work with. Perhaps I did not beat it for long enough
> as it was so very hard to work with. I also had issues with my old honey.
> It had crystallized. I melted it but in eating the bread, I bit into a
> couple of tiny, crunchy bits which was probably some honey that didn't melt.
>
> The other issues are that the crust seemed overly thick on the bottom. But
> when I look at the picture on the website, all of the crust looks overly
> thick to me. And the crust has a slightly bitter taste. Not sure why that
> would be. Perhaps slightly overbaked? I took it out at 40 minutes.
>
> It's also a very dense bread and the bottom of the loaf seems to have
> compacted a little. As in, it is more dense at the bottom and slightly more
> fluffy with larger air holes if you will towards the top. Again, could be
> from not beating enough.
>
> Also, it didn't get a lot of height. I am used to baking bread that
> continues to rise as it bakes. This did not. So I didn't even try to toast
> it because for one thing it is fresh and for another, the slices are very
> small.
>
> I will make this again but I will also keep looking for other recipes.

I have a problem with denseness and wetness when I make no-knead bread
(even though I don't take it out until the thermometer says 200°).

The batter bread that always turns out well for me is beer bread -
which is made with self-rising flour (baking powder, not yeast) and I
always do the butter part because it's added deliciousness.


--
Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them.

"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
...
> I would say that it is a problem with measurement. Did you fluff the
> flour? Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off? Did
> you scoop the flour?
> Janet US

I scooped one, but the other was so full that I couldn't do that. The
containers have a leveler on them.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:08:45 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>> I used this recipe:
>>
>> http://www.redstaryeast.com/our-best...-bread?tid=102
>>
>> Only thing I did not do was put the butter on the top. But in looking at
>> the picture on the website, my bread looks very similar. It's not bad.
>> It's just not quite right. Oh and I made only half of the recipe.
>>
>> I did not use the mixer. I'm not even sure that the hand mixer would
>> work
>> with this. The name "batter" does not seem to apply. It made a very
>> thick,
>> sticky dough. Hard to work with. Perhaps I did not beat it for long
>> enough
>> as it was so very hard to work with. I also had issues with my old
>> honey.
>> It had crystallized. I melted it but in eating the bread, I bit into a
>> couple of tiny, crunchy bits which was probably some honey that didn't
>> melt.
>>
>> The other issues are that the crust seemed overly thick on the bottom.
>> But
>> when I look at the picture on the website, all of the crust looks overly
>> thick to me. And the crust has a slightly bitter taste. Not sure why
>> that
>> would be. Perhaps slightly overbaked? I took it out at 40 minutes.
>>
>> It's also a very dense bread and the bottom of the loaf seems to have
>> compacted a little. As in, it is more dense at the bottom and slightly
>> more
>> fluffy with larger air holes if you will towards the top. Again, could
>> be
>> from not beating enough.
>>
>> Also, it didn't get a lot of height. I am used to baking bread that
>> continues to rise as it bakes. This did not. So I didn't even try to
>> toast
>> it because for one thing it is fresh and for another, the slices are very
>> small.
>>
>> I will make this again but I will also keep looking for other recipes.
>
> I have a problem with denseness and wetness when I make no-knead bread
> (even though I don't take it out until the thermometer says 200°).
>
> The batter bread that always turns out well for me is beer bread -
> which is made with self-rising flour (baking powder, not yeast) and I
> always do the butter part because it's added deliciousness.

Interesting!

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:54:22 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>
>"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
.. .
>> I would say that it is a problem with measurement. Did you fluff the
>> flour? Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off? Did
>> you scoop the flour?
>> Janet US
>
>I scooped one, but the other was so full that I couldn't do that. The
>containers have a leveler on them.

You've indicated that you used the proper flour -- bread flour. Bread
flour absorbs more liquid than AP flour. I'm assuming that you
measured the liquids properly. If the batter is too thick, you most
likely over-measured the flour. The proper way to measure for
accuracy is to fluff the flour and then spoon the flour into the
measuring cup and level the flour off. If you scoop, you can add as
much as 2-2.5 more ounces of flour per cup. A proper cup of flour
should weigh 4 - 4.5 ounces. When you scoop, you can end up with a
cup weighing 6+ ounces. There are many folks who make bread who do
not measure or weigh flour, but they will tell you that they go by
feel from experience. I think since this bread is new to you, you
should make it by measuring flour by the recommended method. After
you have the hang of it you can get a little more casual about the way
you measure.
Janet US

"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:54:22 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> I would say that it is a problem with measurement. Did you fluff the
>>> flour? Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off? Did
>>> you scoop the flour?
>>> Janet US
>>
>>I scooped one, but the other was so full that I couldn't do that. The
>>containers have a leveler on them.
>
> You've indicated that you used the proper flour -- bread flour. Bread
> flour absorbs more liquid than AP flour. I'm assuming that you
> measured the liquids properly. If the batter is too thick, you most
> likely over-measured the flour. The proper way to measure for
> accuracy is to fluff the flour and then spoon the flour into the
> measuring cup and level the flour off. If you scoop, you can add as
> much as 2-2.5 more ounces of flour per cup. A proper cup of flour
> should weigh 4 - 4.5 ounces. When you scoop, you can end up with a
> cup weighing 6+ ounces. There are many folks who make bread who do
> not measure or weigh flour, but they will tell you that they go by
> feel from experience. I think since this bread is new to you, you
> should make it by measuring flour by the recommended method. After
> you have the hang of it you can get a little more casual about the way
> you measure.
> Janet US

Yes, I used to go by the feel when I baked a lot. However, since the name
of this is batter bread, I was expecting a batter. But the recipe itself
says that you will get something that is thick and sticky, which is what I
got. It was also extremely elastic.

