Bread Making Guides (feel free to download & share):
Making the 6-part dough ring
"The 5th one goes all the way over, the last one goes in the middle..."
The finished baked ring braid:
The Pretzel Master and his Masterpiece:
Nothing beats a fresh Vienna loaf straight out of the oven!
Delectable pretzel bite
Crackers! (we had at least 100 but they disappeared pretty quickly :))
Resources.
Good video on kneading bread: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0&feature=fvw
Illustrated procedure for making pita bread (includes helpful comments at the bottom): http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread
The pretzel recipe we used, with pictures: http://www.imafoodblog.com/index.php/2009/01/26/bread-baking-day-authentic-bavarian-soft
Not the recipe we used, but a good illustrated procedure for making crackers: http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2010/03/29/worth-their-salt-gourmet-soda-crackers/
For a nice illustrated explanation of proofing yeast: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Proofing-Yeast/Detail.aspx
The Recipes:
Hearty Honey Oat Whole Wheat Bread. Mix together 3 c whole wheat flour, 1 c rolled or old fashioned oats, 1.5 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. instant yeast, and as much wheat germ, flax seed, oat bran, wheat bran, etc. as you want (if you use more than 1/2 c or so, start subtracting flour). In a separate bowl, mix together 1.5 c warm water, 1/3 c honey, and 2-3 tbsp. olive oil. Mix wet and dry ingredients thoroughly, and knead for 25-30 minutes. When developed, form the dough into a ball and cover it with a generous layer of olive oil. Place in a warm place to let rise. When it's 1.5-2 times its original size, punch it down, and shape/braid/slash it. Let rise again while the oven preheats. Bake at 375 for 15-? minutes (if you know how to know if the bread is finished cooking, please leave us a note in the comments!). If desired, rub the baked bread with olive oil and put back in the oven for a couple more minutes to make a nice golden finish.
Pretzels. Mix 1 lb. (4-4.5 c) flour, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. sugar, 1.5 c warm milk, 1/6 c (1/3 stick) melted butter, 1.25 tsp. yeast. Dough may be very dry, but give it while of mixing and kneading before adding water. Cover with a light layer of spray oil and let rise (may take 2-3 hours). When doubled in size, divide dough in to pieces (their size depends on the size of the pretzels you want). Roll each piece of part way and then go back and roll more; letting the dough rest like this in between getting stretched is a big help. Form the pretzels (we also made pretzel drop balls), and let them rest some more while you boil a large pot of water (shallow and wide is best) with 1/3 box baking soda. Stretch each pretzel before boiling by putting your fingers in the big top loops and swinging, so gravity can stretch the pretzel (this helps the pretzel keep its shape when it puffs up in the water). Boil each for at least 15 seconds, then lay on a salted cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt (and cheese if you want) and bake at 372 for 20-25-? minutes.
Pita bread. Mix together 3 c flour (we used whole wheat), 1.5 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. yeast 1/3 c honey, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and 1.25-1.5 c room temperature water. Knead for about 10 minutes, then form dough into a ball, cover and oil, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Gently deflate and form into balls. Let the balls rest for 20 minutes, then roll them out. Preheat the oven to 400, placing inside a baking stone or cookie sheet. Cook the pita bread a few at a time, as many as will fit on the pre-heated cookie sheet. Bake for 3-6 minutes, or until they're satisfactorily brown and poofy.
Basil Whole Wheat Crackers. Mix 1.75 c whole wheat flour, 1.5 c all-purpose flour, 0.75 tsp. salt, 1/3 c olive oil, 1/3 c honey, and 1 c water together until just mixed. Roll out (as thin as you possibly can) on a floured surface and cut into the desired shape. Sprinkle with sea salt/kosher salt, and if desired, garlic powder and dried basil (use more garlic and basil than you think you need because a lot will fall off). Prick the crackers with the tines of a fork if you want little holes in them. Bake at 15-20 minutes at 350, or until dry, crunchy, and brown. Remember that they will get harder when cool, so don't wait for them to get really hard if they're burning. Ours never got completely crunchy but they were delicious nonetheless.
Here's how we feel about our bread:
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