Baking Bread in Crock Pot

[AmCruiser]

Has anyone else out there tried baking bread in a Crock Pot. When I was loading up the B last Friday for a weekend getaway upstate here in Maine, I noticed my wife had one of those frozen bread dough loafs in the freezer - the type that you throw in a bread pan and let rise in a warm oven, then bake off after its risen. I had just lugged the crock pot (just a cheap oval shaped West Bendout) to the camper and it crossed my mind the loaf looked like it would fit perfectly in it but unfortunately, I didn't bring it along. I mentioned it to my wife while we were on the road (she cooks at an eldercare home) and she said it should work.
When we got back home from our weekend away, we tried it. We let the dough rise on the "keep warm" setting, and then baked it of on the high setting. It worked perfectly. It didn't brown on the top the way it does in the oven but otherwise it looked and tasted just as it does from the oven. I should have snapped a picture, but the bread didn't last long.
Next time we go, if we get the urge for some fresh from the oven bread, we'll just swing by the nearest supermarket and grab a frozen dough (or better yet, I'll get senior management to whip up her own bread recipe) and have fresh bread on the road.

Randy

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by AmCruiser

............... I should have snapped a picture, but the bread didn't last long..................

I just might have to try this idea. Fresh baked bread on the road sounds really good to me.

[g1g]

Quite unique I never evem thought about it.
You mentioned the top wasn't like when baked in the oven, I take it the sides were just like in a bread pan in the oven.
How long did you let it raise and what temprsturea did you leave it on and for how long?
I may want to give this a try.

[AmCruiser]

Yes, the sides looked like the do from the oven but the top didn't brown like in an oven, I assume because there isn't the uniform heat distribution on top like there is in an oven. Our Crock pot has 4 settings - High, Med, Low, and Keep Warm. We let it rise on Keep Warm until it was just below the cover and the switched to high. I don't recall the actual times but it was in line with the directions that came with the dough.

[Davydd]

I've baked bread in a cast iron crockpot in a conventional oven and also with charcoal when traveling. Both methods come out great and you do brown the top properly. We are now carrying an electric crockpot in our B. We might try baking bread with it.

[AmCruiser]

I stumbled across a boxed bread mix in the pantry this morning and decided to bake it in the crock pot. The last crock pot bread I baked came out great so I thought this time I would document it with pictures (I should have known better). Per the instructions on the box, I combined 1 cup water, the enclosed packet of dry yeast, and the mix into a wet dough, kneaded it until smooth and elastic.



I set the crock pot on "keep warm" and left it to rise.


After a half hour, I checked it - no change. No problem, it said to let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size.

An hour passed - still nothing.

An hour and a half - I think its actually shrunk. The dough just sitting there, a lump in the bottom of the crock pot. I gave up waiting for it to rise, and turned the setting to high.


Thirtyfive minutes later, it was done, a flat 1 inch thick, dense loaf of bread. Disaster.



Bravely, I cut a piece, smeared it with a sizable dollup of butter (which immediately started to melt) and stuck it in my mouth. . . . . . . It was absolutely delicious.


If it come out as well in the B, I'll be a happy man!!!

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by AmCruiser

.....................
After a half hour, I checked it - no change. No problem, it said to let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size.

An hour passed - still nothing.

An hour and a half - I think its actually shrunk............................

Great story telling! That really made me laugh

Thanks for the info. Coincidentally, a few days ago, I saw a small Crock-Pot brand 2.5qt crock-pot on sale for $16 so I bought it for the van. It fits in the small kitchen sink in my van. Power use is 180 watts on high so around 15 amps at 12 volts which is easily handled by the vans alternator when running the crock-pot through the inverter while driving.



I'll be experimenting too.

[Davydd]

The yeast may have expired. Also, I usually use filtered water for better results as some chlorinated waters can kill the yeast. Beer instead of water never fails me.

[AmCruiser]

It could be - I didn't check the date on the yeast pack. There may have been some operator error, also. I noticed afterwards that the box said to use warm water and I used cold right out of the tap.

I'll have to try the beer trick, and maybe I'll put some in the bread, too!
Randy

[markopolo]

We first used the regular Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast packets in our bread machine with less than stellar results so we switched Fleischmann's Bread Machine Yeast and have had great results. Maybe it will help with Crock Pot bread. I've yet to try making Crock Pot bread but will do it.

[Mike]

Some spicy tomato sauce, grated cheese, and some sliced pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives, would have made your "thick crust bread" into a pizza lover's dream road food.

[avid]

Here is a great recipe http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/11376...ead-Bread.html that is so easy. We have made both at home and on the road in a Dutch Oven. It will surprise you with its incredible taste and texture. We completely coat ours with Poppy Seeds so that it looks black before rising. Be sure and have butter around when it comes out.

How about covering the top of the CrockPot with Aluminum foil under the lid, shiny side down. It might create an oven effect for the top.

[markopolo]

That is an interesting bread recipe. This link: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...52C1A9609C8B63 at the bottom of the article explains why so much water, so little yeast and the need to put the dough in a pre-heated pot.

[Davydd]

I've done the no-knead bread recipe in both crockpots and Dutch ovens.

This was my first attempt in a crockpot.


This one was actually done by another family member in a Dutch oven and is how I learned about it.

[ennajean]

David need more info....how long in the crock pot, and how did it taste.

[Davydd]

All the info is right here: Breaking Bread:Making Bread

[markopolo]

Great info Davydd

In an effort to see just how easy making "Easy RV Bread" can be I just followed avid's NY Times post and mixed 3 cups multi-grain flour, 1/4 tsp yeast. 1 1/4 tsp salt and 1 5/8 cups luke warm water right in my electric crock-pot bowl with a plastic spoon (no kneading). I covered the bowl with plastic wrap. My plan is to remove the plastic wrap in about 18 hours, put the crock-pot lid on and turn the crock-pot on at the high setting.



I realize that I am not following AmCruiser's original idea or the NY Times or Davydd's proven methods but I want to see how many steps and how much mess can be avoided and use only items that I could have in my van.

Wish me luck

Any suggestions on cooking times?

[Davydd]

The whole idea for no-knead bread is to mix it rather wet so the ingredients mix well and then go for a long cold ferment instead of kneading and short ferment at room temperature. Interesting idea but I don't mind hand kneading my bread dough and pizza dough and in doing so it is to me a lot easier.

[avid]

As someone who has been baking bread for over 40 years I understand the love of kneading. What is amazing about the no-knead bread is the flavor, it's absolutely delectable. It is also interesting how the process aligns the gluten strands so that they can hold the gasses which create the rising effect. Making no-knead only takes a few minutes once you have the recipe committed to memory.

[markopolo]

My no knead Baking Bread in Crock Pot experiment continues .....

Here's how it started with the wet dough in the slow cooker:


After 18 hours rising at room temperature it had really increased in size


There's a lot of water in this recipe so it is hard to deal with that in a slow cooker. The steam condenses on the lid so I offset the lid much of the time to vent the steam. That lets some heat out so it is taking a long time to cook.


At just under 3 1/2 hours ........... yes 3 1/2 hrs The internal temperature of this bread has reached 180 degrees but is a bit sticky so I will continue cooking it until the 4 hour mark is reached I was hoping for 190 degrees.


Update: at 4 hours on the high temperature setting I inserted the thermometer at it reached 190 degrees. It still seems a bit sticky though so I'll keep the heat on but completely uncover the crock pot for another 30 minutes.