On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 22:18:16 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:

> On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:54:22 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
> >
> >"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >> I would say that it is a problem with measurement. Did you fluff the
> >> flour? Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off? Did
> >> you scoop the flour?
> >> Janet US
> >
> >I scooped one, but the other was so full that I couldn't do that. The
> >containers have a leveler on them.
>
> You've indicated that you used the proper flour -- bread flour. Bread
> flour absorbs more liquid than AP flour. I'm assuming that you
> measured the liquids properly. If the batter is too thick, you most
> likely over-measured the flour. The proper way to measure for
> accuracy is to fluff the flour and then spoon the flour into the
> measuring cup and level the flour off. If you scoop, you can add as
> much as 2-2.5 more ounces of flour per cup. A proper cup of flour
> should weigh 4 - 4.5 ounces. When you scoop, you can end up with a
> cup weighing 6+ ounces. There are many folks who make bread who do
> not measure or weigh flour, but they will tell you that they go by
> feel from experience. I think since this bread is new to you, you
> should make it by measuring flour by the recommended method. After
> you have the hang of it you can get a little more casual about the way
> you measure.
> Janet US

Janet - thank you! I didn't know that bread flour needs more liquid
than all purpose. It just DID. I thought it was me doing something
wrong, not the flour being what it is. LOL


--
Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them.

On Sunday, September 28, 2014 11:18:16 PM UTC-5, Janet Bostwick wrote:
> On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:54:22 -0700, "Julie Bove"
>
> > wrote:
>
>
>
> >
>
> >"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
>
> .. .
>
> >> I would say that it is a problem with measurement. Did you fluff the
>
> >> flour? Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off? Did
>
> >> you scoop the flour?
>
> >> Janet US
>
> >
>
> >I scooped one, but the other was so full that I couldn't do that. The
>
> >containers have a leveler on them.
>
>
>
> You've indicated that you used the proper flour -- bread flour. Bread
>
> flour absorbs more liquid than AP flour. I'm assuming that you
>
> measured the liquids properly. If the batter is too thick, you most
>
> likely over-measured the flour. The proper way to measure for
>
> accuracy is to fluff the flour and then spoon the flour into the
>
> measuring cup and level the flour off. If you scoop, you can add as
>
> much as 2-2.5 more ounces of flour per cup. A proper cup of flour
>
> should weigh 4 - 4.5 ounces. When you scoop, you can end up with a
>
> cup weighing 6+ ounces. There are many folks who make bread who do
>
> not measure or weigh flour, but they will tell you that they go by
>
> feel from experience. I think since this bread is new to you, you
>
> should make it by measuring flour by the recommended method. After
>
> you have the hang of it you can get a little more casual about the way
>
> you measure.

You couldn't be more right. I can't wait to see how she poo-poo's this.

> wrote in message
...
> On Sunday, September 28, 2014 11:18:16 PM UTC-5, Janet Bostwick wrote:
>> On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:54:22 -0700, "Julie Bove"
>>
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> >
>>
>> >"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
>>
>> .. .
>>
>> >> I would say that it is a problem with measurement. Did you fluff the
>>
>> >> flour? Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off? Did
>>
>> >> you scoop the flour?
>>
>> >> Janet US
>>
>> >
>>
>> >I scooped one, but the other was so full that I couldn't do that. The
>>
>> >containers have a leveler on them.
>>
>>
>>
>> You've indicated that you used the proper flour -- bread flour. Bread
>>
>> flour absorbs more liquid than AP flour. I'm assuming that you
>>
>> measured the liquids properly. If the batter is too thick, you most
>>
>> likely over-measured the flour. The proper way to measure for
>>
>> accuracy is to fluff the flour and then spoon the flour into the
>>
>> measuring cup and level the flour off. If you scoop, you can add as
>>
>> much as 2-2.5 more ounces of flour per cup. A proper cup of flour
>>
>> should weigh 4 - 4.5 ounces. When you scoop, you can end up with a
>>
>> cup weighing 6+ ounces. There are many folks who make bread who do
>>
>> not measure or weigh flour, but they will tell you that they go by
>>
>> feel from experience. I think since this bread is new to you, you
>>
>> should make it by measuring flour by the recommended method. After
>>
>> you have the hang of it you can get a little more casual about the way
>>
>> you measure.
>
> You couldn't be more right. I can't wait to see how she poo-poo's this.

And that didn't happen, did it. Pop some corn. You'll be waiting a while.