"Allan Adler" > wrote in message
...
> "Vox Humana" > writes:
>
> > Unless I misunderstood something, he need to learn how to make bread
first.
> > You don't make bread from flour, water, and baking soda. So, he does
need
> > to change the recipe and perhaps the mixing method in addition to
learning
> > how to use (or avoid using) a microwave for baking.
>
> Actually, I do know how to make bread, even if I don't know the formal
> definition. I've made bread for decades in conventional ovens. However,
> since I was experimenting this time, I didn't think it was worth going to
> the trouble of doing it right only to have the microwave possibly stomp
> on it. So, I did something I considered minimally in the direction
> of bread. It isn't that far off, since it isn't very different from
> the batter I mix for making pancakes in a frying pan: I consider Indian
> chappatis and the big Ethiopian pancakes to be varieties of bread. Also,
> I since some of what I am getting this way is edible and not displeasing,
> even if it is not actually bread and has some drawbacks such as high
> density, it wasn't unreasonable to hope that some genre of baking could
> emerge from these efforts. I still think that is possible and others
> might want to experiment with it too. Given the crudeness of my improvised
> recipes, I'm inclined to consider the results somewhat successful.
>
> The stuff I was making was generally not the size of full loaves but
> more the size of rolls. They were so dense that I usually only wanted
> to eat one slice at a time. Even when nothing else was added to it,
> it was good enough to dunk in soup. It was also ok for spreading
> cream cheese and marmalade on. Once I tried adding raisins and cinnamon
> to the recipe and the results were not bad.
>
> I never heard of convection microwaves and am glad to have learned about
> them here. How much do they cost, typically?
>
> It's true that the surface of the "bread" is fairly pale and doesn't
looked
> baked. Maybe that can be corrected by brushing the surface with egg white
> or sugar water. I also tried making the "bread" flatter in the microwave.
> Next time, I'll try frying the flat "dough" in a frying pan instead and
> see how that works out. The results might be better and there will be
> no problem with browning it. I'm less optimistic about trying this with
> rolls in a frying pan.
>
> I'm less concerned with the appearance than with the density. In other
posts,
> I asked about making my own yeast and was kindly informed about making
> sourdough. So, maybe when I can let the dough rise the results will be
> less dense.
>
> The reason I'm trying these experiments is that my kitchen is a little
> afterthought with no oven. So, I'm trying to manage with the appliances
> I have. If that fails, I'll consider getting a toaster oven or something
> like that.
>
> I called the manufacturer, GE, and was informed that they have a 126 page
> cookbook for their microwaves for about 7 dollars plus S&H.
One of the basic rules of experimentation is to change only one variable at
a time. In this case you not only altered the recipe, making something that
would be a failure in a conventional oven, but you changed the type of oven
you used. I would go back to your standard bread recipe and bake half of it
in your standard oven and half of it in the microwave and compare the
difference. I looked at an old microwave cookbook that came with a
microwave that I once owned. They had a standard one pound (3.5 cups of
flour) bread recipe. The instructions said to bake for 13 to 16 minutes at
50% power. Bread is done when the internal temperature reaches between 200F
and 210F. You might want to get an instant read thermometer if you don't
already have one so you can check the internal temperature. You might look
at some of the links in this search for information and recipes
http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...rowave+recipes
All things considered, by using the microwave, you are only going to reduce
the baking time by about 15 minutes and the final product will suffer. Of
course you will save the time it takes to pre-heat you oven. Since the
entire bread making process takes several hours, I don't the see the point
in skimping on the last 16 minutes and have your final product come out
compromised. However, if you do feel that it is advantageous to save a few
minutes, I would consider one of the convection microwaves. The convection
bake setting on my oven uses 10% microwave power and defaults to 325F
(although you can change the temperature.) No preheating is required and the
baking time is cut approximately in half. Not only will you get a better
product with less baking time, you can set the oven to proof the bread.
While most people agree that a long, cool fermentation results in better
bread, for people in a hurry, the proof setting on the oven will save time.
As for the convection microwave ovens, you can get an idea of the features
and prices he
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...microwave+oven
I have a Sharp unit and I really love it.