Monday, February 6, 2012

Tuesdays with Dorie: White Loaves

I think this was my first crack at making a basic white sandwich-type bread.  Most of my other bread making had been reserved for crusty loaves of pot bread.  So I was eager to make this recipe.

I decided to use King Arthur Flour AP flour since it was more readily available on short notice.  I enjoyed reading and learning about the difference types of flours, and I'll most likely use KAF exclusively from now on.  Everything was going well - except that my KitchenAid mixer decided to struggle so I had to knead the dough by hand for awhile (probably not as long as I should have).  Then came time for the butter.  I threw it back in the mixer just in the hopes that it would have perked up a little.  The butter made it easier to mix, but it just didn't look right!  I thought for sure I messed up somewhere.

Here's the dough after the first rise

I made one plain loaf and one cinnamon swirl loaf.  They didn't rise/cook up evenly, but I didn't care one bit.  The house smelled wonderful and we waited patiently to cut into one.  The loaves were very tender while still warm, but once they cooled completely they hardened up a little.  Maybe I left them out to sit too long?  No worries though - I'm about to toast up a slice right now with a thin smear of Biscoff spread and a cup of tea!



My Critic Says:  Good basic bread, but not as fluffy as expected.

Looking forward to a great baking journey with all the TWD'ers!!  For the recipe, please click here!

19 comments:

  1. omg YUM!!! looks awesome, nice job!

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    1. Thanks Abi! Not sure how they'll taste by Wednesday :)

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  2. Cinnamon loaf sounds awesome. I have to get my hands on some biscoff spread, I've been hearing too many good things about it.

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    1. Oh yes! It's totally worth it. Not sure where you're located, but I found mine in my local grocery (Shoprite) in Southern NJ.

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    2. Looks yummy! Is there any left? Perhaps your Critic can bring a slice down here!

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  3. You can't even tell it's your first go at it. Great job!

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  4. I'm not familiar with Biscoff but I'm intrigued! Nothing like home baked bread, is there?

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    1. If you've ever flown on Delta Airlines, that's a Biscoff - a Belgium spiced shortbread cookie. The company that makes them (Lotus) also makes a spread. YUM!

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  5. Those are excellent. I forget about my Biscoff spread!

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  6. Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging! and Dorie Greenspan. Looking forward to getting to know your posts. Nothing beats freshly baked bread, and how great the house smells while it is baking!

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    1. Hi Christy! Thanks for the Welcome. Did you participate in the last book? I'll probably buy it after hearing so many wonderful things from the group. My grilled cheese was killer tonight-I even served it to guests!

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  7. Nice bread.
    We love the Biscoff spread (and cookies) in our house :-)

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  8. I hadn't made bread in decades, and mine came out too! Yum, I have to try the cinnamon swirl idea.

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  9. Mine wasn't as fluffy as I had hoped, either-but your loaves still looked great!

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  10. They look like they turned out well. I love the idea of the cinnamon-swirl bread.

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